Theories, Typologies and Approaches

of
Public Policy Making

Dr. Md. Sanwar Jahan Bhuiyan

Joint Secretary/DEPD
Skills for Employment Investment Program (SEIP)
Finance Division, Ministry of Finance
 What is the most important TIME for me?
What is the most important TASK for me?
Who is the most important PERSON for me?
“Three Questions”
-Leo Tolstoy
Setting Ground Rules and Norms
• Knowing each other, first
• Knowing your expectation from the course
• Timely attending the session
• Not to make any side talk
• Participating in discussion
• Talking one by one, before talking, taking permission is
needed
• Timely submission of assignments and exercises
• Participating actively in group-discussions
• Not to request for make-up exam
• Showing mutual respect to other fellas
• Medium of Instructions: Banglish
• Keeping mobile phones in silent mode
• Keep mute your device while attending the class
• Not receiving phone call while attending session
• Nominating a CR
Brief Outlines of the Course

Part-1: Policy Studies

1. Concepts of Public Policy
2. Market Failure and Justifications of Government
Interventions
3. Policy Cycle
4. Types of Public Policy
5. Theories and Approaches of Public Policy
6. Policy-making Process in Bangladesh
7. Developing Policy Arguments
8. Practical Aspects of Policy Formulation
9. Policy Implementation
10. Policy Evaluation

Part-2: Economic Sectors of Bangladesh

1. Macro-economic Scenario of Bangladesh Economy
2. Fiscal Policy of Bangladesh: Fiscal Sector and Budgetary
Policy-Making Process
3. Medium-Term Budgetary Mechanism in Bangladesh
4. Monetary Policy and Role of Central Bank in Managing
Monetary Sector
5. Macro-Economic Indicators for Bangladesh's Economy
6. Development Planning of Bangladesh and the Role of
the Planning Commission
 Session Outlines
➢ Defining POLICY first
➢ Understanding Public Policy
➢ Understanding Market Failure and justification of
govt. interventions
➢ Discussion on the Dimensions of Public Policy
➢ Valid Arguments for a Credible Public Policy
➢ Policy–Cycle
➢ Discussing different types of Public Policy
➢ Comparative Analysis of Policy-Making Models
➢ Reviewing the Approaches
➢ Question and Answer
➢ Wrap-up the session
Policy: What it is?
 Policy: What it is?

• A deliberate system of principles to

guide decisions for achieving rational
outcomes
• Purposive course of action followed
by a actor or set of actors in dealing
with a problem or matter of
concern (Anderson 1984)
• A statement of intent, and is
implemented as a procedure or
protocol.
Features of Policy

Deliberate

Consistent Purposive

Features
of Policy
Guiding Statement
Principle of Intent

Standing in
Nature
 Public Policy: What it is?
1. Public Policy is a means by which a
government maintains order or
addresses the needs its citizen through
actions defined by the constitution
(David White)
2. A deliberate course of action or
inaction taken by those in office under
the influence of values and pressures
on the way resources/expenditures and
coercion are used in pursuit of
objectives or in support of other
policies (Smith 1976)
 Public Policy: What it is?
• Public Policy is whatever the governments
choose to do or not to do (Dye 1978).
• Governments do many things.
– They regulate conflict within society;
– they organize society to carry on conflict with
other societies;
– they regulate a great variety of symbolic rewards
and material services to members of the society;
– and they extract money from society,
– most often in the form of taxes.
• Thus, public policies may
– regulate behavior,
– organize bureaucracies,
– distribute benefits, or extract taxes—
– or all of these things at once.
 Public Policy: What it is?

• A course of action adopted and pursued by a

government, ruler, political party
•
• Public Policy refers to all of the laws
regulations and other programs developed
by government to solve problem

• Public policy refers to a set of government

actions, decisions, and programs designed to
address and solve specific societal problems,
needs, or concerns
Public Policy epitomizes…

▪ As a Programme
▪ As an output, that is what the government actually
delivers (land redistributed)
▪ As an outcome, what government achieves, identified
through impacts of activities (living standards or
agricultural output of a land reform package)
▪ As a model (incentives will increase output)
▪ As a process, where policy is considered over a long
period of time.
▪ As circular/order for greater benefit of people
FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS about PUBLIC POLICY

In an OPEN Market Mechanism

➢WHY does the govt intervene?

➢HOW does the govt intervene?

➢HOW far the govt intervenes?

 FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS about PUBLIC POLICY

➢ The Theory of Moral

Sentiments (1759)

➢ An Inquiry into the Nature and

Causes of the Wealth of
Nations (1776)
FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS about PUBLIC POLICY

Is the market Mechanism only PANACEA for all

evils?
Is “invisible hands” working well?

If not, how does the government intervene?

 Why do we need public policy
➢ The INVISIBLE HANDS which advocated for the free
market economy is failed to proof its natural patterns.
➢ The assumption was that the market would find its
equilibrium without government or other
interventions forcing it into unnatural .
➢ The questions raised about the
➢ The market failure because of the
✓ Negative externalities
✓ Information asymmetry
✓ Tragedy of common goods
✓ Free-rider problems of public goods mgt.
✓ Management of merit and demerit goods
➢ Dilemma of Private Interests Vs. Public Interest
➢ Absence of perfect competition
➢ Distribution of public benefits and wealth
 Why does government intervene
Types of market Consequences of Market Govt interventions to mitigate
failure Failure
Factor Immobility Structural unemployment and State intervention in education and
skill mismatch skills formation training

Public goods Failure of market to provide pure Govt funded public goods for
public goods, free rider problem collective consumption

Demerit goods Over consumption of products Information campaigns, minimum

with negative externalities age for consumption

Merit goods Under consumptions of products Subsidies, information on private

with positive externalities benefits

Imperfect Damaging consequences for Statutory information/labeling

information consumers from poor choices

High relative Low income families are suffering Taxation and welfare measures to
poverty from social exclusion redistribute income and wealth

Monopoly power Higher prices for consumers Competition policy, measures to

in a market causes loss of allocative efficiency encourage new firms into a market
FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS about PUBLIC POLICY
Policy Cycle

POLICY
CYCLE
 Dimensions of Public Policy
LOGOS
Logic/Reason/Proof/Consistency
➢ Structure, Theory, Approaches of the Policy
➢ Reference to studies, statistics, case studies

3D Features
of
Public Policy

PATHOS
ETHOS Emotion/Values
Credibility/Trust ➢ Empathy, pro-peopleness
➢Credible institution, proper validation ➢ for the benefit of the people
➢Support of the people/ Politically viable ➢ stakeholder’s participation
Dimensions of Valid Arguments for a Credible Public Policy

➢ Feasible
➢ Stakeholders’ supported
➢ Validated by Think-Tanks
➢
INTERNAL VALIDITY

EXTERNAL VALIDITY
Consistency ➢ Contextualized Best Practices
➢ Logically Framed (Result Chain)
➢ Support of the People
➢ Rationally arranged
➢ Theory validation
➢ Transferability
➢ Integration ➢ Politically accepted
➢ Valid Structure ➢ PESTLED validated
➢ Valid Tools for Analysis ➢ Validated by proper Ints.
➢ Based on Valid Evidence ➢ Culturally and Ethically Valid
➢ Pro-peopleness
Contexts of Public Policy

Societal Context: Social changes (e.g.,

population changes)
Economic context: State of the economy (e.g.,
surplus vs. deficit)
Political context : Political/ideological issues
(who is in power?)
Governing context: Structure of government
(e.g., separation of powers)
Cultural context: Values, beliefs (e.g., in state,
regions)