FRAMEWORK FOR POLICY ANALYSIS

NAME: Samia Younas

Roll no: (15-BS-R-46)

8th Semester, Batch 2015-2019

SUBMITTED TO: Muhammad Zahid

DATED: February 19th, 2019

William N Dunn defines policy analysis as an “applied social science discipline which uses
multiple methods of inquiry and argument to produce and transform policy-relevant information
that may be utilized in political settings to resolve policy problems”. Policy analysis draws from
a variety of disciples. It borrows not only from social and behavioral sciences but also from
public administration, law, philosophy, ethics, economics and other branches. Therefore policy
analysts are expected to answer three different kinds of questions.

1) Attainment of what values will resolve the problems?

2) What facts will enhance and limit the attainment of those values?
3) What actions are necessary to attain those values and resolve the problem?

Answers to these questions are obtained by using one or more of the three different types of
‘approaches to analysis’.

APPROACHES TO POLICY ANALYSIS AND METHODS OF INQUIRY

Approaches to analysis include empirical, evaluative and normative approaches. Empirical

approach is concerned with describing the cause and effect of public policies. Here the main
question is factual (dose something exists?) and information produced is designative in character.
The evaluative approach is concerned with the worth or value of the policy. The main question
addressed here is of what worth it is? And the information produced is evaluative. The last
approach, normative approach is concerned with recommendations for future actions that may
resolve public problem.

Approach Primary Question Type of Information

Empirical Does it exist? (facts) Designative
Evaluative Of what worth it is? (value) Evaluative
Normative What should be done? (action) Advocative

The above-mentioned information is gathered through multiple analytical procedures:

description, prediction, evaluation and prescription. Description and prescription helps in
answering designative questions. Evaluation helps in answering evaluative questions and
prescription helps in answering advocative questions. These differ not only in terms of the kind
of questions for which they are appropriate but also on temporal bases.
 Type of Question
Time Designative Evaluative Advocative
Before Action Prediction Evaluation Prescription
(ex-ante)
After Action Description Evaluation __________
(ex-post)

STRUCTURE OF POLICY ARGUMENTS

Policy arguments reflect the reasons why different segments of the community disagree about
alternative courses of action available to the governments. Every policy argument has six
elements. Policy relevant information, Policy claim, Warrant, Backing, Rebuttal and Qualifier.

1) Policy relevant information: It can contain information about policy problem, policy
alternatives, actions, outcomes, etc.
2) Policy Claim: It is the conclusion of a policy argument. When a policy claim follows,
policy relevant information it implies ‘therefore’.
3) Warrant: A warrant is an assumption. Its role is to increase the value of policy claim by
providing additional reasons for it in case if there is a disagreement on that policy claim.
4) Backing: Backing is done for a warrant which requires additional support and are not
accepted at face value.
5) Rebuttal: A rebuttal is a second conclusion under which original claim is unacceptable.
Policy claims and rebuttals together form the substance for policy issues; disagreements
among different interest groups.
6) Qualifier: It expresses the degree to which analyst is certain about a certain policy claim.
Qualifiers are expressed in the language of probability. When an analyst is certain about a
claim because its conclusions are wholly deterministic in nature, no qualifier is needed.

Policy-Relevant Information Therefore Policy (C)laim

(Q)ualifier
Pakistan’s current account
deficit stands at $14 billion The government should
and its foreign exchange (Probably) take loan from IMF.
reserves have dwindled to
$9.6 billion enough to
cover only two months of
imports.
 Since Unless
(W)arrant (R)ebuttal

Taking loan from IMF Harsh conditions

is the only fastest way imposed by IMF will
to come out of deficit further weaken
problem Pakistan’s economy

Because (B)acking Because (B)acking

Devaluation of Rupee Loan cannot be used to

four times since pay debt to China
December

However how well all these efforts work depends on how well and accurately analysts describe
policy problems.

PUBLIC POLICY FRAMEWORK:

Public policy framework consists of five ‘policy informational components’ that are transformed
into one another by using six policy analytic methods as illustrated in the framework.
 POLICY
PROBLEMS

Problem FORECAS-
Structuring TING

Practical
Inference

POLICY
POLICY POLICY
PERFORMANCE ALTERNA-
OUTCOMES
TIVES

Evaluation

RECOMME-
Monitoring
NDATIONS

POLICY
ACTIONS

By using policy analytic methods: problem structuring, forecasting, monitoring, evaluation,

recommendation, analysts transfer policy informational components: policy problems, policy
alternatives, policy actions, policy outcomes, policy performance.

REFERENCE:

Dunn, W. N. (1981). A Framework for Policy Analysis. In W. N. Dunn, Public Policy Analysis: An
Introduction (pp. 34-47). Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs.