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Policy is course of action:- a program of actions adopted by a person, group, or government, or the set of principles on which they are based.

What Is Social Policy Analysis?

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Social policy analysis studies policy approaches to social issues such as homelessness Flag this photo Social policy analysis uses the tools and methods of public policy analysis to assess policy options for reducing poverty, improving education and providing health care. These and other social programs are often expensive and politically contentious.

1. Types
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Types of social policies studied by policy analysts include health, education and welfare policies. Examples of programs include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment compensation, school lunch programs and Food Stamps.

Significance
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Social programs such as Social Security and Medicare, among others, account for more than half of federal spending in the United States, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Function

Social policy analysis helps policy makers identify, from a set of options, actions that appear most likely to satisfy social needs such as education and income security, or reduce social problems such as poverty.

Features
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Social policy analysis, like other policy studies, draws from the knowledge bases and research methods of a range of disciplines, including sociology, political science, education, public health and economics.

Considerations
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Social policy analyses often reflect the political preferences and biases of the individuals or organizations conducting the analyses. Liberals support social programs as a "safety net" for the less fortunate, while conservatives contend that most social programs foster dependency.

References

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go?

Resources

Urban Institute: economic and social policy analysis Photo Credit "homeless - please help" sign image by Christopher Martin from Fotolia.com

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Social Work Policy Analysis Social workers help children, families, the elderly and others cope with challenges in their daily lives. From unemployment and substandard housing to chronic illness ...

What Is Policy Analysis?

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Related Searches: Policy analysis plays an important role in government decisions. Flag this photo Policy analysis involves the systematic comparison and analysis of a set of policy alternatives to determine which option is most lkely to achieve a set of objectives - whether political, economic, social, or otherwise. Government officials and agencies frequently use policy analysis techniques.

1. Function
o

Policy analysis helps determine the optimal policy action, given existing political and economic constraints.

Features
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Policy analysis employs many of the research methods used in the social sciences, including economics, sociology and political science, to compare and analyze policy options.

Significance
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Despite its strong association with the public sector, policy analysis occurs in the private and nonprofit sectors as well. Businesses and nonprofit agencies can use the same techniques to assess policy options.

Benefits
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Policy analysts often weigh the costs of different policy options against the expected benefits. However, the benefits can be difficult to measure in monetary terms.

Considerations

Public policy analysis occurs in a political environment and must consider the political consequences of different policy actions, such as interests likely to support or oppose certain policies.

References

Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction, William Dunn, 1994 Public Policy Making, James E. Anderson, 1994 Photo Credit us capitol image by Ritu Jethani from Fotolia.com

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abuayubansari Sep 20, 2011 nice~

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What Is Social Policy Analysis? Social policy analysis uses the tools and methods of public policy analysis to assess policy options for reducing poverty, improving education and providing health ...

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What Is Public Policy Analysis Projection?

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Policy projection observes trends to predict outcomes.

Flag this photo Public policy analysis investigates the causes, consequences and performance of public policies and programs. Analysts use techniques from the social sciences, especially economics and political science, to better inform policy decisions by officials in the legislative and executive branches of government. Often, policy analysts must predict the possible outcomes of proposed policies or the results of existing ones. To do this, they produce a type of analysis known as a forecast or policy projection.

1. Identification
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In public policy analysis, projection involves making judgments about the outcomes of an existing or proposed policy, based on extrapolation from current and historical data. A good example would be the Congressional Budget Office's estimates of the U.S. government's budget deficits, which provide a baseline for members of Congress to use when debating and approving the federal budget. CBO researchers analyze past and current budget and economic data to project the size of deficits, and their economic forecasts are generally as accurate as those produced by the Blue Chip consensus of top private sector economic forecasting firms.

Types
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Policy analysis projection is not limited to the economy and government budget information, however. Analysts in government, academia, interest groups and private research organizations conduct projections to estimate the possible outcomes of policy alternatives affecting education, health care, transportation, energy, the environment, national security and other areas.

Function
o

Policy analysis projections provide government policy makers in the legislative and executive branches of government with forecasts that can inform and guide their decision making. Like all forms of policy analysis, projections attempt to provide information about possible consequences of new policies or changes to existing ones. For example, projections that the federal budget deficit will increase dramatically over the next five years may trigger members of Congress to propose large cuts in government spending and/or increases in taxes to reduce the fiscal imbalance. Projected increases in U.S. oil imports may lead elected officials to push policies for expanded domestic oil exploration or greater use of alternative energy sources.

Features

Methods of public policy projection vary with the type of policy or problem being analyzed. Some projections use economic forecasting methods, such as timeseries analysis, while others rely on simpler extrapolative methods, such as comparing past policies to identify strengths and weaknesses, which can help policy makers avoid past mistakes or other pitfalls. Some analysts bolster their projections with opinions from recognized experts or insights from economic and political theories.

Benefits
o

Whether by analyzing current and historical data to predict future consequences or comparing past policies and their outcomes, projections provide policy makers with information that helps them take proactive action to address important public issues. However, it is important to remember that policy making occurs in a politically charged environment, and that officials concerned with re-election may respond more to various political pressures than to policy analysis results.

Considerations
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Although policy analysts rely on a wide range of tools and methods to produce projections, including sophisticated statistical models, a wide variety of unforeseen social, economic, cultural and political changes can affect the reliability of projections and other policy forecasts. The dynamic nature of the global economy contributes to the difficulty of projection. Unexpected events such as the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., the rapid growth of the Internet and the global economic crisis of 2008 illustrate the difficulties involved in projecting the directions and consequences of public policies. Unforeseen changes and unexpected events can render even the most rigorous projection unreliable as a guide in shaping government policy.

References

Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction (2nd ed.), William N. Dunn, 1994 The World of the Policy Analyst: Rationality, Values and Politics; Robert A. Heineman, William T. Bluhm, Steven A. Peterson and Edward N. Kearny, 1990 Congressional Budget Office: FAQs

Resources

Six Steps for a Successful Policy Analysis Photo Credit stock market analysis screenshot image by .shock from Fotolia.com

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