Public Policy

PUBLIC POLICY
PSUGRADUATE SCHOOL URDANETACITY
FDM 201
ABIGAIL PUGAL-SOMERA

Nature of Public Policy
and Process
Some Public Policy Definitions
TraditionalViews

SOME PUBLIC POLICY DEFINITIONS
 SOME DEFINITIONS:
 In any society, governmental entities enact laws,
make policies, and allocate resources.This is true
at all levels. Public policy can be generally defined
as a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses
of action, and funding priorities concerning a given
topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its
representatives.

SOME PUBLIC POLICY DEFINITIONS
 Public policy is an attempt by a government to
address a public issue by instituting laws,
regulations, decisions, or actions pertinent to the
problem at hand. Numerous issues can be
addressed by public policy including crime,
education, foreign policy, health, and social
welfare.The process to create a new public policy
typically follows three steps: agenda-setting,
option-formulation, and implementation; the
time-line for a new policy to be put in place can
range from weeks to several years, depending on
the situation.

Nature and Scope of Public Policy
 “The authoritative allocation of values for a society.”
 “The process of deciding who gets what, when,
where and how.”
 “What the government chooses to do or not to do
about a specific problem.”
 Establish the boundaries of our freedoms & color the
contours of our interactions with other people in our
political, social & economic systems

TRADITIONALVIEWS
 WoodrowWilson, who is arguably the father of modern public
administration, contends, “public policy is the laws and regulations
which are made by legislative statesmen and implemented by
public administration personnel” (as cited inWu Qiyuan, 1985, p. 4).
 This definition is obviously characterized by “the dichotomy between
politics and administration,” which narrows the scope and limits the
range of public policy makers.
 First, public policy includes not only laws and regulations, but also
government’s plans, instructions, decisions, and other symbolic systems.
 Secondly, those who participate in the making of public policy include
not only statesmen, but also representatives of citizens, experts, and
scholars. Especially in the modern era of the “administrative state”
(Waldo, 1984), with the sharp expansion of governmental function and
the wide application of administrative judicial rights, executive
authorities’ participation in making public policy has increased steadily

TRADITIONALVIEWS
 Harold Lasswell andAbraham Kaplan (1970) define public policy
as “a projected program of goals, values, and practices”.The
aforementioned definition confuses public policy with
programs, making the latter seem overly extensive. A program
can be public policy, but not all public policies are programs.As
has been pointed out, public policy also includes instructions,
decisions, laws, regulations, and other symbolic systems that
government sends out.

TRADITIONALVIEWS
 Thomas R. Dye (1987) thinks, “Public policy is whatever
governments choose to do or not to do”.
 Dye focuses not only on government action, but also
on government inaction, and therefore, his definition
shows the obvious character of behavioralism. It
reflects the practical discipline quality of public policy
analysis.
 “Action” means that government takes measures or
uses symbols openly in order to solve some public
problem. “Inaction” means that government does not
take measures or express active symbols, abiding by
the principle of noninterference. Both are important
solutions to public problems.

TRADITIONALVIEWS
 Robert Eyestone (1971) defines public policy most
extensively. He states, “In a broad sense, public
policy is the relationship between governmental
organs and their environment”.
 It is evident that Eyestone is influenced by the
science of ecological administration.
 Indeed, public policy is the function of a
governmental system and its living environment,
namely P = F (G, E) (here, P refers to public policy,
G refers to governmental system, and E refers to
the living environment).

The Philippine Public
Policy:
Past, Present and Future

Public Policy as a Study – A Brief History
 The post-war years saw the emergence of public
policy as a subfield of public administration.
 In the US, interest in policy studies started in 1950s.
In the Philippines, however, it started not to long
ago, in 1970s in the then Institute of Public
Administration in the University of the Philippines.
 Generally, policy studies can focus on the content of
public policy, its processes, models, theories and
approaches of public policy its impact as well as
evaluation of public programs and projects.

Public Policy as a Study – A Brief History
Dye (1995) said that certain theoretical approaches
and models have been introduced in studying public
policy which include
 institutional,
 process,
 group,
 elite,
 rational,
 incremental,
 game theory,
 public choice and
 systems model.

Approaches to Public Policy
 Analycentric
 focuses on individual problems and their solutions; its
scope is the micro-scale and its problem
interpretation is usually of a technical nature
 Policy Process
 puts its focal point onto political processes and
involved stakeholders; its scope is the meso-scale and
its problem interpretation is usually of a political
nature
 Meta-policy Approach
 systems and context approach; i.e., its scope is the
macro-scale and its problem interpretation is usually
of a structural nature

Public Policy in the Philippines
There are several institutional built-in systems of policy-
making in the Philippines, some of these are:
 National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) – for
socio-economic policies
 National Security Council (NSC) – for security and defense
 Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC)
– general legislative agendas
 Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) – local level
agencies for concerns affecting basic services
The last three agencies mentioned do perform certain
stages of the public policy process, none of them have a more
defined and extensive mandate and a more permanent structure
than NEDA.

NEDA
 The highest policy making body responsible for all
aspects of the development program
 NEDA Board is headed by the President with
selected Cabinet secretaries and other executive
staff officers and members.
 NEDA Secretariat is the research arm of the NEDA
board.
 NEDA Director-General heads the Secretariat, and is
also the Social-Economic Planning Secretary (per
EO#230)

Policy Stream
Policy Formulation
Legitimation
Implementation
Evaluation
Agenda

Policy Stream
Agenda
• Actual performance during the preceding year
• New developments and emerging issues in the local and international economies
• Shifts in the policy emphasis of the administration
Policy Formulation
• Econometric Models
• Input-OutputAnalysis
• Accounting Frameworks
• Project Evaluation and Prioritization
Legitimation
• Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP)
• State-of-the-NationAddress (SONA)
Implementation
Forge a consensus at the pre-implementation phase since it is the
different departments who are actually tasked to implement the various
programs stipulated in the MTPDP and other policy declarations
Evaluation
Feedback and monitoring mechanisms through its attached agencies

Stakeholders in Philippine Public Policy
Philippine
Government
Executive
Branch
Political
Parties
Legislative
Branch
Citizens
Judicial
Branch
Media
Local
Governments
Interest
Groups
Political
Consultants

Problems and Criticisms
 New Influence Players
 Catholic Church – with two EDSAs’ to their credit
 Mass Media – compelling instrument to
manipulate and /or direct public opinion
 Civil Society – takes it upon themselves to rise up
and partake of the largesse of power

PolicyAnalysis
Description
Approaches
Forms
Methodology

“A problem well
formulated is a problem
half solved.”

We want to learn how to
look at problems from
multiple perspectives to
achieve the best problem
definition and possible /
feasible solutions

Not all Public Problems are amenable to
policy analysis, but when they are, the
analysis can support decision making to:
 Determine whether a new policy is required to address the
problem
 If a policy already exists, determine whether it needs to be
modified or terminated
 Analyze one policy (retrospectively or prospectively)
 Compare two or more policies that address a similar problem
 Assess future implications of current or new policies
 Explore stages in the development of particular policies

Challenges of Public Policy problems
 May show up in ways that are difficult to address
 “Inherently multidimensional”, overlap & contradict
 Are ill defined, so “wicked problems”
 The consensus over social goals may be illusory
 Decision-makers have different preferences and
values, often conflicting
 The definition of a policy problem is not completely
scientific or systematic: creativity, sagacity, socially
constructed

ThreeApproaches to Policy Analysis
Approach Primary Question Type of Information
Empirical Does it and will it exist? (facts)
Descriptive and
predictive
Valuative Of what worth is it? (values) Valuative
Normative
(value-critical)
What should be done? (action) Prescriptive

Five types of Policy relevant information:
interrelated and interdependent
S. No. Types Importance
1
Policy Problems Conceptualizing problem from different angles-
viable solutions
2
Policy Futures Identifying consequences of future course of
action
3
PolicyActions Forecasting & evaluating consequences of action
based on different alternatives
4
PolicyOutcomes Ensuring an observed consequences of policy
actions
5
Policy
Performance
Finding the degree of value contributed by policy
outcome (useful in forecasting policy future)

Five Info is obtained by the means of -
PolicyAnalysis Process of Inquiry
S. No. Procedure Information
1 Definition (Problem
Structuring)
Conditions giving rise to a policy problem
2
Prediction
(Forecasting)
Future consequences of acting on policy
alternatives, including doing nothing
3
Prescription
(Recommendation)
Future course of action
4
Description
(Monitoring)
Present and Past causes and consequences
of acting on policy alternatives
5 Evaluation
Value or worth of consequences in solving
the problem

Three Elements of Policy System
Policy
Stakeholders
Policy
Environment
Public Policy
Crime
Inflation
Unemployment
Discrimination
Urban Squalor
PolicyAnalysts
Citizens’Groups
Labor Unions
Parties
Agencies
Law Enforcement
Economic
Welfare
Personnel
Urban
Source: Adapted fromThomas R. Dye, Understanding Public Policy 3rd ed.

Dunn’s Integrated Framework:
Problem Centered Policy Analysis
Adapted from Public PolicyAnalysis:An Introduction byWilliam N. Dunn

Forms of PolicyAnalysis
 Prospective Policy Analysis
 Retrospective Policy Analysis
 Integrated Policy Analysis

Prospective Policy Analysis
 The production and transformation of information
before policy actions are initiated and implemented.
 Tends to Characterize the operating styles of
economists, systems analysts, and operations
researchers.
 Synthesizes information to draw policy alternatives
and preferences.

Criticism on Prospective Analysis
Often creates large gap
Preferred
Solutions to
Problems
Efforts of
Govt. to
resolve the
problem
Gaps

Retrospective Policy Analysis
 Confined to the production and transformation of
information after policy actions have been taken.
 Operating styles of three major groups of analysts:
1. Discipline oriented analysts
2. Problem oriented analysts
3. Application oriented analysts

Retrospective Policy Analysis
Discipline Oriented
Analysis
Problem Oriented Analysis
Application Oriented
Analysis
Political Scientists &
Sociologists – seeks to
develop and test discipline
based theories.
Political Scientists &
Sociologists - seeks to
describe the causes and
consequences of policies.
Also persons from social
work, public administration
& evaluation research.
Seeks to describe causes
Describe the causes and
consequences of the
policies.
Less concerned with the
development and testing of
theories. Discipline Oriented
Analysis
What affected the policies
Not concerned with dev.
And testing of discipline
based theories.
Seldom attempts to
identity specific goals and
objectives of policymakers
(does not distinguish
“policy variables”).
Seldom provides info about
specific goals and objectives
of policymakers. Coz the
problem they analyze are
usually of general nature.
They are concerned with
the identification of goals
and objectives of policy
makers and other
stakeholders. Good info for
evaluating policy outcome.

Integrated Policy Analysis
Prospective Policy
Analysis
Suffers from inadequate &
unreliable info. About changes in
values , goals and objectives
which occur after policies have
been implemented.
Integrated Policy
Analysis
Builds on the strengths of
both Prospective &
Retrospective Analysis –
multidisciplinary in full sense
of the world
Multidisciplinary framework,
concerns with the production &
transformation of information both
before and after policy actions have
been taken.
Provides methodology for policy
analysis (rules & procedures)
Retrospective Policy
Analysis
Suffers from its nature i.e.
confined with passive reporting of
information about the
consequences of implemented
policies

Integrated Policy Analysis Framework

Methodology of Policy Analysis
 Descriptive DecisionTheory: set of logically consistent
propositions that describe action. Primary aim is to understand
a policy problem rather than to solve it.
 Normative DecisionTheory: set of logically consistent
propositions that provide a basis for improving the
consequences of action.Appropriate for predicting and
recommending different courses of action before they have
occurred. Aim is to solve the problem - “Problem Solving”
methodology.

Institutional Model
 Public policy is determined by political institutions, which give
policy legitimacy.
 Government universally applies policy to all citizens of society
and monopolizes the use of force in applying policy.
 The legislature, executive and judicial branches of government
are examples of institutions that give policy legitimacy.

Process Model
Identification of a problem and demand for
government action
Formulation of policy proposals by various
parties
Policy Legitimation - Selection and
enactment of policy
Implementation of the chosen policy
Evaluation of policy

Group Model
 The political system's role is to establish and enforce
compromise between various, conflicting interests in
society.

Elite Model
 Public policies are viewed as preferences and values
of governing elite
 Policies flow down-ward from elites to masses; they
do not arise from mass demands

Rational Model
 process for making logically sound decisions in policy
making in the public sector, although the model is
also widely used in private corporations.
 HerbertA. Simon, the father of rational models,
describes rationality as “a style of behavior that is
appropriate to the achievement of given goals,
within the limits imposed by given conditions and
constraints”

Rational Model
1
• Defining the problem by analyzing the data and the information
gathered
2
• Identifying the decision criteria that will be important in solving the problem.The decision
maker must determine the relevant factors to take into account when making the decision
3
• A brief list of the possible alternatives must be generated; these could succeed to resolve
the problem
4
• A critical analyses and evaluation of each criterion is brought through. For example
strength and weakness tables of each alternative are drawn and used for comparative
basis.The decision maker then weights the previously identified criteria in order to give
the alternative policies a correct priority in the decision.
5
• The decision-maker evaluates each alternative against the criteria and selects
the preferred alternative.
6
• The policy is brought through.

Incremental Model
 Under this model, policy is a continuation of previous
policy with minimum changes
 Existing programmes, policies and expenditures are
considered as a base
 Policy makers accept the legitimacy of previous
policies because of uncertainty about the
consequences of new policies

GameTheory
 It is a study of rational decisions in situations where two or
more participants have choices to make and outcome depends
on the choices made by each.
 GameTheory is an abstract and deductive model of policy
making.
 It does not describe how people actually make decisions but
rather how they should go about making decisions in
competitive situations if they are rational.

Public Choice
 This model assumes that all political actors, voters,
tax payers, legislatures, bureaucrats, political parties,
etc. seek to maximize their personal benefits in
politics as a market place.
 Individuals come together in politics for their mutual
benefit, just as they come together in a market place.

Why PolicyAnalysis Models are
Important
 They:
 Create order and simplify reality
 Identify what is significant
 Can be congruent with reality
 Can provide meaningful communication
 Direct Enquiry and Research
 Suggest Explanations

Why PolicyAnalysis Models are
Important
 Also,
 Model are not competitive; anyone of the can not
be judged as best
 Each one provides a separate focus and each can
help understand different things about public
policy
 Most policies are a combination of all models
mentioned

What PolicyAnalysis Can and Cannot
Do…
 Policy analysis can assist decision makers in choosing
a preferred course of action from complex
alternatives and under uncertain conditions.
 Policy analysis is not a panacea or a substitute for
inadequate policymaking processes, defects of
public decisions, bad judgment on the part of
analysts or policymakers, an exact science or a tool
for advocacy by the analyst for his/her own views.

REFERENCES
 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-public-policy.htm
 http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy/definition.shtml
 Public policy by William N. DunnAssociate Dean and Professor
University of Pittsburg
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_analysis June 2013
 The Philippines: Public Policy and National Economic
Development by Frank Golay
 Understanding the Philippine Public Policy Process:An
Executive Branch Perspective by .Antonio F.Trillanes IV PN
October 2002

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