policymaking

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policymaking

• Chapter 17

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(No Transcript)
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Figure 17.1No Worries! I Can Drive Without
Watching the Road
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Government Purposes and Public Policies

• Public policy -- a general plan of action,
  designed by government to solve a problem or
  pursue an objective
• Not acting is also a policy decision
• Policy disagreements come from differing opinions
  on governments goals, the means to meet goals,
  and how the situation should be perceived

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The Policymaking Process

• Disagreement about governments goals often based
  on value differences
• Look at policies related to drugs
• Libertarians value freedom and want drugs
  decriminalized
• Conservatives value order and support controls
  over drug use
• Valuing equality, liberals favor treatment
  programs

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Types of Policies

• Political scientists categorize policies by their
  objectives
• Distributive policies
• Representative John Murthas pork
• Redistributional policies
• Seattles proposed espresso tax
• Alabamas proposed redesign of state tax code
• Regulation
• Mexican trucks traveling in U.S.

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Figure 17.2Who is Paying Their Fair Share?
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Public Policy Tools

• Main tools used to achieve governmental policy
  objectives
• Incentives and disincentives
• Direct provision of services
• Setting rules
• Tools can be combined
• Policies not static means, goals, and
  situations change

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Gridlock Proposal Gridlocked
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Greeks Smoke a Lot, Bulgarians Too

• Since 1970, smoking has declined in U.S.
• Smoking rates in Europe higher
• Some countries beginning to address with taxes
• Regulatory restrictions vary considerably
• Anti-smoking education efforts have increased

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A Policymaking Model

• Policymaking process has four stages
• Agenda setting
• Policy formulation
• Implementation
• Policy evaluation
• Political agenda the broad set of policy areas in
  U.S. life

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Figure 17.3The Policymaking Process
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Agenda Setting

• In agenda setting, policies defined as political
  issues
• Triggers can be calamities, effects of
  technology, or irrational human behavior
• Issue definition influenced by our values, world
  viewpoints, and what we consider to be a
  government responsibility
• Changes often due to new frame

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Whats the Problem?
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Figure 17.4The Innocence Frame Gains Traction
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Policy Formulation

• Policy formulation where formal plans are
  developed and officials decide about adoption
• Occurs in all 3 branches of government
• Not always just one stage, or in one level of
  government
• Tends to be incremental
• Proposals not always enacted

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Sex Offender Registry/Tracking
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Implementation

• Process by which policies carried out is
  implementation
• Process starts with notification of affected
  parties
• Involves bargaining and negotiation as part of a
  pluralist system
• Changes in technology procurement
• Medicare prescription drug program

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Policy Evaluation

• Policy evaluation the analysis of a public
  policys results
• Measurement of program outcomes
• Cost-effectiveness analysis
• Texass top 10 percent law as example
• Evaluation provides feedback on policies
• Evaluation difficult because behavior complex and
  driven by many causes
• Also, different programs exist to achieve same
  goal, such as abstinence-only sex education

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Figure 17.5Different Evaluations, Different
Findings
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Fragmentation and Coordination

• Separation of powers results in a fragmented
  approach to solving policy problems
• Different interest groups try to influence
  different parts of government
• Sometimes more than one agency responds to a
  problem
• Creation of Department of Homeland Security a
  response to need for an agency to oversee
  fragmented responses to homeland security issues

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Christmas Day 2009 BomberUmar Farouk Abdumutallah
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Fragmentation and Coordination

• Congress also has diffusion of authority
• Overlapping committee jurisdictions
• States have differing policies on any given
  issue, and also may differ from presidents views
  
• In a federalist system, who has control?
• Attempts to eliminate jurisdictional overlap
  result in turf battles

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The Pursuit of Coordination

• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) fosters
  coordination within executive branch
• Coordination of policies among the states a more
  difficult balancing act
• Reorganizations within an agency sometimes
  brought on by a scandal, negative report, or
  highly visible problem
• Effect of pluralism on coordination evident

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Government by Policy Area

• When policies developed, participants from many
  areas must develop working relationships
• Participate at all stages of policy formulation
• Various individuals and organizations working in
  a particular policy area constitute an issue
  network
• Conflict within a network common
• Common denominator expertise

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The Veterans Affairs Triangle
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Issue Networks

• Issue networks promote pluralism
• However, majoritarian influence of public opinion
  still significant
• Elections one indicator
• Issue networks facilitate pluralist policies when
  majoritarian influences weak

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The Nonprofit Sector

• Nonprofits not a government organization or
  business
• May receive public funding, however
• Groups give government valuable feedback
• Charities that perform some public good
• In groups with income of at least 25,000,
  greatest percentage involved in social services
• Many other services, from PTAs to museums,
  provided by nonprofits

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Figure 17.6Americas Nonprofit Sector
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A Lifeline in Haiti

• After earthquake January 12, 2010, Partners in
  Health, a nonprofit, provided assistance in 10
  small hospitals
• U.S. military responded, but impractical to
  maintain long-term presence
• Nonprofits a lifeline for disaster response
• Governments use nonprofits to devise and
  implement programs in developing world

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The Nonprofit Sector

• Nonprofits enrich society with their efforts
• Government rewards organizations with tax
  deductibility for donors
• Government also enters into partnerships with
  nonprofits to provide needed services
• Savings to government since nonprofits use many
  volunteers
• Economic downturn resulted in fewer contributions
  to nonprofits
• Nonprofits vital part of policy process