Chapter 12 Public Policy and Government Performance Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices 2e By Lowell Barrington

Learning Objectives  Explain the differences between domestic, foreign, and intermestic policy.  Discuss the differences among first, second, and third order policy changes, and explain why third order changes are relatively rare.  Explain how socioeconomic structures, political structures, and leadership can affect policy outcomes, and discuss the extent to which policy is made through a process of rational decision making.  Discuss major policy debates and key factors affecting policy outcomes in the Topic in Country cases.

Public Policy  Comparative Public Policy  Seeks to understand the causal factors influence policy outcomes  Also looks at policy outcomes to evaluate their effectiveness  Public Administration  The inner workings of government institutions

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Public Policy  Foreign, Domestic, and Intermestic Policy  Domestic policy: The set of government approaches designed to improve economic, social, and political conditions within a country  Foreign policy: The set of government approaches related to international relations, national security, and defense  Intermestic Policy : Shares traits of both domestic and foreign policy

Public Policy  Major Types of Domestic and Intermestic Policy  Economic Policies  Fiscal policy  Monetary policy  Development policy  Trade policy  Regulatory Policy 

Public Policy  Major Types of Domestic and Intermestic Policy  Social Welfare Policies  Old age and retirement policy  Health care policy  Unemployment policy  Redistributive policies  Education Policy

Public Policy  Major Types of Domestic and Intermestic Policy  Identity-Related Policies  Citizenship policy  Immigration policy  Integration policies

Public Policy  Degrees of Policy Transformation  First order policy change  Policy details change  Goals and instruments stay the same  Second order policy change  Policy instruments change  Goals stay the same  Third order policy change  Goals change  A major policy reform (e.g., welfare reform in U.S.)

Understanding Policy Outcomes  Internal Structural Factors  Economic Structural Factors  Level of economic development, class structure, degree of economic globalization, and type of economic system  Political culture and ideology  Identity structure  Political structure

Understanding Policy Outcomes  External Structural Factors  Demonstration effects, imposition through conquest, and conditionality  Internal Choice Factors: Leadership and Rational Policymaking  Leadership  The rationality of the decision-making process  External Choice Factors

Topic in Countries  The United Kingdom  Mixed economy with a strong welfare state; MPs of both parties support NHS, but have different views on implementation  Implementation of evidence-based policymaking (EBP); low levels of public confidence in government

Topic in Countries  Germany  Social Market Economy (SME) offers broad protection based on conservative values; welfare state unsustainable in current form  Policies that discourage job growth have led to high unemployment; welfare state system experiencing shortfall

Topic in Countries  India  Major policy debates include water access; proper role of Hindutuva (Hindu Nationalism); response to terrorists  Disruption and coalition governments make policymaking difficult, exacerbated by the scale of problems such as identity and water issues

Topic in Countries  Mexico  Policy debates center on fiscal, monetary & trade policy; Nat’l health insurance program launched in 2004  Gov’t has struggled to implement effective policies to reduce crime and corruption

Topic in Countries  Brazil  Economic development is top policy concern; balance of equality vs. growth  Government widely seen as inefficient and corrupt;  Government widely seen as inefficient and corrupt; President Rousseff struggling with the challenge of addressing inequality without alienating internal and external economic elites

Topic in Countries  Nigeria  Tackling corruption remains largest policy issue; proper use of oil wealth; identity divisions  Oil wealth has not led to improvements in health care or education; external actors can impact the effort to reduce corruption

Topic in Countries  Russia  Major policy debates include moving from oligarchic capitalism to state capitalism and how to address identity issues (Chechnya)  Yeltsin introduced elements of capitalism into the economy; Putin took office amid feelings that the government was corrupt and incompetent

Topic in Countries  China  Continued dramatic shift away from socialist economy; greater policy autonomy for regional governments  Government highlights achievements and downplays negative news; has displayed surprising openness at times on issues such as efficiency and SARS

Topic in Countries  Iran  Achieving both greater equality and economic growth; tightening government regulations in areas such as gender relations  Oil profits in the hands of the  Oil profits in the hands of the bonyads, not shared with the general population  Government promised to increase social welfare spending after the Green Revolution

Think and Discuss When examining the major policy issues and the factors that influence them in the nine TIC cases, what themes emerge across these otherwise very different countries?