| A. | Public Policy Defined | |
| Public policy is a goal-oriented, pattern of actions that effects the population/Distinguishing public from private problems/Public policy could easily be made on almost any issue and is thus constrained. | ||
| B. | Constraints Upon Public PolicyMaking | |
| Political culture determines what are appropriate actions for decision-makers/As the culture changes, so too do the areas where public policy is accepted/Constitutional limitations such as the separation of powers (legislative,executive,judicial,bureaucracy) and federalism (federal,state,local) force compromise and concern for practicality/The Bill of Rights and later amendments specifically limit public policy/Institutional considerations/Congress is decentralized needing to form several different majorities to pass legislation, forcing compromise/President is bound by prior commitments/Three-fourths of the national budget is "uncontrollable" (already ear-marked from budget to budget)/Weak party structure means little loyalty between legislators and between Congress and the President.
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| C. | Steps in Making Public Policy | |
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(aka the "Policy Process Theory") This section borrows heavily from Dr. James E. Anderson's book Public Policymaking: An Introduction 2nd ed. 1994. | ||
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Agenda Setting (public discussion and getting attention from a policy-maker)/Systemic agenda versus institutional agenda/Formulation (structuring of ideas into an initial proposal)/Adoption (lobbying, bargaining, compromise -> final decisions and passage into law)/Implementation (turning words on paper into actions, usually by bureaucracy)/Evaluation and Feedback (Is it working or do we need to "tweek"/abolish the policy?)
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| D. | Theoretical Models of Public Policymaking | |
| The "Policy Process Theory" is a descriptive theory with little explanatory power/Political System Theory ("Government as an organism") predictions, assumptions and flaws/Group Theory (pluralists) ("Interest groups battle for dominance") predictions, assumptions and flaws/Elite Theory ("A ruling-class elite have the final word") predictions, assumptions and flaws/Rational-Choice Theory ("Policymakers decide in their own selfish best-interest")/Principal-Agent Theory ("Ultimate goals of all involved are always in conflict and cheating and deception are everywhere")/Decision making models: Rational-comprehensive theory, Incrementalism and Mixed Scanning/Problems with incremental changes and jumping directly to a goal. |
3/22/97