Institutionalism and

Public Policy

Daniel, Rapunzel P.
Loja, Jessica P.
PA 244
Outline

I. What are institutions?

II. Institutionalism
III. Varieties of Institutional Theory
IV. How Institutions Affect Policy
V. How Policy Affects Institution
VI. IAD Framework
VII.Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis and Design
What are institutions?

● Institutions may be formally described in the form of a law,

policy, or procedure, or they may emerge informally as
norms, standard operating practices, or habits.
● Multi-faceted term which is used to refer to social
phenomena at different levels.
Institutionalism

● The study of politics and policy based on the interaction of

formal institutions in government
● The primary focus is upon the formal and legal aspects of
government as well as the role of non-governmental institutions.
● Neo-institutionalism: Argues that institutional rules, processes,
and structures are still significant but they are not static.

Theodoulou & Cahn, 2013

 ● Normative Institutionalism
Varieties of ● Rational Choice
Institutional Institutionalism
● Historical Institutionalism
Theory
● Discursive Institutionalism
● Common Dimensions in
Institutional Approaches
Normative Institutionalism

● Defines institutions through the values, symbols, and

myths that are used to guide behavior.
● Strong emphasis on the norms of the institutions
● “logic of appropriateness”
Rational Choice Institutionalism

● Individuals pursue their self-interest and do so using

rational calculations.
● Behaviors are a function of rules and incentives.
● “logic of consequentiality”: members make decisions
based on the assumed outcomes of the decisions rather
than on what is considered appropriate within the
institution
● Institutions are relatively easy to change
Historical Institutionalism

● Once an institution embarks on a path, it is likely to

persist on that path.
● Builds on the common perception that governments
tend to be bureaucratic and does not react effectively to
changing conditions in the environment.
Discursive Institutionalism

● Defines institutions in terms of the discourses that are

being carried on within the institution.
● Defined primarily through ideas
Common Dimensions in
Institutional Approaches

● Capacity of institutions to create predictability

● Capacity of institutions to reproduce themselves across
time
● Separation of institution from its environment
 ● Institutions create stability.
How Institutions ● Institutions have ideas, or at
Affect Policy least, propagate ideas.
● Institutions channel political
pressures.
● Informal and formal
institutions matter.
 ● Policy failure may lead to
How Policy Affects institutional change
Institutions ● Feedback from policy
implementation
● Policy success
● Disjuncture between policies
and values may lead to
institutional change
 ● The IAD framework provides a
Background of lens to understand how
Institutional collective decisions are made.
● Dissects the working of
Analysis and institutions using a systems
Development (IAD) approach based on the input-
Framework process-output-feedback cycle.
IAD Framework
Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis &
Design

Step 1. Define the Policy Analysis Objectives and the Analytic

Approach
● What is happening in the policy arena?
● How do observed outcomes compare to policy objectives?
● Which outcomes are satisfactory? Which are not?
● Which outcomes are more important?
Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis &
Design

Step 2. Analyze Physical and Material Conditions

● Focusing on the good or service produced in the policy
situation, what is the economic nature of the activity?
● How is this good or service provided/produced?
● What physical and human resources are required to provide
and produce this good or service?
● What is the scale and scope of provision and production
activity?
Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis &
Design
Step 3. Analyze Community Attributes
● What knowledge and information do participants have about
the relationship among policy oriented strategies, actions,
and outcomes?
● What are participants’ values and preferences with respect
to strategies for achieving outcomes, as well as outcomes
themselves?
● What are participants’ beliefs about other participants’
strategy preferences and outcomes?
Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis &
Design

Step 4. Analyze Rules-in-use

● Position
● Boundary
● Authority
● Aggregation
● Scope
● Information
● Payoff
Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis &
Design

Step 5. Integrate the Analysis

● What are the positions or roles that actors play in this
situation?
● Who are the participants?
● What actions can participants take, and how are actions
linked to outcomes?
● What is the level of control that each participant has over
action in this situation?
Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis &
Design

Step 5. Integrate the Analysis

● What outcomes are possible in this situation?
● What information about the action situation is available to
participants?
● What costs and benefits do participants incur when they
take action in this situation?
Action Situation
 Example

Situation: Overharvesting from a common-pool resource

● The set of actors: Who and how many individuals harvest in the resource?
● The positions: What positions exist (members of irrigation association, water distributor-
guards)?
● The set of allowable actions: Which types of harvesting technologies are used (were
chainsaws used to harvest timber)?
● The potential outcomes: What geographic regions are affected? What are the effects of
overharvesting in the region?
● The level of control over choice: Do the actors confer with others? Own initiative?
● The information available: How much information do the harvesters have about the
condition of the resource, about other appropriators?
● The cost and benefits of actions and outcomes: How costly are various actions to each
type of appropriator, and what kinds of benefits can be achieved?
Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis &
Design

Step 6. Analyze Patterns of Interaction

● Once the constraints of the physical and material world,
community attributes, and rules-in use are taken into
consideration, patterns of interaction flow logically from the
behavior of actors in the action arena.
Using the IAD Framework for Policy Analysis &
Design

Step 7. Analyze Outcomes

● Just as patterns of interaction flow logically from a rigorous
IAD analysis, insight about outcomes flows logically from
similarly well-founded observations about patterns of
interaction.
● When we analyze outcomes, we are really analyzing the
performance of a policy system.
Evaluative Criteria

● Economic Efficiency
● Fiscal Equivalence
● Distributional Equity
● Accountability
● Conformance to Values of Local Actors
● Sustainability
References

Araral, E., & Amri, M. (2016). Institutions and the Policy Process 2.0: Implications of the IAD Framework. In B. G.
Peters, & P. Zittoun, Contemporary Approaches to Public Policy: Theories, Controversies and Perspectives.
Ostrom, E. (2013). Background on the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework. In S. Z. Theodoulou,
& M. A. Cahn, Public Policy: The Essential Readings, 2nd Edition. Pearson .
Peters, B. G. (2016). Institutionalism and Public Policy. In B. G. Peters, & P. Zittoun, Contemporary Approaches to
Public Policy: Theories, Controversies and Pespectives.
Polski, M. M., & Ostrom, E. (1999). An Institutional Framework for Policy Analysis and Design. Retrieved from
http://www.atelierpolitique.fr/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Article-PolskiOstromIAD.pdf
Thank you!