Week 19 Public Policy

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Week 19 Public Policy

• Richard Simeon

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The Speech from the Throne/1

• Role of the Throne Speech
• Presented by Governor-General, written by
  government
• Presents policy agenda and priorities for a new
  government
• An election manifesto

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Speech from the Throne/2

• Some trade-offs
• New spending priorities vs. commitment to no
  deficit or major tax increases
• Social spending vs. defence, security, etc.
• Federal vs. provincial jurisdiction

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Throne Speech/3

• The democracy agenda
• Greater role for MPs more free votes, more
  role for MPs and Committees to study policy and
  draft legislation, and to review government
  appointments including judiciary
• Less party discipline, less control by PM and
  Ministers

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Throne Speech/ 4

• A change in parliamentary culture?
• Can it work? Some questions
• Will government honour its word when things get
  tough?
• Will Opposition also allow free votes? Can it
  shift from opposition mentality, criticizing
  everything?
• Will media pay attention?
• Will bureaucracy go along?

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Public Policy

• Public policy refers to the decisions,
  commitments, programs enacted by governments.
• What to governments do? Why do they do it? And
  with what effects?
• Policy ranges from broad frameworks or strategies
  (the welfare state) to specific actions (how to
  set university fees)
• Policy is about what the public household does.

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Outline

• Public policy and democracy
• Major dimensions of public policy scope, means
  and distribution
• Explaining change and variation context, ideas,
  interests, institutions
• Some current policy debates
• Exploring the policy process who are the
  actors? Stages in the policy process.

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Public Policy and Democracy/1

• In a democracy, public policy and the processes
  through which it is made will be judged by . . .
• Is it responsive to the challenges facing the
  country and to the preferences, needs and
  concerns of citizens?

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Policy and democracy/2

• Is it effective? Do policies and programs achieve
  their objectives in an efficient manner?
• Good intentions may be poorly executed gun
  control

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Policy and Democracy/3

• Are governments accountable for what they do?
• Can they be rewarded for doing well, punished for
  doing badly?
• Accountability of political leaders to citizens,
  and of
• Bureaucracy to elected governments

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Policy and democracy/4

• How much citizen engagement is there? Through
• Openness and transparency Do governments share
  information with their citizens how much
  decision-making goes on behind closed doors?
• Lobbying and consultation can affected groups
  make their voices heard?
• Direct democracy referenda, etc.
• The ideal for many participatory, deliberative
  policy-making

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Policy and democracy/5

• Equity and justice
• Do some groups and individuals have much more
  influence than others? Which ones?
• Are the benefits and the costs of policy fairly
  distributed across the population
• Does government policy promote or erode equality?

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Questions to ask about policy

• Scope the size of government what is its
  presence in the lives of citizens?
• Means or instruments How do governments achieve
  their goals?
• Distribution How are costs and benefits
  distributed? Who wins, who loses and why?

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The scope of government/1

• Two stories
• Government grows in all countries in 20th
  century, and especially after WW II. From the
  liberal night watchman state, to the welfare
  state and regulatory state
• But the size and scope of government varies
  across countries
• Rich world government most expansive in W.
  Europe, esp. Scandinavia least in U.S.,
  Switzerland. Canada in middle.
• Developing world smaller government. Big
  challenges, but few resources.

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Some data/1

• Growth of government in Canada
• Govt size as per cent of GDP 1920s about 12 per
  cent, rises in 30s depression spikes in WW II,
  declines after war, then slowly rises again to
  about 50 per cent of GDP.
• Mid 60s to mid 80s Govt spending in Canada rises
  by 40 per cent in the US by 25 per cent, in
  France by 33 per cent

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Some data/2

• Poorer countries not only have less to spend,
  they spend less of what they do have on govt in
  1999, govt spending averages 17 per cent of GDP
  in poor countries 21 per cent in middle income
  countries 30 per cent in rich countries.
• We spend about 20 per cent of GDP on health,
  education and welfare Mexico 11 per cent
• We spend about 9 per cent of GDP on health
  India, less than 1 per cent.

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Developing countries

• Often hampered by
• Immense challenges poverty, disease, etc.
• Lack of financial resources
• Lack of skilled civil servants
• Corruption
• Poor communications
• Civil conflict
• BUT, not always

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A South African case study

• Democracy and good governance can make a
  difference.
• Nelson Mandela, 1994 The government I have the
  honour to lead and the masses who elected us . .
  . are inspired by the single vision of creating a
  people-centered society. . . . The acid test of
  the legitimacy of the programs we elaborate, the
  institutions we create, the legislation we adopt
  must we whether they serve these objectives,
  human fulfillment, extension of freedom.

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Ten years later, a review

• 10th anniversary of first directly elected
  government
• 8.4 million more now have access to clean water
• 3.8 million more have electricity
• 1.5 million govt subsidized houses built.
• 15-24 literacy up from 83 to 96 per cent
• 701 new clinics
• Still huge problems, but progress
• Gini coefficient (measures inequality) improves
  from 0.68 to 0.35

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The economy

• Growth from decline before 1994 to 2.8
  p.c./year since
• Deficit, debt way down inflation down
• More people employed but even more unemployed
• More protection for workers
• Some black empowerment

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Pres. Mbeki, State of the Nation, 2004

• We have always known that our countrys
  blemishes produced by more than 3 centuries of
  colonialism and apartheid could not be removed in
  one decade. Nevertheless, we have no hesitation
  in saying that we have made great advances to
  ensure the goals of which Nelson Mandela spoke
  ten years ago.
• Discussion does policy matter?

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Dimensions of public policy/1

• Governments make many kinds of policies, such as
• Foreign and defence policy international
  security
• Domestic order and security police, courts,
  prisons, etc.
• Economic policy fiscal policy, trade policy,
  etc. to stimulate economic growth, jobs, regulate
  business conduct, etc.
• Social policy the welfare state health,
  education, welfare, etc.
• Environmental policy
• Social order and stability in Canada,
  nation-building and nation-saving.

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The World Bank model/1

• Minimal, basic functions that even the poorest
  governments must provide
• Defence law and order
• Property rights and market economy
• Basic economic management stable currency, etc.
• Basic public health, education, anti-poverty
  programs.
• Many of the poorest countries are unable to
  provide even this level of public service. The
  capacity gap.

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World Bank model/2

• Intermediate model
• Governments now can provide
• More extensive welfare policies (pension,
  unemployment insurance) and education policies.
• Become responsible for environmental protection.
• Rich country model governments can now choose
  richer more generous social policies and a wide
  range of other activities from opera houses to
  the Olympic games

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Policy instruments

• How do governments get things done tools, means,
  instruments
• Governments can do it by
• Spending pensions, equalization, subsidies to
  farmers, foreign aid
• Providing services health, police, etc.
• Taxing
• Regulating
• Public ownership -- VIA rail, CBC
• Persuasion stop smoking!

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Distribution who gets what?/1

• Three broad views
• Government mostly serves the interests of
  business and the capitalist system provides
  legitimacy a disciplined, healthy educated work
  force etc.
• Governments that challenge business pay a large
  price capital flight, etc. must maintain
  business confidence.
• Extreme example The Bush tax cuts

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Who gets what/2

• The conservative view
• Big government inhibits economic growth, creates
  dependency.
• Leads to distortions and inefficiency
• Mainly serves the interests of its own
  politicians and bureaucracy

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Who gets what/3

• Pluralist view
• Govts balance many interests
• Must respond both to popular demands (voters) and
  economic incentives (business)
• Policy as a result often compromise, messy,
  incoherent, contradictory.
• Everyone gets something.
• DISCUSSION WHICH VIEW IS CLOSEST TO THE MARK?

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Explaining public policy/1

• How do we explain variations over time and
  across countries, in terms of scope, means,
  distribution?
• The economic and social context
• Ideas
• Interests
• Institutions

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Context

• Long term social and economic change
  urbanization, industrialization, etc.
• Recent forces globalization aging population
  women in the work force multiculturalism, etc.
• Wealth rich countries can do more
• Education more educated expect more?
• Technological change increased opportunity for
  participation?
• Context shapes the agenda, the resources and the
  constraints does not determine how policy
  responds

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Explanations/2 Ideas

• The culture, values, beliefs and ideologies of
  citizens and policy-makers
• Liberalism, individualism, and distrust of
  government in the US the weak state model
• Collectivism, social democracy in Europe the
  strong state model

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Some examples of powerful ideas

• Keynesianism and the welfare state
• Silent Spring (Carson) and environmentalism
• Feminism and affirmative action
• Neo-liberalism or neo-conservatism
• Social liberalism and social conservatism.
• Ideas shape the policy agenda and the terms of
  political debate

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The rise of neo-liberalism

• Driven by
• Fiscal crisis hitting the wall, shooting the
  hippo
• Hostility to big government, big intrusive
  bureaucracy
• Sought to
• Reduce the size and role of govt. shift back to
  economic and private households (Scope)
• Make govt more like business de-regulate,
  privatize, New Public Management (Means)
• Reduce re-distributive role of the state
  (distribution)

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Effects and consequences

• Dramatic shift in public discourse lowered
  expectations
• Slaying the deficit dragon, especially in
  Canada.
• Privatization, deregulation, spending cuts (1995
  budget in Canada) devolution of responsibility
  to lower level governments
• BUT little overall shift in size and role of
  government little evidence of a rush to the
  bottom.

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Explanations/2 Interests

• Sees public policy as best explained by the
  relative strength of the competing interests in
  society.
• What are the contending interests business,
  labour richer, poorer environmentalists
  farmers city and rural dwellers students etc.?
• And what resources can they bring to bear on
  government to shape policy
• Resources include numbers (votes) money
  expertise moral claims.

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Interests/2

• A powerful basis for explanation of variations in
  the size and role of government is
• The strength and coverage of the labour movement
• The strength of social democratic or labour
  parties
• The strength and organization of business
  interests
• The degree to which other groups women,
  environmentalists can mobilize support

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Explanations/3 Institutions

• Is it easy or difficult to make and implement
  decisions? How many hurdles, how many veto
  points? Do the institutions privilege some kinds
  of interests over others?
• Westminster parliamentary systems (unified
  authority) vs. presidential or congressional
  systems (divided authority, checks and balances)
• Federal vs. unitary systems.

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Institutions/2

• Institutional explanations are
• Better at explaining continuity, than explaining
  change
• Better at explaining the timing of policy, and
  the instruments used to deliver it, than at
  explaining the fundamental contours of public
  policy
• These are more a consequence of the interaction
  of ideas, interests, and influence.

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Explanations Conclusion

• Everywhere governments face similar policy
  agendas, and similar constraints and
  opportunities
• But how they respond to them depends greatly on
  their particular history, policy legacies,
  cultures, and political institutions.
• Result predictions that all countries would
  converge on similar policies and programs do not
  appear to be true.

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The policy process

• How are policies made?
• The actors
• The sequence from initiation to implementation
  to evaluation
• Rationalism vs. incrementalism

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The actors/1

• Bottom up view
• Citizens express views through voting, answering
  polls, joining a party or group, communicating
  with government officials
• Interest groups organized to lobby, consult to
  express, defend interests of members
• Media vehicle for public discussion, debate
  frame issues, help set agenda

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The actors/2

• Top down view
• Executive, cabinet frame policy and legislation
  set legislative agenda, for
• Parliament, legislature passes laws arena for
  debate, scrutiny of govt. initiatives. Canada
  different from US.
• Bureaucracy source of information, analysis,
  recommendations for govt. responsible for
  implementation of policy
• Courts rule on constitutionality of laws

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Policy styles

• Is the emphasis top down (authoritarian) or
  bottom up (democratic)
• Is the emphasis on consensus and widespread
  agreement, or majoritarian and winner take all?
• Is government rational, strategic and pro-active,
  or reactive, responsive and incremental?

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The policy sequence/1

• Setting the agenda how issues and problems rise
  to public and governmental concern
• Initiation putting the issue and alternatives
  on the table
• Formulation developing specific legislation and
  programs
• Legitimation formal approval by legislatures
  and courts

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Policy sequence/2

• Implementation putting the law into practice
• Requires money, organization, personnel, skills
• Evaluation, assessment figuring out whether the
  policy was or was not effective
• Distinguish outputs (what the government did)
  from outcomes (were the results what was desired
  or expected?)

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Public Involvement

• How much can citizens be involved in policy
  development how much should they be involved?
• Brazil Citizen involvement in budgeting
  Ontario Citizens consultation on the budget.