Public Policy

How do we conceptualize Public Policy?

How do we organize data to carefully analyze public issues?

Administrative Items for Class

• Attendance

• TURN IN YOUR POLICY MEMO

• What is "New & Groovy in Public Policy?"

PUBLIC POLICY 

• What is it?

• What are its contexts and models?

• What is specific to policy making in America?

• REMEMBER - Content is continuous, CONTEXTS now!

Definitions:

• What Government does or does not do.

• Actions of government, and intentions determining those actions.

• Choices between goals and alternatives.

• Intentional course of action followed by a government institution or official for resolving some issue of public concern.

• A commitment of resources (laws, regulations, $$, organization, people, goods and services)

CONTEXTS OF PUBLIC POLICY

AN EXERCISE - You are a spider, floating in the air in the middle of your web.

Suddenly, a person runs into the spider web, and pulls you toward them.  

Describe your experience.

Describe the spider's experience...

(Robert Fulghum-All I needed to Learn I learned in Kindergarten)

                    CONTEXTS OF PUBLIC POLICY              (pick news source)

• Institutional - Capitol Hill

• Ideological   - Liberal, Conservative, Libertarian (political parties - careful)

• Economic     -   consumers v. businesses, sector, trends in US/ROW

• Demographic - "Rural America", Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y

• Cultural         - "Suburbia"

• Governing    - Who governs?  When many can, who is "first?"

• Social            -   How is the human condition impact by policies

• Others?         - (Textual), (Personal)

Let's look at some examples

THESE HELP US UNDERSTAND THE MODELS OF PUBLIC POLICY

A Model - an approach to follow or duplicate

WHY UNDERSTAND PUBLIC POLICY?

• Advocacy

• Analysis

• Explain

• Evaluate

• Patterns?! >>>:-)

• Others________________?

MODELS OF PUBLIC POLICY

1. Systems Theory - Easton

2. Institutionalism

3. Process

4. Rationalism - 'The Rational Actor"

5. Incrementalism

6. Group Theory

7. Elite Theory

8. Public Choice Theory

9. Game Theory

10. Others (Normative/Empirical)?

David Easton - 1957

Systems Theory - How public policy is created within a larger set of conditions...a graphical approach of understanding public policy.

CAN YOU DRAW A SYSTEMS THEORY GRAPH OF A PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE...your memo topic?

What contextual information could you put down if the example you put in the middle was "Hurricane Katrina"