Why Study Public Policy?

Students of political science and public administration have several reasons for studying public policy. i) The first is theoretical: Political scientists seek to understand and explain the world of politicsthat is they attempt to develop and test explanatory generali!ations about the political behavior of individuals and institutions. "ecause public policy is a part of politics political scientists are concerned with how it is related to such things as political party structure interest groups inter#party competition electoral systems and executive#legislative relations. Political scientists who seek explanation call for the discipline to develop and test policy theory. ii) $ second reason for studying public policy is practical. Political scientists and students of policy apply knowledge to solve practical problems. Public policy has become increasingly pervasive over time as measured by such data as the percent of the gross domestic product %&'P: the value of all the goods and services produced in the (.S. in a year) that is spent by the federal government. This figure has risen from about five percent at the turn of the century to about a )uarter of the &'P in *+,+. -ith the heavy indebtedness and an expensive health care bill passed at the end of the first year of the .bama administration the percent of the gross domestic product in the public sector is predicted to reach /0 percent. This indicates that the government and the federal government in particular do more things1 hence citi!ens are continually confronted with impact of public policy on their lives and well#being. $ third reason for studying public policy related to the second is political. 'ebate and controversy over public policy in $merica are not new but today the range of issues over which serious disagreement occurs is far greater than in the past. This is due in large part to the spread of education which is strongly related to political involvement and to the mobili!ation of the population through the mass media. Participation and awareness of government and its policies are greater than any time in our history. The Tea Party movement of *+,+ exemplifies the extent to which more people are involved with politics and policy than ever before. 2t makes sense to channel this new mobili!ation of the population into paths guided by understanding and information. The emphasis of this book is on the second and third reasons for studying policythe practical and politicalbut it draws on the first as well for intelligent policy selection depends on the analysis and understanding developed by the theoretical findings of political science. Reasons for the Growing Pervasiveness of Public Policy The growing pervasiveness of public policy alluded to above is primarily a conse)uence of modernization. 3oderni!ation entails the development of technology and knowledge and
Philipe Ombugu CUEA LECTURES 2012 -Policy Formula io! " #mpleme! a io!

the conse)uent role speciali!ation and division of labor. This makes us all interdependent. The pioneer could erect a log cabin without outside assistance but the erection of a modern dwelling re)uires the expertise of a cement contractor a carpenter an electrician a plumber a bricklayer a roofer etc. -e can rely on the competence and performance of these tradesmen whose work we are not )ualified to 4udge because they are given their credentials by an agency of the state. -e are usually even more un)ualified to independently 4udge the work of professionals such as physicians or attorneys. -henever new technology is developed we need a new agency to regulate it. 3oderni!ation re)uires the concentration of a workforce that was not needed in an agrarian society. This means an urbani!ation of modern society with its concomitant issues of traffic public health and sanitation sewage and garbage disposal crime and the myriad ways in which the choices that people make affect others in patterns of close interaction. This expansion of the role of public policy is frustrating to many because each new regulation emanating from a government agency circumscribes our freedom to some extent. The needs and desires of each person must be balanced against the needs and desires of others with whom one interacts. 5ence government treats people according to impersonal principles and rules that may offend one6s sense of 4ustice for one particular case. "ecause of this frustration with an expanding public sector many people feel that government has become too big and too intrusive. The *++78*+,+ Tea Party movement that mobili!ed large numbers of ordinary people in demonstrations against big government which they saw as allegedly out of touch with ordinary folk exemplifies this frustration. Some people yearn for a return to the seemingly simpler times of the good old days. 9et in many ways :the good old days; were not so good. <ife tended to be shorter and less comfortable and convenient. .pportunities for travel and communication were significantly fewer. To return to an era of a much smaller public sector we would have to :un#invent; much of the technology that has made life longer and more en4oyable. Policy Impact: he !re"uent !ailure of Public Policies to #chieve heir Goals $mericans are by and large an optimistic people who tend to believe that for every identified problem there must be a solution if we simply have the will to find it. 9et despite the growing pervasiveness and expansion of government the actual impact of policieswhat actually happens when the policy is put into effectis all too fre)uently not what those who formulated the policy intended. This fre)uent failure of policies to achieve their intended impact is due to the following factors. =irst there is disagreement about the issues of society and what constitutes a social or political problem that must be addressed by policymakers. .ne of the core issues dividing the social and political left from the right regards the imperatives of social 4ustice. 'oes the fact that some people have a great deal more than others either through inheritance hard work creativity or 4ust luck constitute a problem that must be rectified> -hat are one6s entitlements in one6s society> The sub#prime lending
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Philipe Ombugu CUEA LECTURES 2012

crisis of *++78*+,+ was a result of elevating homeownership to an entitlement. 'oes social 4ustice re)uire that we :spread the wealth; around> Second for some issues there is no plausible scenario on which the contending parties conceivably agree. =or example the attempts to engineer a two#state solution to the tensions in the 3iddle ?ast between the 2sraelis and the Palestinian $rabs have resulted in failure despite continued efforts for over sixty years because the conflict is not about borders or what lands will be set aside for Palestinian statehood. The $rab leaders were formally offered such a state on five separate occasions %see @hapter ,* for details) and they eschewed the offer each time. @learly their ultimate goal is not 4ust statehood. The $rab leaders have reiterated over and over that they will never accept the existence of 2srael as a Aewish state. .bviously one6s extermination is not a scenario to which one will ever agree as a result of negotiation. 5ence no plausible resolution to the conflict exists to which both parties might possibly agree upon. Third no solution that is socially acceptable may exist for a problem. $ssume for example that society agrees that greater socioeconomic e)uality must be engineered. .ne should then address the causes of such ine)uality. The strongest predictor of one6s ultimate socioeconomic well#being is academic achievement. ?ach step up the academic ladder brings significantly greater lifetime earnings regardless of one6s academic specialty. .ne should therefore engineer greater e)uality of academic achievement as with President &eorge -. "ush6s policy of :no child left behind.; This policy assumes that everyone is educable. $n important massive study of the causes of educational achievement the @oleman Beport found that the best single predictor of educational achievement is the academic achievement level of one6s parents. Thus to best engineer e)uality of educational achievement the state would have to specify that only educated people would be allowed to reproduce. .bviously no reasonably free society is going to specify who can or cannot have children. 5ence the solution to our hypothetical problem may theoretically exist but would be socially unacceptable. =ourth policies and the laws that they produce are usually ambiguous enough to permit various interpretations of them. The more actors that are involved in the process of implementation the more that the original intended meaning of the law or policy will be distorted. 2n this technologically advanced society lawmakers are fre)uently generalists. $s an example consider the lawyers or business people who lacked the technical expertise to determine how much of which emissions could be allowed to protect air )uality so they set up an ?nvironmental Protection $gency %?P$) to make those rules. $ppointed bureaucrats selected according to the standard of speciali!ation and division of labor are more likely to have such expertise.

$ccordingly the politically accountable parts of the government@ongress and the presidencypass general authori!ations to some agencies of the civil service to actually
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make the specific decisions about who gets how much of what where and why. "ut the civil service or public bureaucracythe administrative branch of governmentis set up to implement policy not to make it. The attributes of the administrative sector that make it effective in implementing policy are undesirable attributes for policymaking. The attributes of the civil service or public bureaucracy are a hierarchical structure1 speciali!ation and the division of labor1 an elaborate set of impersonal rules which enhance predictability but stifle creativity and adaptability1 and tenure of office which insulates the bureaucrats from the public. 3oreover the discretion that bureaucrats inevitably have in interpreting the law means that the intent of the original policymakers will likely be changed in the implementation process. $odels of the Policy Process 3aking public policy is extraordinarily complex. 2t involves public opinion media attitudes expert ideas active citi!ens business and labor leaders elected representatives presidents and governors 4udges and bureaucrats. Policymaking calls on political resources economic conditions popular cultural attitudes and international conditions. -hen political scientists do research attempting to understand public policy they try to reduce the complexity of the policymaking process to a manageable degree by creating models of policymaking that summari!e the primary forces at work. Cone of these models is complete1 none captures all of the relationships that are important. 2t is indeed the purpose of such models to simplify aspects of the reality they represent. Co one model best describes the features of policymaking in every area. $lthough the chapters that follow do not adhere strictly to any of these models they draw upon the primary )ualities of some political science models. =eatures of the institutional model appear in the description of the institutional context of public policy in @hapter *. This model stresses the opportunities and constraints on policy that are part of the very structure of the $merican constitutional order: 4udiciary bureaucracy executives legislatures separation of powers federalism and so forth. $ variant of the institutional model is historical institutionalism which combines the institutional focus with the effect of long#term patterns of development. 5ere there is recognition that early policy decisions carry large effects through time so that policies become path dependent. The cost of changing policy direction increases over time. .nce for example a state legislature takes a get#tough approach to crime by building more prisons these very prisons become institutional forces that prevent different approaches in the future. -hat would the state do with empty prisons if it decided on a different approach> The elite model focuses on the influence over policy exercised by powerful individuals or groups to maximi!e their own interests at the expense of competing groups. Scholars who claim this model describes $merican society paint a scenario in which the country is controlled by a single coherent elite sharing a distinct set of values. 3embers of this elite possess similar attributes %white male and mostly Protestant) come from the same background %prestigious prep school 2vy <eague university) and move from one leadership role to another %from corporate boards of directors to academia at our most prestigious universities to the highest
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ranks in the military). This model contrasts with the pluralist model which stresses that many elites with competing interests bargain with one another to affect policy. &enerally no one group gets all of what they want1 hence policy is an impersonal outcome of the bargaining process. ?ach of these group6s interests and ideas must be taken into account. "oth of these models picture these individuals and groups being active and influential across many policy areas. The group or sub%government model is similar to the pluralist model but recogni!es that different policy areas %for example crime health transportation) are important to different actors. <egislators bureaucrats experts and interest groups that are active in one area are often )uite different from those active in a different policy arena. These groups form advocacy coalitions that are active in particular policy areas but not in others. (nder these conditions policy networks develop webs of lobbyists committee staff members and policy administrators all deeply involved in a particular policy domain but not active in other policy areas. Some political scientists model policy as a rational process. Policymakers in the rational% comprehensive model take account of all information about the policy problems and of all policy options then select the options that best fulfill the policymaker6s goals. The public choice model thinks of those active in policymaking as actors attempting to choose options that maximi!e their self#interest. They select policy options that help them reali!e their interests. &ame models are a variation of this idea focused on situations of policy choice with options that cannot be compromised. Stages of Policy &evelopment Political scientists often use a model of the policymaking process that focuses on the stages through which ideas and proposals move before becoming public policy. Some political scientists critici!e these models as overly rigid and rational. That is they argue that politics does not follow the clear lines and divisions of the stages model. -indows of opportunity for policy creativity open many times in unexpected ways so that policy entrepreneurs have to be ready at any time to 4ump or to move through stages of the process rapidly. 3ultiple streams of policy proposals and political forces can converge and overwhelm careful policy deliberation.

Philipe Ombugu CUEA LECTURES 2012

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3oreover these models have not generated important theoretical insights into policymaking.D 'espite the importance of these criticisms the stages model is a suggestive tool1 that is it isolates various aspects of public policy and helps to focus attention on them. Some of these aspects are widely recogni!ed and need to be part of any introduction to public policy.7 'ifferent scholars label the stages differently and place different emphasis on them but the terms in =igure ,., are common. The development of a public policy begins with a public belief that a problem exists. The three pre%policy stages are: %,) problem definition or issues formation %*) policy demands and %/) agenda formation. "efore a policy issue is defined or adopted a problem of public concern must be perceived. ?thical and ideological perspectives play an important role during this problem perception stage because different perspectives will see and define problems differently. =or example imagine how the same social phenomenon the pornography industry might be viewed by people of differing moral values. Some might view sexually explicit literature as a manifestation of a socially open and healthy attitude toward sexuality. .thers might see it as a symptom of an unhealthy obsession with sex and a re4ection of higher values. 'ue to the contrasting opinions of the two groups different formulations of the issue will result. Similarly people with different values might disagree as to whether socioeconomic ine)uality violates the concept of social 4ustice and is therefore a problem that must be rectified. Thus the issues formation stage leads to the next stage policy demands: .pposing demands are now made for government action. =or example some people want the smut shops closed down and the owners thrown in 4ail. .thers want the authorities to keep out of what they see as the private business of individual citi!ens %a demand for government non#action).
Philipe Ombugu CUEA LECTURES 2012 -Policy Formula io! " #mpleme! a io!

&radually this social giveand#take may coalesce into a perception that policymakers must deal with this problem and it competes with other problems for the attention of policymakers. Some problems fail to sustain attention in this competition1 others rise to prominence. That is some make it and some fail to make it onto the policy agenda. The various demands and perspectives create an agenda of alternative proposals for dealing with the issue. Some proposals and demands never make it to the agenda1 others are put on the agenda in altered form. $genda#setting is always a political process1 that is groups struggle for power to control the agenda. "ecause all legislative and executive bodies are limited in the issues they can address at any given time the power to have attention paid to :your; issue on the agenda is invaluable. Therefore ideological and interest groups compete to broaden the agenda to include their issues or to narrow it by excluding issues that they do not want considered. Such groups may be elected officials bureaucrats responsible for policy administration public interest groups or groups directly affected by particular policies. =ollowing the pre#policy stages the next ma4or stage in the development of a public policy is deliberation and policy adoption. =rom the policy agenda decision makers with the input of interest groups policy experts and constituents debate and bargain over alternative policy formulations settling on an alternative or a combination of alternatives to respond to the problem. 'ecisions are made1 policies are formulated1 and policy statements are issued taking such forms as orders regulations or laws. @learly the same kinds of considerations of power as in the policy agenda stage are relevant here. $lso important is the constitutional and statutory structure of the institution that makes the policy decision. Structure often determines which outcomes have a greater chance of success in the political struggle. Policy statements and lawmaking are not the whole of policymaking. Policy decisions must be implementeda concept defined earlier in the chapter as putting the policy into effect. Policy implementation means money spent laws enforced employees hired and plans of action formulated. $ law against theft would hardly be a policy if no public resources were devoted to preventing thefts and apprehending thieves. 2n implementation the intent of the policymakers is often distorted. ?ven programs involving little conflict can be difficult to implement if there are numerous participants with differing perspectives and if many particular decisions have to be made before the policy is fully implemented.,+ The more complex the implementation process the more likely that the intent of the policy will become distorted or lost. Successful achievement of policy goals depends upon the tractability of the problem being addressed by the policy1 that is how possible is it really to make a change. 2mplementation depends as well upon the clarity of the law the talents and financial resources available to those administering it and a variety of political factors such as public support media attention socioeconomic conditions and the attitudes and resources of groups affected by the policy.
Philipe Ombugu CUEA LECTURES 2012 -Policy Formula io! " #mpleme! a io!

Policy implementation produces impacts. Policy impact it will be recalled refers to what actually happens when the policy is implemented. The impact of a policy may be unforeseen as in the case of busing for racially balanced schools %discussed in detail in @hapter ,+). -hites were usually able to avoid having their children being bused by simply moving to the suburbs which often meant a different school district. This :white flight; left the cities and their schools more racially unbalanced than before busing. Policy impact is a ma4or component of an important focus of this text the evaluation of public policy. Policy evaluation focuses principally on the impact of policy because it is largely from the performance and conse)uences of policy that we assess its success or failure. This is the )uestion of impact. ?valuation attempts to assess the outcomes of policies %the effects on society) in order to compare the outcomes with the policies6 intended goals while balancing the actual benefits of a policy with its cost. 2t asks whether the goals have or have not been met with what costs and with what unintended conse)uences. =or example policy evaluation asks whether the welfare reforms legislated in ,77E did in fact reduce poverty increase work or improve the lives of low#income persons. -ith regard to the Fietnam -ar it was not enough to show that we would be better off with a pro#-estern government in South Fietnam. The )uestion was whether that benefit was worth the cost of blood and treasure it would re)uire to achieve it. $ policy can be evaluated only after those benefits and costs are known. 3oreover evaluation leads back to issue formation and policy deliberation in a %nearly) endless loop. ?valuations of policy inevitably produce advocates for change and other advocates for maintaining the policy. The social problems that stimulate policy responses can seldom be completely fixed. :Policy is more like an endless game of 3onopoly than a bicycle repair.;

Philipe Ombugu CUEA LECTURES 2012

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