FUNDAMENTALS: What is Public Policy? What Are Institutions?

Outline: What is Public Policy? What Are Institutions? Elements of Public

Policy Definitions Elements of Public

Policy Discussions Definitions of Public

Policy Government’s Role in

Public Policy

Instruments of Public Policy

Ideology, Values and Public Policy

Enduring vs “New” Dimensions of Public Policy

WHAT ARE INSTITUTIONS?

Elements of Public Policy Definitions

a.       Governmental authority—under the direct development and influence of government; legitimacy

b.      Develop through action or inaction—do something or prevent something

c.       Carry purposes and intentions—based on values, opinions, prejudices, biases; policy is culturally driven

d.      Have outcomes or effects on people and society—affect the lives of individuals in direct, personal, and continuous ways

e.       Are problem oriented—a governmental response to a perceived need or public demand

Elements of Public Policy Discussions

a)      Public policy should distinguish between what governments intend to do and what in fact they actually do (governmental inactivity is as important as governmental activity)

b)      Public policy ideally involves all levels of government and is not necessarily restricted to formal actors—informal actors are also extremely important

c)      Public policy is persuasive and is not solely limited to legislation, executive orders, rules, and regulations

d)      Public policy is an intentional course of action with an accomplished end goal as its objective

e)      Public policy is both long term and short term

Public Policy Definitions

Dye: What governments choose to do or not to do

Lasswell: Who gets what, when, and how

Rushefsky: Government policies are courses of action made up of a series of decisions, discrete choices (including the choice not to act), over a period of time

Public Policy Definitions, con’t

Cochran et al: Public policy always refers to the actions of government and the intentions that determine those actions

Dubnick and Bardes: Public policies are the expressed interests of government actors, relative to a public problem, and the activities related to those interests

Lynn: Public policy can readily be viewed as the output of a political system that comprises individuals that come together in small groups within the framework of organizations characterized by hierarchy, division of labor, and specialization

Public Policy Definitions, con’t Peters: Public policy is the sum of government activities,

whether directly or through agents, that have an influence on the lives of citizens; 3 levels defined by the degree to which they make real differences in the lives of citizens:

Policy choices: Decisions made by politicians, civil servants and others granted authority and directed toward using public power to affect the lives of citizens

Policy outputs: Policy choices being put into action-government doing things (spending money, hiring people)

Policy impacts: The effects that policy choices and policy outputs have on citizens

Government and Public Policy

a.       Regulate conflict within society

b.      Organize society to carry on conflict with other societies

c.       Distribute symbolic rewards and material services

d.     Extract money

Instruments of Public Policy

Law—rights, regulate economic and social conditions, create burdens as well as benefits

Services—directly provided to citizens (defense, education, recreation); more contracting (police, prisons, garbage collection)

Money—provides citizens, organizations, and other governments with money; ~51% of taxes collected returned to the economy as transfer payments to citizens

Instruments of Public Policy, cont’

Taxes—progressive or regressive; loopholes, incentives to encourage or discourage particular activities (mortgage payments and property taxes are deductible—more than funds spent for public housing)

Other instruments: loan guarantees; moral suasion

Questions For You to Answer:

Why do you think it’s important to study public policy?

What public policy areas do you believe we need to study more than others?

Ideology, Values and Public Policy

A concept that strongly affects the policy process is ideology. Ideology consists of a set of beliefs about what the world is like, values which are used to appraise the state of the world (good/bad; satisfactory /unsatisfactory), and beliefs and attitudes about how to make the world conform to these values.

Three Key Values…….

Order

The first key value is order—the protection of society, life, and property from both external (foreign) and internal (criminal) forces.

The value of order also includes the importance of tradition and moral values based on religion.

Freedom or Liberty

The second of the political values is freedom or liberty-freedom from governmental restraints and from government tyranny.

These include protections from arbitrary government, rights of those accused of crimes, rights to petition government, and freedoms of speech, press, and religion.

Equality

The third key value is equality. Equality may have three different meanings:

Political equality refers to voting - each person has one vote.

Equality of opportunity, giving each person the right to develop his or her potential (procedural-as long is no one is discriminated against, then the outcomes of achievement are of little concern).

Equality of outcome or results - here the emphasis is on social equality through programs.

Enduring Dimensions of Public Policy

a. Democracy—government of the people, by the people: majority public opinion; proportional representation

b. Public interest—communities as the starting point for our policies—policy is about communities trying to achieve something as communities

Enduring Dimensions, cont’

c. Equity or fairness—are outcomes of government fair--giving veryone their due; greatest good for the greatest number

d. Efficiency—minimize waste; outcome is produced with the minimum of effort expense, and waste

Enduring Dimensions, cont’

e. Equality—equality of opportunity (ability to make of oneself what one can—develop talents and abilities; and be rewarded for work, initiative, and achievement—same starting line with same chance of success, one finishes ahead of the other as a result of ability)

Equality of results/outcomes (equal sharing of income, jobs, contracts, and material rewards regardless of one’s condition in life—everyone starts and finishes the race together, regardless of ability, talent, initiative, or work)

Enduring Dimensions, cont’

f. Effectiveness—whether policy accomplished the purpose it was intended to accomplish; what is success and how do you know when you have achieved it

g. Representation—who has power; whose interests are represented

“New” Dimensions of Public Policy

International

Intergenerational

Intergovernmental

What Are Institutions?

A significant set of practices and/or relationships designed to express the will of a society (or a group within that society). It is designated to fulfill a specified need and has the following characteristics:

Institutions, Defined

a. It captures society’s decision to provide and/or protect against critical breakdown and to promote a better or higher level of human functioning. Thus interest and financial support are mobilized to provide service in an organized form.

Institutions, Defined

b. Each institution develops a program by which to meet the particular area of need for which it was organized

c. The institution has a structure by which it organizes and delegates its responsibilities and its tasks. It has governing policies and procedures, by which it stabilizes and systematizes its operation

Institutions, Defined

d. It is a living organism, adaptable and susceptible to being understood and changed, much as other living organisms.

e. It lives in relation to its need and in relationship to other institutions

Major American Institutions

Government

Family

Religion

Education