PUBLIC POLICY & ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss the theories of Public Policy formulation?

Elite Theory

The theory posits that a small minority, consisting of members of the economic elite

and policy planning networks, holds the most power—and this power is independent

of democratic elections. Elite theory of policy process based on the proposition that

power is concentrated in the hand of few elites. Policy making, according to elite

theory, is a process which works to the advantages of these elites. The theory holds

that in the real world there are those at the top with power and the mass (at the down)

without power. The theory also contends that the elite, whose members share common

value and have more money, education and power, governs the masses who are

apathetic and ill-informed about public policy. In an environment which is

characterized by apathy and information distortion, elites inform mass opinion on

policy issues more than mass influence elite opinion.

Summary of Elite Theory.

 Society is divided into the few who have power and the many who do not

have. Only small number persons allocate values for society; the masses do

not decide public policy.

 The few who govern are not typical of the masses who are governed. Elite are

drawn disproportionately from upper socio-economic strata of society.  The

movement of non-elites to elite positions must be slow and continuous to

maintain stability and avoid revolution. Only non-elites who have accepted the

basic elite consensus can be admitted to governing circles.

  Elites share a consensus on the basic values of the social system and the

preservations of the system.

 Public policy does not reflect demands of the masses but rather the prevailing

values of the elite. Changes in public policy will be incremental rather than

revolutionary. Incremental changes permit responses to events that threaten a

social system with a minimum of alteration or dislocation of the system.

 Active elites are subject to relatively little direct influence from apathetic

masses. Elites influence masses more than the masses influence elites

Weaknesses of the Elite Theory

  Firstly, Elite theory wrongly assumes inequality as the basis of society.

Fundamentally all are equal in the sense that all are capable of developing their

faculties and through these occupy any or every public office. No one is inherently

more able and wise than others. The difference in intelligence and qualities is that of

degree and not of kind. As such the division between the elite and the masses is not

organic.

 The theory wrongly reposes all faith in the ability of the elite to the total

exclusion of the ability of the masses.

 The elite theory involves an inherent and in-built thesis in favour of totalitarian

political systems.

 It is definitely opposed to the contemporary values of mass political

participation in the political process.

 The Elitist theory is a conservative theory because it gives a theory of

democracy to justify the prevailing social, economic and political inequalities

 in several societies. It builds up a strong thesis, though partial and subjective,

in favour of the traditionally existing malpractice.

Group Theory

According to the group theory of politics, public policy is the product of the group struggle.

What may be called public policy is the equilibrium reached in this group struggle at any

given moment, and it represents a balance which the contending factions or groups constantly

strive to win in their favour. Many public polices do reflect the activities of groups

(Anderson, 1997). This means that this theory attempts to analyse how each of the various

groups in a society tries to influence public policy to its advantage at the policy formulation

level. In other words, the central practice of this model is that interaction among groups is a

critical ingredient in politics. Public policy is thus a temporary point of compromise reached

in the course of competition between mosaics of numerous interest groups with cross-cutting

membership. The ability of the group that is favoured at one point to sustain its gain depends

on its power to counteract the powers of other groups that would make efforts to tilt decisions

to their favour. It is this type of competition between groups that determine pattern of

allocation of societal resources. The locus of power in the society changes from time to time,

depending upon the group that succeeds in exerting its own supremacy over the others.

Accordingly, the power to determine policy direction changes with the changes in the

fortunes of each or a combination of these groups.

The following are the criticisms of group think theory;

1. The inadequacy of case study method for hypothesis testing 2. The suspiciously perfect

correlation between soundness of process and goodness of outcome (the risk of hindsight) 3.

Conceptual misspecification of the model

Incremental Theory

Incremental decisions involve limited changes or additions to existing policies, such as a

small percentage increase in ministry of education’s budget or a modest tightening of

eligibility requirements for federal scholarship. According to this approach, the policy-

makers examine a limited number of policy alternatives and implement change in a series of

small steps. It may be noted that each of the alternatives available to the policy-maker

represents only a small change in the status quo. This approach recognises the less-than-ideal

circumstances under which administrators must make policies. There are very real limits of

time, brains money etc. on administrator's ability to understand complex problems and make

different policies about them. Because of these limitations, the policymakers, though they try

to be rational, accept the past policies that satisfy them as legitimate and suffice to deal with

the issue.

Incrementalism is politically expedient because it is easier to reach agreement when the

matters in dispute among various groups are only limited modifications of existing

programmes rather than policy issues of great magnitude or of an all-or-nothing character.

Because policy makers operate under conditions of uncertainty about the future consequences

of their actions, incremental decisions tend to reduce the risks and cost of uncertainty.

Incrementalism is also realistic because it recognizes that policy makers lack the time,

intelligence, and other resources needed to engage in comprehensive analysis of all

alternative solutions to existing problems. Moreover, people are essentially pragmatic seeking

not always a single best way to deal with a problem but, more modestly, something that

would work. In a nut-shell, incrementalism utilises limited analysis to yield limited, practical,

acceptable decisions.
The advantages of incrementalism over other formal systems is that no time is wasted

planning for outcomes which may not occur.

 Politically expedient: Since it does not involve any radical and complete changes, it is

easily accepted and therefore the process is expedient.

 The advantages of incrementalism over other formal systems is that no time is wasted

planning for outcomes which may not occur.

 Politically expedient: Since it does not involve any radical and complete changes, it is

easily accepted and therefore the process is expedient.

Weaknesses

1. Beagle Fallacy

A beagle is a dog breed that has an excellent sense of smell but they have limited

eyesight, hence they often miss the prey standing right in front of them but downwind.

In the same manner, while using an incrementalism approach, policymakers

sometimes fail in achieving the overall goal while taking the small incremental steps.

2. Tedious Process

People criticize incrementalism by stating that it takes a lot of time and resources

when we try to solve the problem that arises at each step rather than formulating an

overall strategy to tackle the issue.

Rational Choice Theory

One tries to learn all the value preferences extant in a society, assign each value a relative

weight, discover all the policy alternatives available, know all the consequences of each

alternative, calculate how the selection of any one policy will affect the remaining
alternatives in terms of opportunity costs, and ultimately select the policy alternative that is

the most efficient in terms of costs and benefits of social values.

The rationalist model is conceptually quite simple. Policy-makers using it are expected to

take the following steps:  Identify all the value preferences currently existing in a society. 

Assign each value a relative weight,  Discover all the alternative policies available to

accomplish these values,  Know all the costs and consequences of each alternative policy, 

Select the best alternative which is also the most efficient in terms of the costs and benefits of

social values The rationalist model deals with construction of public policies that ensure

better public policies. It thus aims at improving public policy-making process. It is the

opposite of incrementalism.

3) Discuss the Categories and Characteristics of Public Policy?

Distributive Policies

Distributive policies involve the granting of some sort of benefit to a particular interest

group or other well-defined, relatively small group of beneficiaries. Examples of

distributive policy include farm subsidies and federal spending on local infrastructure

projects such as dams, flood control systems, aviation, highways, and schools.

These benefits are usually distributed in the process of developing authorization

and appropriations bills as part of the budgeting process.

Regulatory Policies
Regulatory policies are, in general terms, policies that are intended to govern the

conduct of business. There are two broad types of regulatory policies. Competitive

regulatory policy involves policies designed to “limit the provision of goods

and services to one or a few designated deliverers, who are chosen from a larger

number of competing potential deliverers.

Protective regulatory policy, on the other hand, is intended to protect the public

at large from the negative effects of private activity, such as tainted food, air pollution,

unsafe consumer products, or fraudulent business transactions. While most

businesses and their leaders are responsible citizens who do not wish to hurt or

alienate their customers, businesses are also motivated by profit.

Redistributive policy

is characterized by actions “intended to manipulate the

allocation of wealth, property, personal or civil rights, or some other valued item

among social classes or racial groups.”12 Based on this definition, obvious examples

include welfare, civil rights for racial or social minorities, aid to poor cities or

schools, and so on.

4) Discuss the Public Policy Actors? Explain the goals of each Policy Actor in Public Policy

Making?
The legislature

The legislature is that organ of the government which passes the laws of the government. It is

the agency which has the responsibility to formulate the will of the state and vest it with legal

authority and force. In simple words, the legislature is that organ of the government which

formulates laws. we can say that legislatures pass substantive laws that establish how various

programs will run, how money will be distributed, what public works projects will be funded,

and so on.

The Executive branch

Is the part of government that enforces law, and has responsibility for the governance of a

state. It includes the president, vice president, the Cabinet, executive departments,

independent agencies, and other boards, commissions, and committees. The president has

some considerable advantages in policy making when compared with the legislature. First,

the president can wield the veto against any legislation he does not like on substantive or

political grounds (and these two often overlap). The president’s main task is to narrow the

stream [of people and ideas] into a manageable

policy agenda.

Administrative Agencies and Bureaucrats

The important duties of the bureaucrats are to: (i) Execute policies and orders, as prescribed

by the government, (ii) Maintain and keep in order the overall administrative apparatus which

lies within its official charge, and (iii) Give advice to the political executive regarding rules

of procedure, regulation etc.

The courts

The courts' most important power is that of judicial review, the authority to interpret the

Constitution. When federal judges rule that laws or government actions violate the spirit of

the Constitution, they profoundly shape public policy. It effectively makes public policy by

declaring whether or not a law is constitutional. It can debate the constitutionality of a policy

before it becomes law.

Individual Citizens

By voting, citizens are participating in the democratic process. Citizens vote for leaders to

represent them and their ideas, and the leaders support the citizens' interests.

Interest groups

A collection of people or organizations that unite to advance their desired political outcomes

in government. Interest groups are important—perhaps central—to the policy process

because the power of individuals is greatly magnified when they form groups.

Social Movements and Mobilization

A broad-based group of people that come together to press for political or policy goals. A

social movement is broader than an interest, often encompassing many groups and otherwise

politically unorganized people. When groups of people mobilize and coalesce around a set of

high-visibility issues, a social movement may result. A social movement involves far more

people—although not all at a high degree of activity—than the membership of relevant

interest groups. Social movements often involve a coalition of groups with similar goals, and

other people support movements without a formal group affiliation.

Political Parties
Political parties serve important functions in the policy process. First, party labels provide

voters with cues for voting. Second, political parties provide a rough way of transmitting

political preferences from the electorate to the elected branches. Third, political parties help

elected officials and their supporters create packages of policy ideas that can be used to

appeal to voters and then to shape legislation.

Think Tanks

Think tanks are public policy research, analysis, and engagement institutions that generate

policy- oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues that

enable policymakers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy issues.

Communications Media

Through the media, citizens learn how government policies will affect them, and

governments gain feedback on their policies and programs. Media points out and broadcasts

various public issues and encourages people to raise their voice. Such public concern then is

brought to the notice of policy makers, political and social agents. This brings change in

policy or results in formulation of new public policy.