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Public policy ap government
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Public Policy
Public policy is described by Peters (as cited in Shaw & Eichbaum, 2008) as guiding the actions of a government and taking into account the effects of that action or in-action on the lives of people in the community. Dye (as cited in Shaw and Eichbaum, 2008) defines policy as “whatever governments choose to do or not to do”. Shaw and Eichbaum (2008) go on to say that public policy is the most obvious way in which government politics can affect the lives of people. As an example, Shaw and Eichbaum use the interest free loan scheme put into place by the Labour government in 2006.
‘Decision moments’ are often present in public policy. At each ‘decision moment’, the government is faced with a choice to take action or not. The policy of the interest free loan scheme demonstrates three decisions – firstly to review the existing policy, secondly to change the policy and thirdly to introduce the new policy. (Shaw & Eichbaum, 2008).
Public policy can often be complex as it is driven by a number of diverse influences and can end up being a contest of differing ideas and opinion. Some of the influences on public policy as described by Shaw and Eichbaum (2008) are the role a government (and those who make up the government) play in the economy, the values that people from varying backgrounds have and what resources are involved.
Public policy is usually made to achieve a certain aim. This aim can be expressed positively, or negatively. Shaw and Eichbaum (2008) use examples of economic growth as a positive, and reducing child abuse as a negative. Whether a positive aim or negative aim, the end goal is to bring about betterment for the country as a whole.
Majone (1989) has a different view to Shaw and Eichbaum as to the reas...
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...1) describes the importance of the ‘precautionary principle’ in policy analysis where prevention is seen as being better than a cure. This is demonstrated by a number of policies including the Bergen Declaration (ECE), Rio Declaration and “Maastricht Treaty” where measures must be taken to avoid any environmental degradation. When used in policy analysis, the precautionary principle allows for analysts to move away from reactive policies that attempt to undo damage that has already occurred to the environment, towards a more sustainable system of preventing the damage occurring in the first place.
I believe that policy analysis is necessary to solve environmental problems as it gives a better understanding of the issue, implications of the issue, history of the issue, parties involved, the end goal and ways in which goal achievement can be measured.
This book also elaborates on the study of rulemaking by giving examples through cases, studies, loads of government documentation and interviews with policy makers. Following the information and chapters is really easy. The book is illustrated with clear tables, charts, and figures. Each chapter is clearly defined and tables/figures are clearly marked after the table of contents.
John Kingdon's policy stream model revolves around a particular policy or agenda. The policy once supported by a policy community becomes a public policy. At a macro level, the basis of Kingdon’s policy model is the description of what is happening in actual current policy development. This model has three separate streams, which represent a window into the politics of modelling policy at macro stages. The model holds that three separate streams - problem, policy, and political streams which all are interlinked, will come together at a decisive moment and then transform into a workable policy. ...
Public policies are developed in response to the existence of a perceived problem or an opportunity. The analysis delves into a public issue or problem and assesses a set of proposed government action for addressing the issue. The job of the analyst is to describe the background and status of an issue and then, using research and analysis, determine a proper government action to resolve the issue. By comparing options and weighing their expected benefits, the analyst should conclude with a recommended course of action or inaction to addressing the issue.
Public policy is enormously impacted by the importance of economic beliefs about the political world. Throughout history, there have been two prominent models of economic policy; Keynesianism and Neoliberalism. The increase of authoritarianism intermingled with the rise of communism essentially started World War 2. After this, the government instituted Keynesianism until the late 1970’s. After the stagflation of the late 1970’s, the political and economic movement of Neoliberalism began.
Public policy is the course of actions taken by the government that includes laws, plans, actions and the behavior of the government. The most effective way to influence public policy would be to lobby for the interest group that supports the problem that needs to be addressed by society and the government. Interest groups are organizations of people with shared goals to influence specific public policies, such as the National Rifle Association wanting to protect gun rights. The representatives for these particular interest groups are called lobbyists, whom are registered to inform the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate of the issue or laws being addressed, what agencies/branches of the government are being contacted, and the amount of money being spent on these issues. They can also represent private individuals or the general public. The word itself implies that lobbyists are the ones who directly contact the lawmakers of congress or other government officials, while making indirect contact through raising awareness in their communities for action. In order to make change, lobbying would be most effective because they are honest and assist the government with legislations other than their own, they work hard with the community and politicians, and most importantly they are the most knowledgeable and experienced on issues and politics so that the best decisions are able to be made.
Throughout this assignment a variety of terminology will be used, first it is appropriate to define what the term ‘Social Policy’ means. Social policy can be defined in different ways and ‘there is no established or agreed definition of social policy’ (Baldock et, al., 1999:21). From reading different books on social policy, the author’s understanding of social policy is it provides guidelines to deal with social problems . Social problems are matters which direct...
The second major international environmental conference was held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992. It was at Rio that the precautionary principle first became known to the public. Called principle 15, the precautionary principle provided that: “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation” (p.
Policies taken by the respective Governments of each and every country in the world are an important aspect of our life whether we choose it or not. Policies are normally adopted to solve major problems faced by the public. It is the duty of the State to see to it that the problems are solved keeping the majority and at the same time ensuring proper justice is done and ethically on the right side of it. So, it is important that there be a public policy and it matters that they need to cater to the majority and aid them by providing solutions to their problems and ensure a smooth functioning of the state. And as a citizen of the nation, public policy matters to me because it provides me a platform to assess the decisions taken by the state on behalf of the nation and with proper knowledge people like us can aid in the betterment of the society by providing inputs or question the policy if it seems improbable.
Public choice theory analyses the application of economic concepts to the study of how governmental decisions are made and implemented (Edgar Browning & Jacquelene Browning 1994). The study of public choice theory dates back to the early 1400’s. Machiavelli and Hobbes are some of the initial theorist to contribute to and use public choice as an approach to political economy (Hill 1999). Duncan Black was the first to use economic concepts to study voting procedures and the political decision-making process in groups (Hill 1999). Following Black’s writings, public choice schoolwork received widespread attention in 1986, when James Buchanan was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics (Hill 1999). However, research shows that public choice theory has only been methodically studied for the past three decades (Edgar Browning & Jacquelene Browning 1994). In order to compensate for the shortage of information, we will introduce solutions to the issues that have significant influences on the modern political
Public Administration involves the development, implementation and management of policies for the attainment of set goals and objectives that will be to the benefit of the general public. Since Public Administration involves taking decisions that affect the use of public resources there is often the question of how to utilize public resources for maximum public good. The National Association of Public Administration has identified four pillars of public administration: economy, efficiency, effectiveness and social equity. These pillars are equally important in the practice of public administration and to its success. This paper seeks to explain the role of each of the pillars in the practice of public administration.
Theorin, B. (1999, January 14). Report on the environment, security and foreign policy (Hughes procedure) - Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy - A4-0005/1999. European Parliament. Retrieved March 28, 2011, from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A4-1999-0005+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
In Title I of NEPA, our government recognizes the immutable link between mankind's dealings and the impacts on the environment. People have an individual responsibility to the world around them. The Constitution assures us "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." However, "life" is undefined. We, as human beings, have the superiority to nurture and preserve all forms of life. Transitions in population growth (or decline), urban spread, industry expansions and technological advances are critical in determining and modifying the ever-changing needs of the environment. Extensive research and planning with State and local government allows NEPA to anticipate, possibly even predict, an environmental disaster before it occurs. These measures are to insure the most beneficial use of our natural resources, to preserve our Nation's history as well as encourage individuality, to search for improvements in recycling our resources and the discovery of new ones. These goals are sought after in a systematic manner to include the most recent available data that could promote or reject proposals for changes t...
Rabin, J. (2003). Encyclopedia of public administration and public policy: K-Z. United States: CRC press.
...ot function properly. Politics and administration should be seen as very interconnected. It is worth reiterating just as the structure of governments has changed over the years, the structure and role of public administration have also changes dramatically. Furthermore, it is important to state that public administration has grown from its traditional role of merely implementing policies adopted by the “political” branches of government to playing very significant role in the formation of public policies. This is definitely more evident in regards to professional expertise bureaucratic officials provide during problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, and evaluation that shape the content of public policy today. Overall, the idea that Wilson has proposed gives an accurate idea of what the relationship should be between politics and administration.
Public policy can be defined as “What ever governments choose to do or not do” (Dye, 2008, p 2). In the context of this essay, public policies are a set of actors by the government in order to reach out to the masses. The ministries and departments are mandated to deliver specific mandates in the form of public goods and services.