Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a
decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to
solve
Solve may refer to:
* Sölve, viking king of Sweden
* SOLVE, an American environmental organization
* Solve (advertising agency)
* "Solve" (song), by Japanese pop band Dream
* HSwMS ''Sölve''
See also
* Equation solving
* Problem solving
* ...
or address relevant and
real-world problems, guided by a conception
and often implemented by programs. Public policy can be considered to be the sum of government direct and indirect activities and has been conceptualized in a variety of ways.
They are created and/or enacted on behalf of the
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
typically by a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. Sometimes they are made by
nonprofit organisation
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s or are made in
co-production with communities or citizens, which can include potential experts, scientists, engineers and stakeholders or scientific data, or sometimes use some of their results. They are typically made by policy-makers affiliated with (in democratic
polities
A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...
) currently
elected politicians. Therefore, the "policy process is a complex political process in which there are many actors: elected politicians, political party leaders, pressure groups, civil servants, publicly employed professionals, judges, non-governmental organizations, international agencies, academic experts, journalists and even sometimes citizens who see themselves as the passive recipients of policy."
A popular way of understanding and engaging in public policy is through a series of stages known as "the policy cycle". The characterization of particular stages can vary, but a basic sequence is: agenda setting – policy formulation –
legitimation
Legitimation or legitimisation is the act of providing legitimacy. Legitimation in the social sciences refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and values within a given society. It ...
– implementation – evaluation. "It divides the policy process into a series of stages, from a notional starting point at which policymakers begin to think about a policy problem to a notional end point at which a policy has been implemented and policymakers think about how successful it has been before deciding what to do next."
Officials considered as policymakers bear responsibility to reflect the interests of a host of different stakeholders.
Policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
design entails conscious and deliberate effort to define policy aims and map them instrumentally. Academics and other experts in
policy studies
Policy studies is a subdisicipline of political science that includes the analysis of the process of policymaking (the policy process) and the contents of policy (policy analysis). Policy analysis includes substantive area research (such as health ...
have developed a range of tools and approaches to help in this task.
Varying conceptions of public policy
Public policy can be conceptualized in varying ways, according to the purposes of the speaker or author, and the characteristics of the situation they are concerned with.
One dividing line in conceptions of public policy is between those that see it primarily in terms of ideas (principles and plans of action) and those that see it as a collection of empirical phenomena (the things that are done, and their outcomes). The first of these conceptualizations is suitable when the matter of concern is relatively simple and unambiguous, and the means of enactment are expected to be highly disciplined. But where the matter is complex and/or contested – where intentions are confused and/or disguised – it may not be possible to define the policy ideas clearly and unambiguously. In this case it may be useful to identify a policy in terms of what actually happens.
David Easton
David Easton (June 24, 1917 – July 19, 2014) was a Canadian-born American political scientist. From 1947 to 1997, he served as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.
At the forefront of both the behavioralist and post- ...
in the USA of the 1950s provided an illustration of the need he found to broaden his conceptualization of public policy beyond stated ideas: "If the formal policy of an educational system forbids discrimination against Negroes but local school boards or administrators so zone school attendance that Negroes are segregated in a few schools, both the impartial law and discriminatory practices must be considered part of the policy." Easton characterized public policy as "a web of decisions and actions that allocates values".
Other definitions of public policy in terms of a broad range of empirical phenomena include that of Paul Cairney: "the sum total of government action from signals of intent to the final outcomes".
An example of conceiving public policy as ideas is a definition by
Richard Titmuss
Richard Morris Titmuss (1907–1973) was a pioneering British social researcher and teacher. He founded the academic discipline of social administration (now largely known in universities as social policy) and held the founding chair in the su ...
: "the principles that govern action directed towards given ends". Titmuss' perspective was particularly one of social contract ethics.
More recently, Antonio Lassance has defined public policy as "an institutionalized proposal to solve a central problem, guided by a conception" (Lassance, 2020: 7).
Lassance's perspective and concerns are grounded in a
theory of change
Theory of Change (ToC) is a methodology or a criteria for planning, participation, adaptive management, and evaluation that is used in companies, philanthropy, not-for-profit, international development, research, and government sectors to promo ...
or program theory which he believes can be empirically tested.
One of the most known and controversial concepts of public policy is that of
Thomas R. Dye
Thomas R. Dye (born December 16, 1935) is an Emeritus Professor of Political science, Political Science at Florida State University and was formerly a McKenzie Professor of Government of the United States, Government. Dye has described politics as ...
, according to whom "public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not to do" (Dye, 1972: 2). Although widely used, Dye's concept is also criticized as being an empty concept.
Dye himself admitted that his concept "discourages elaborate academic discussions of the definition of public policy - we say simply that public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not to do".
In an institutionalist view, the foundation of public policy is composed of national constitutional laws and regulations. Further foundational aspects include both
judicial
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...
interpretations and regulations which are generally authorized by legislation. Public policy is considered strong when it solves problems efficiently and effectively, serves and supports governmental institutions and policies, and encourages active citizenship.
In his book ''Advanced Introduction to Public Policy'', B. Guy Peters defines public policy as "the set of activities that governments engage in for the purpose of changing their economy and society", effectively saying that public policy is legislation brought in with the aim of benefiting or impacting the electorate in some way. In another definition, author B. Dente in his book ''Understanding Policy Decisions'' explains public policy as "a set of actions that affect the solution of a policy problem, i.e. a dissatisfaction regarding a certain need, demand or opportunity for public intervention. Its quality is measured by the capacity to create
public value
Public value describes the value that an organization or activity contributes to society. The term was originally coined by Harvard professor Mark H. Moore who saw it as the equivalent of shareholder value in public management. Public value is supp ...
."
Other scholars define public policy as a system of "courses of action, regulatory measures, laws, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives". Public policy is commonly embodied in "constitutions, legislative acts, and judicial decisions". Transformative constitutions of Global South considers judicial actions for Public policy as paramount, since the political forces that facilitate legislative decisions may run counter to the will of the people.
Public policy focuses on the decisions that create the outputs of a political system, such as transport policies, the management of a public health service, the administration of a system schooling and the organization of a defense force.
The directly measurable policy outputs, "actions oactually taken in pursuance of policy decisions and statements," can be differentiated from the broader policy outcomes, "focus
ngon a policy's societal consequences."
In the United States, this concept refers not only to the result of policies, but more broadly to the decision-making and analysis of governmental decisions. As an academic discipline, public policy is studied by professors and students at
public policy schools
A public policy school is typically a university program that teaches students policy analysis, policy studies, public policy, political economy, urban planning, public administration, international relations, security studies, political science, ...
of major
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
throughout the country. The U.S. professional association of public policy practitioners, researchers, scholars, and students is the
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) is an American organization whose focus is improving public policy and management by fostering excellence in research, analysis, and education. APPAM founded the ''Journal of Policy A ...
.
Much of public policy is concerned with evaluating decision-making in governments and public bureaucracies.
Public policy making and the implementation of public policy
Public policy making can be characterized as a dynamic, complex, and interactive system through which public problems are identified and resolved through the creation of new
policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
or reform of existing policy.
Public problems can originate in endless ways and require different policy responses (such as regulations, subsidies, import quotas, and laws) on the local, national, or international level. The public problems that influence public policy making can be of economic, social, or political nature.
The Government holds a legal monopoly to initiate or threaten physical force to achieve its ends when necessary. For instance, in times of chaos when quick decision making is needed.
Public policy making
Public policy making is a time-consuming '
policy cycle
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
'.
The policy cycle as set out in ''Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Issues''.
Agenda setting
Agenda setting
Agenda setting describes the "ability (of the news media) to influence the importance placed on the topics of the Political agenda, public agenda". The study of agenda-setting describes the way media attempts to influence viewers, and establish a ...
identifies problems that require government attention, deciding which issue deserve the most attention and defining the nature of the problem.
= Social construction of problems
=
Most public problems are made through the reflection of social and ideological values. As societies and communities evolve over time, the nature in which norms, customs and morals are proven acceptable, unacceptable, desirable or undesirable changes as well.
Thus, the search of crucial problems to solve becomes difficult to distinguish within 'top-down' governmental bodies.
= Policy stream
=
The policy stream is a concept developed by John Kingdon as a model proposed to show compelling problems need to be conjoined with two other factors: appropriate political climate and favourable and feasible solutions attached to problems) that flow together to move onto policy agenda. This reinforces the ''policy window'', another concept demonstrating the critical moment within a time and situation that a new policy could be motivated.
= Problem stream
=
Because the definition of public problems are not obvious, they are most often denied and not acted upon. The problem stream represents a policy process to compromise for how worthy problems are to create policies and solutions.
This is represented in five discrete factors:
* ''Indicators'': Scientific measurements, qualitative, statistical data using empirical evidence is used to bring relevance to particular phenomena.
* ''Interpretation'': Policymakers make judgements whether an issue constitutes a problem worthy of action.
* ''Ideology'': Elements of dominant values, customs, beliefs are crucial to devising problems needed for attention.
* ''Instances'': Media coverage supports by drawing attention to issues, thus prompting policymakers to respond and address changes.
Therefore, John Kingdon's model suggests the policy window appears through the emergence and connection of problems, politics and policies, emphasizing an opportunity to stimulate and initiate new policies.
= Issue attention cycle
=
The ''issue attention cycle'' is a concept developed by Anthony Downs (1972) where problems progress through five distinct stages. This reinforces how the policy agenda does not necessarily lead to policy change, as public interest dissipates, most problems end up resolving themselves or get ignored by policymakers.
Its key stages include:
# ''Pre-problem stage'': The problem is not recognized by the public, media or policy makers.
# ''Alarmed discovery and euphoric enthusiasm'': Something is identified as a problem, supported awareness by media to pursue seriousness of problem
# ''Realization of costs which will be incurred by the solutions'': Investigating through cost-benefit analysis, bringing awareness of financial, environmental, structural curbs to consider solutions and what makes for their consequences.
# ''Decline in public interest in issue'': Citizens acquire acceptance of the problem and it becomes normalized. Newer issues attract the attention of the public. Limited attention span encourages policymakers to delay developing policy to see which public troubles demand necessary and worthwhile solving.
# ''Issue slips off, or back down, the policy agenda'': The issue effectively disappears, although it has the possibility to re-emerge in other pressing circumstances.
Policy formulation
This is the setting of the objectives for the policy, along with identifying the cost and effect of solutions that could be proposed from policy instruments.
Legitimation
Legitimation is when approval/ support for the policy instruments is gathered, involving one of or a combination of executive approval, legislative approval, and seeking consent through consultation or referendums.
Implementation
Policy implementation is establishing or employing an organisation to take responsibility for the policy, making sure the organisation has the resources/legal authority to do so, in addition to making sure the policy is carried out as planned. An example of this would be the department of education being set up.
= Enforcement
=
Enforcement mechanisms are a central part of various policies. Enforcement mechanisms co-determine natural resource governance outcomes and
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
-related policies may require proper enforcement mechanisms (and often substitutes) to have a positive effect. Enforcement may include
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
or combine incentive and disincentive-based policy instruments. A
meta-analysis
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...
of
policy studies
Policy studies is a subdisicipline of political science that includes the analysis of the process of policymaking (the policy process) and the contents of policy (policy analysis). Policy analysis includes substantive area research (such as health ...
across multiple policy domains suggests enforcement mechanisms are the "only modifiable treaty design choice" with the potential to improve the mostly low
effectiveness
Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression.
Etymology
The ori ...
of
international treaties
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
.
Implementation gap
As stated by Paul Cairney, the implementation gap are the stages a policy must go through before an authoritative decision is made and carried out. As an example, the agenda setting stage is followed by the policy formulation, this will continue until the policy is implemented.
Top-down and bottom-up implementation
"Top-down" and "bottom-up" describe the process of policy implementation. Top-down implementation means the carrying out of a policy at the top i.e. central government or legislature. The bottom-up approach suggests that the implementation should start with the target group, as they are seen as the actual implementers of policy.
Evaluation
Evaluation is the process of assessing the extent to which the policy has been successful, or if this was the right policy to begin with/ was it implemented correctly and if so, did it go as expected.
Policy maintenance
Maintenance is when the policy makers decide to either terminate or continue the policy. The policy is usually either continued as is, modified, or discontinued.
Composition
This cycle will unless discontinued go back to the agenda-setting phase and the cycle will commence again. However, the policy cycle is illustrated in a chronological and cyclical structure which could be misleading as in actuality, policymaking would include overlapping stages between the multiple interactions of policy proposals, adjustments, decision-making amongst multiple government institutions and respective authoritative actors. Likewise, although its heuristic model is straightforward and easy to understand, it is crucial to note that the cycle is not totally applicable in all situations of policymaking.
Responsibility of policymakers
Each system is influenced by different public problems and issues, and has different stakeholders; as such, each requires different public policy.
In public policy making, numerous individuals, corporations, non-profit organizations and interest groups compete and collaborate to influence policymakers to act in a particular way.
[Kilpatrick] Therefore, "the failure
f public policiesis possibly not only the politician's fault because he/she is never the lone player in the field of decision making. There is a multitude of actors pursuing their goals, sometimes complementary, often competing or contradictory ones." In this sense, public policies can be the result of actors involved, such as interest organisations, and not necessarily the will of the public.
The large set of actors in the public policy process, such as politicians, civil servants, lobbyists, domain experts, and industry or sector representatives, use a variety of tactics and tools to advance their aims, including advocating their positions publicly, attempting to educate supporters and opponents, and mobilizing allies on a particular issue.
The use of effective tools and instruments determines the outcome of a policy.
Many actors can be important in the public policy process, but government officials ultimately choose public policy in response to the public issue or problem at hand. In doing so, government officials are expected to meet public sector ethics and take the needs of all project stakeholders into account.
It is however worth noting that what public policy is put forward can be influenced by the political stance of the party in power. Following the 2008/2009 financial crisis, David Cameron's Conservative party looked to implement a policy of austerity in 2010 after winning the general election that year, to shore up the economy and diminish the UK's national debt. Whilst the Conservatives saw reducing the national debt as an absolute priority, the Labour Party, since the effects of Conservative austerity became apparent, have slated the policy for its 'needless' pressure on the working classes and those reliant on welfare, their 2019 election manifesto stating "Tory cuts
ave
''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
pushed our public services to breaking point" and that "the Conservatives have starved our education system of funding". This is a good example of how varying political beliefs can impact what is perceived as paramount for the electorate.
Since societies have changed in the past decades, the public policy making system changed too. In the 2010s, public policy making is increasingly goal-oriented, aiming for measurable results and goals, and decision-centric, focusing on decisions that must be taken immediately.
Furthermore, mass communications and technological changes such as the widespread availability of the Internet have caused the public policy system to become more complex and interconnected.
The changes pose new challenges to the current public policy systems and pressures leaders to evolve to remain effective and efficient.
Public policies come from all governmental entities and at all levels: legislatures, courts, bureaucratic agencies, and executive offices at national, local and state levels. On the federal level, public policies are laws enacted by Congress, executive orders issued by the president, decisions handed down by the US Supreme Court, and regulations issued by bureaucratic agencies.
On the local, public policies include city ordinances, fire codes, and traffic regulations. They also take the form of written rules and regulations of city governmental departments: the police, fire departments, street repair, or building inspection. On the state level, public policies involve laws enacted by the state legislatures, decisions made by state courts, rules developed by state bureaucratic agencies, and decisions made by governors.
Policy design
Policy design entails conscious and deliberate effort to define policy aims and map them instrumentally.
Policy design proposes critical analysis of policy instruments and their implementation. Uncertainties policy designers face include (in brief):
* Technical difficulties: mechanism, design, constituency, environment of public policies
* Cost issues: resources, materials, products, etc.
* Political problems: selection process of solutions and decision making. Policies require tedious and rigorous research on advise for its feasibility, legitimacy and choice.
* Compliance: Understanding the target market and discovering data for those dependent, disadvantaged or deviant on policy change.
* Effectiveness: There is a possibility of spillovers, complementariness and inconsistencies.
Nevertheless, policy design is elemental for the succession of public policy, with it comes intricate and multi-level approaches but it is necessary for good, careful policy design to be considered before implementing the policy.
Data-driven policy
Data-driven policy is a policy designed by a government based on existing data, evidence, rational analysis and use of information technology to crystallize problems and highlight effective solutions. Data-driven policy making aims to make use of data and collaborate with citizens to co-create policy. Policy makers can now make use of new data sources and technological developments like
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
to gain new insights and make policy decisions which contribute to societal development.
In the 2020s, policymakers will use data for policies and public service design, while responding to citizen engagement demands.The
Anticipatory Governance Anticipatory profiling, is the practice used by the state to collect information and data about its citizens in order to assess events or behaviours in a predictable manner based on the knowledge gathered. Anticipatory governance is also a method of ...
model is particularly important when considering the sheer amount of data available. In terms of using new technology to collect, analyze, and disseminate data, governments are only just beginning to utilize data science for policy implementation. With new technologies implemented in government administration, a more complete visualization of current problems will emerge, allowing for more precision in targeted policy-making. Data science involves the transformation, analysis, visualization, and presentation of data, and potentially improve the quality of life and society by providing a more informational environment for public debate and political decision-making. Some examples of utilizing data science in public policy making are resource optimization, improving current public services, and fraud and error mitigation.
Data sets rarely merge between government agencies or within agencies or countries' governments. This is beginning to change with the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
spreading globally in early 2020. Forecasting and creating data models to prevent the propagation of the virus has become a vital approach for policy makers in governments around the world.
User-centered policy design
User-centered policies are policies that are designed and implemented with the end-users, or those who are impacted by the policy, as co-designers.
Policymakers using this design process utilize users' knowledge of their lived experiences.
This can allow for policymakers focus on including both comprehensiveness and comprehension within policies to aid in clarity for end-users, such as workers or organizations.
Small system dynamics model
The small system dynamics model is a method of condensing and simplifying the understanding of complex issues related to overall productivity.
Evidence-based policy
Evidence-based policy
Evidence-based policy is an idea in public policy proposing that policy decisions should be based on, or informed by, rigorously established objective evidence. The implied contrast is with policymaking based on ideology, 'common sense,' anecd ...
is associated with
Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.
Smith grew up in London ...
because in his 1996 presidential address to the
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good.
...
, Smith questioned the current process of policy making and urged for a more "evidence-based approach" commenting that it has "valuable lessons to offer".
Some policy scholars now avoid using the term ''evidence-based'' policy, using others such as ''evidence informed''. This language shift allows continued thinking about the underlying desire to ''improve'' evidence use in terms of its rigor or quality, while avoiding some of the key limitations or reductionist ideas at times seen with the evidence-based language. Still, the language of evidence-based policy is widely used and, as such, can be interpreted to reflect a desire for evidence to be used well or appropriately in one way or another – such as by ensuring systematic consideration of rigorous and high quality policy relevant evidence, or by avoiding biased and erroneous applications of evidence for political ends.
In the U.S.
Unlike the UK, the U.S. has a largely devolved government, with power at local, state and federal level. Due to these various levels of governance, it can often be difficult to coordinate passing bills and legislation, and there is often disagreement. Despite this, the system allows citizens to be relatively involved in inputting legislation. Furthermore, each level of government is set up in a similar way with similar rules, and all pump money into creating what is hoped to be effective legislation. Policy creation in America is often seen as unique to other countries.
Artificial intelligence and public policy
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
(AI) has been used in recent years by public administrators to deliver services and for the general improvement of government operations. In the realm of policy making in the public sector, AI will also be used to optimize outcome forecasting, pattern perception, and most importantly for the development of
evidence-based programs to generate sound policy.
Using
AI in government will continue to be used as an
e-governance
Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information technology for delivering government services, exchange of information, communication transactions, integration of various stand-alone systems between government to citiz ...
tool through virtual assistance on government websites and the automation of public online services. This will free public employees of answering frequently asked questions about government services or querying databases for information.
A drawback of using AI in public policy making and implementation is the concept of "
algorithmic bias
Algorithmic bias describes systematic and repeatable errors in a computer system that create "unfair" outcomes, such as "privileging" one category over another in ways different from the intended function of the algorithm.
Bias can emerge from ...
". Algorithmic bias can cause the government use of AI to have errors in decision making and create distrust in government entities.
Academic discipline
As an academic discipline, public policy brings in elements of many
social science
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...
fields and concepts, including
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
,
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
,
political economy
Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...
,
social policy
Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society.
Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...
,
program evaluation
Program evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency. In both the public and private sectors, ...
,
policy analysis
Policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected ...
, and
public management
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
, all as applied to problems of governmental administration, management, and operations. At the same time, the study of public policy is distinct from political science or economics, in its focus on the application of theory to practice. While the majority of
public policy degrees Public policy degrees, public administration degrees and public affairs degrees are Postgraduate education, graduate master degree, master's and PhD level professional degrees or Undergraduate education, undergraduate bachelor's degree level Academi ...
are
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. and
doctoral
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
degrees, there are several universities that offer undergraduate education in public policy. Notable institutions include:
![Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Blavatnik_School_of_Government%2C_Oxford.JPG)
*
Balsillie School of International Affairs
The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) is a centre for advanced research and teaching on global governance and international public policy, located in Waterloo, Ontario. As one of the largest social sciences initiatives in Canada, t ...
*
Blavatnik School of Government
The Blavatnik School of Government is a school of public policy founded in 2010 at the University of Oxford in England. The School was founded following a £75 million donation from a business magnate Leonard Blavatnik, supported by £26 million ...
*
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) is an autonomous postgraduate school of the National University of Singapore (NUS), named after the late former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew.
History
The Lee Kuan Yew School of ...
, NUS
*
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
*
Hertie School
The Hertie School (until 2019 Hertie School of Governance) is a German private, independent graduate school for governance (public policy, international affairs and data science) located in Berlin's Friedrichstraße. Hertie School is according t ...
, Berlin
*
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, or the Geneva Graduate Institute (french: Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement), abbreviated IHEID, is a government-accredited postgraduate institution ...
, Geneva
*
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
, Harvard
*
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
*
Sciences Po
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, a ...
, Paris
*
National Defence University, Pakistan
, native_name_lang = ur
, image = National Defence University, Pakistan Logo.png
, image_upright =
, image_alt =
, caption = Seal of the NDU
, former_name = National Defence College
, motto ...
Traditionally, the academic field of public policy focused on
domestic policy
Domestic policy is a type of public policy overseeing administrative decisions that are directly related to all issues and activity within a state's borders. It differs from foreign policy, which refers to the ways a government advances its intere ...
. However, the wave of
economic globalization
Economic globalization is one of the three main dimensions of globalization commonly found in academic literature, with the two others being political globalization and cultural globalization, as well as the general term of globalization.
Econom ...
that occurred in the late 20th and early 21st centuries created a need for a subset of public policy that focused on
global governance
Global governance refers to institutions that coordinate the behavior of transnational actors, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. Global governance broadly entails making, monitoring, and enfor ...
, especially as it relates to issues that transcend
national borders
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...
such as
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
,
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
,
nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...
, and
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
. Consequently, many traditional public policy schools had to adjust their curricula to better suit this new policy landscape, as well as develop entirely new curricula altogether.
Controversies
The
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
and
Chicago school of economics
The Chicago school of economics is a neoclassical school of economic thought associated with the work of the faculty at the University of Chicago, some of whom have constructed and popularized its principles. Milton Friedman and George Stigle ...
criticise public policymakers for not "understanding basic economics". In particular, a member of the Chicago school of economics,
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell (; born June 30, 1930) is an American author, economist, political commentator and academic who is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he becam ...
writes "Under popularly elected government, the political incentives are to do what is popular, even if the consequences are worse than the consequences of doing nothing, or doing something that is less popular". Therefore, since "Economics studies the consequences of decisions that are made about the use of land, labour, capital and other resources that go into producing the volume of output which determines a country's
standard of living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
"; this means that artificially tampering with the allocation of scarce resources such as implementing certain public policies such as price controls will cause inefficiency in the economy and decline in the standard of living within society.
One of the biggest controversies of public policy is that policy making is often influenced by lobbyists such as big corporations in order to sway policies in their favour. The
National Rifle Association of America
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...
(NRA) is an organisation that lobbies United States lawmakers to oppose stricter gun laws.
See also
*
Advocacy
Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...
*
Advocacy evaluation
Advocacy evaluation, also called public policy advocacy design, monitoring, and evaluation, evaluates the progress or outcomes of advocacy, such as changes in public policy.
Advocacy evaluators seek to understand the extent to which advocacy eff ...
*
Eightfold path (policy analysis)
*
Harold Lasswell
Harold Dwight Lasswell (February 13, 1902December 18, 1978) was an American political scientist and communications theorist. He earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics and was a PhD student at the University of Chicago. He was ...
*
List of public policy topics by country This is a list of articles on public policy topics, arranged by country.
Australia
*Energy policy of Australia
* Australian immigration policies
*Visa policy of Australia
Bolivia
* Domestic policy of Evo Morales
* Foreign policy of Evo Morales
...
*
List of public administration schools
This is an incomplete list of public administration and public policy schools, colleges and faculties; divided by country.
International
*European Institute of Public Administration
*Monterey Institute of International Studies at Middlebury Colle ...
*
Mandate (politics)
In representative democracies, a mandate (or seat) is the authority granted by a constituency to act as its representative.
Elections, especially ones with a large margin of victory, are often said to give the newly elected government or electe ...
*
Overton window
The Overton window is the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It is also known as the window of discourse.
Background
The term is named after American policy analyst Joseph Overton, who stat ...
*
Policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
*
Public comment
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
*
Public criminology
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
*
Public policy school
A public policy school is typically a university program that teaches students policy analysis, policy studies, public policy, political economy, urban planning, public administration, international relations, security studies, political science, ...
References
Further reading
* Bueno de Mesquita, Ethan. 2017.
Political Economy for Public Policy'. Princeton University Press.
*Gilbert, Brett Anitra;
David B. Audretsch, McDougall, Patricia P. (2004), The Emergence of Entrepreneurship Policy, Small Business Economics 22
* Cohen, Nissim (2012)
Policy entrepreneurs and the design of public policy: Conceptual framework and the case of the National Health Insurance Law in Israel Journal of Social Research & Policy, 3 (1): 5–26.
*
David B. Audretsch; Grilo, Isabel; Thurik, A. Roy (2007), Explaining entrepreneurship and the role of policy: a framework, in: David Audretsch, Isabel Grilo and A. Roy Thurik (eds.), Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship Policy, Edward Elgar Publishing
*
David B. Audretsch and Beckmann, Iris A.M. (2007), From Small Business to Entrepreneurship Policy, in: David Audretsch, Isabel Grilo and A. Roy Thurik (eds.), Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship Policy, Edward Elgar Publishing
*
Considine, Mark (2005). ''Making Public Policy''. Polity Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Public Policy
Political science
Public economics
Public administration
Social policy