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Public Policies Class Notes
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- GEL
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- ESADE Law & Business School (ESADE)
Public Policies Class Notes
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Public Policies1. “Setting the Scene”
Polity and Politics
- Definitions
- Polity – the institutional structures characterizing a political system (e.g. rules,
norms)
- Politics – the study of politics concentrates on political (decision-making)
processes (e.g. party political cleavages, voting behavior in legislative bodies)
- Polity and politics play an important role in explaining policy change and policy
differences across countries.
- Certain patterns are seen in certain types of systems (e.g. unitary,
first-past-the-post, strongly judicial) with certain politics (e.g. presence of
extreme right and left parties, coalitions, a tradition of intra-party cooperation)
- Arguments:
1. Countries have distinctive policy styles (more or less stable patterns that
characterize the policy process), which in turn affect the nature and design of
their policies. (Richardson)
2. Different policy areas tend to be characterized by different politics, which can
involve conflicting interactions between political actors. (Lowi)
3. The characteristics of members of parliament (e.g. gender) can matter in how
they vote on policy proposals.
Public policy – a course of action (not individual programs) taken by a government or
legislature about a particular issue
- Two main elements:
1. Actions of public actors (typically governments, although societal actors may
be involved or participate in public decision-making)
2. Governmental actions focused on specific issues (the scope of activities is
restricted to addressing a certain aspect or problem)
- Definitions:
- “What governments do, why they do it, and what the results are” (Hassel,
Wegrich)
- “Who gets what, when, and how?” (Lasswell)
- “Politics is the study of “influence” and the ‘influential’” (Laswell)
- e.g. Why do some governments provide welfare schemes (what) to
single mothers (who) whereas others don’t? Why is the retirement age
different in different countries (when)? Why are welfare benefits
mean-tested in the UK but not in Sweden (how)?
- “Actions of public actors (with others involved) in certain spheres (e.g. road
safety, obesity)” (Knill)
- e.g. Speed limit – a regulation (instrument) to influence the behavior of drivers
- The implementation of the speed limit is the policy output.
, -Outputs of a political system are the decisions, measures, programs,
strategies, and courses of action adopted by governments or
legislative bodies.
- The behavior change (compliance or otherwise) of drivers is the outcome.
- The reduction in accidents is the impact.
- Governments can produce an output (e.g. implementation of the
speed limit), but cannot guarantee an outcome (e.g. fewer accidents).
The outcome depends on population behavior.
- Ways to make sure the policy outcome achieves its impact
- Conduct local-level experiments
- Looking at successful policies in similar countries
Policy is a term used for activities of very different scope
1. Sector-specific measures: Used to cover a whole range of different measures in a
certain sector (e.g. environmental, social, economic, or fiscal policy)
- Grasps more than one legal act or political program that belongs to the whole
range of legal and administrative activities related to a particular distinctive
policy field
2. Subfield-specific measures: A similar approach is used to describe public activities in
policy subfields
- In most instances, one can classify the public activities in a field along certain
subthemes that cover functionally related measures
- e.g. environmental policy sub-sectors can be water policy, clean air
policy, and waste policy
- e.g. social policy sub-sectors can be pension policy, unemployment
policy, and child benefits
3. Specific issues in the subfields: Even with policy subfields, distinctive policy issues or
targets can be identified
- e.g. Clean air policy targets can include industrial discharges of different
pollutants, urban air quality, and car exhaust emissions
- A legal act can address more than one policy target
4. Regulatory instruments connected to the issues
- While policy targets refer to what a legal act regulates, policy instruments
define how those targets are regulated (e.g. quotas, targets, ceilings, or bans
on immigration)
Public policy is omnipresent in our daily lives and underpins our rights. It is important to
study public policy…
- To understand why governments bail out banks, ban tobacco, privatize industries,
reform gun laws, improve health care, prohibit sexual practices, go to war, build new
roads, relax planning legislation, control speech, (de) criminalize drug use, etc.
- To understand how processes play out
- To understand who key actors are (much more than politicians and civil servants) and
whose interests are served
- To understand how behavior can be modified
- To understand how political systems affect policy outputs
- To reflect and define what is socially acceptable
,Policy Issue – A topic or area of discussion, debate, or conflict in politics.
- It highlights a concern that attracts attention and engagement from stakeholders but
doesn’t necessarily imply a clear need for a solution.
- Example – Climate change, healthcare access, or immigration policy can all be policy
issues that prompt debate and differing viewpoints.
Policy Problem – A specific policy issue that has been identified as requiring a solution or
intervention.
- It involves recognizing a gap, inefficiency, or harm that needs to be addressed
through concrete action.
- Example – High levels of air pollution in a city due to vehicle emissions is a policy
problem that demands targeted solutions like emission controls or public transport
improvements.
Nature of Public Policies (Lowi)
1. Distributive (government provides to the public) – e.g. security, transport network,
health system, police, judicial system
- Limited conflict arises
2. Redistributive (one social group provides to another) – e.g. taxes and welfare
payments
- Creates a sentiment of ‘winners and losers’
- More likely to create conflict
3. Regulatory (policies only affect regulated groups/entities based on behavior)
- The costs are ‘compliance’ from the regulated groups (e.g. smokers)
- More likely to create conflict
4. Constituent (the state’s institutions are modified) – e.g. change in rules of parliament,
new agencies
- Largely unperceived by the public
5. Morality – e.g. sex work, drug use, gay rights, assisted dying, gambling, abortion
- Conflict is highly likely.
Aims of Public Policies
- Fines and taxes can be used to change behavior and/or raise tax revenue (e.g. fines
for illegal parking, taxes on tobacco).
- Services may be provided to increase health, employability, living standards, etc.
They may also be provided simply to gain popularity (e.g. ‘Cycle to Work’ in the UK
that made bikes cheaper).
- Challenges – Policies may contradict each other.
- e.g. School expulsion, intended to find a ‘better fit’ for children, can lead to
youth crime.
- e.g. Taxes on junk food, intended to improve individuals’ health, can worsen
poverty.
Policymaking – a series of decisions made by public actors such as governments,
parliaments, and public administrations, which are affected by other public actors as well as
private actors such as interest groups (Knill)
, - Policymakers choose from various policy instruments and tools (e.g. regulations,
incentives, information, provisions, nudges) to influence the behavior of target
groups.
- Nudges are actions that gently push people towards a certain direction. There
is no coercion involved.
- It is a form of ‘libertarian paternalism’ in which one option is less appealing or
accessible (or vice versa, one option is very accessible).
- For example, becoming an organ donor in the US is very easy, so
many people sign up.
- Decisions to maintain the status quo are also a form of policymaking.
- Policymaking happens away from the view of the public and with little
executive/senior civil servant input.
Opportunities and Challenges for Policymaking
1. Budgetary constraints that governments face that affect state organization and
policymaking (e.g. EU response to the 2008 financial crisis, like austerity measures)
2. The ongoing process of economic globalization poses limits on what governments
can do to address policy problems (e.g. climate change)
3. Digitalization (the growing importance of the internet and social media for supplying
information on policy proposals and their effects)
- e.g. There may be a gap between what policymakers think is important and
what the public thinks is important (from the internet)
- e.g. Policymakers can more easily assess the public reaction towards certain
policies
Key Actors in Public Policy
- The superstructure and the engine room [Unit 2]
- Actors tend to be civil servants who manage policy sub-sectors in policy networks
with interest groups.
- Traditionally, policy networks were more ‘club-like.’ Now, there are more interest
groups, media opportunities, and venues to participate in policymaking.
- Venues are arenas in which to make authoritative decisions, such as
government departments, US congressional committees, and the courts.
- Media are forms of mass communication that foster collective attention (such
as TV, radio, print, and online news, and social media such as Facebook and
Twitter).
- Governments have contracted services to non-government (private) actors (e.g.
foundations, NGOs, private companies) in many sectors (e.g. new public
management).
- This leaves the government with less control over policy delivery in certain
areas (e.g. prisons, utilities, social care).
- Street-level bureaucrats handle the face-to-face delivery of public policy (e.g. nurses
for vaccination, police for crime).
- Sometimes these bureaucrats are not motivated. They may feel that they are
doing things that should not be part of their job (e.g. police think they do not
have to search marijuana users bc its not a good use of their time)
- International organizations also have a role in public policy (e.g. EU, WTO).
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