REVIEW OF RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES POLICY

ENVIRONMENT &ISSUES

SESSION 2
 POLICY: In Search of Definition
• Thomas Dyes' Definition:
‘’Public Policy is concerned with what
governments do, why they do it, and what
difference it makes’
‘Public Policy is whatever government choose to
do or not to do’
 Public Policy
• Dye’s definition means that the primary agent
of public policy is government-initiative
sanctioned by government e.g. Health care or
education policy impacts the decisions of
medical and education staff
• Private business decisions, decisions by
charitable organizations, interest groups and
other social groups or individuals are not in
themselves public policies.
 What Is Policy Analysis?
• Several aspects
– Gathering info on problems (causes & effects)
– Identifying several ways of dealing with the
problem (alternatives)
– Assessing the likely results of those alternatives
• Involves both empirical and normative issues
• Involves both science and politics
• Utilizes many disciplines (e.g. economics,
statistics, management science)

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 What Is Policy Analysis?
• studies of policy content
• studies of policy process
• studies of policy outputs
• evaluation studies
• information for policy making
• process advocacy
• policy advocacy

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 Who is a Policy analyst
• Functions of policy analysts include
– Coordination
– Policy development
– Policy research and oversight
– Fire fighting
• Policy analysts focus on
– relationship of public problems and policies to tackle them
– The content of public policies
– What policy makers do or do not do

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Professionalization of Policy analysis
• ownership of a recognised body of knowledge exclusive to
policy analysis with development of new knowledge through
research
• self-government through a body that sets and monitors its
own standards of practice
• control of training and recruitment
• monopoly of practice in its own field of work with
registration by the state
• conformity to moral and disciplinary codes of behaviour
• autonomy of practice and greater individual accountability
• a public ideology of service to a client group
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 Why Do Policy Analysis?
• Need for thoughtful, impartial assessment of
problems and solutions

• Avoid “shooting from the hip”

• Anticipate potential outcomes

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 Types of Analysis
• Political
– Advocate and support preferred policies
– Often ideological or partisan; may lack analytical
depth
– Examples: Party secretariats

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 Policy Environment
• Governments enjoy a special role in public policy-
making due to their unique ability to make
authoritative decisions on behalf of citizens, which
are backed up by legislation, laws, rules & regulations
as well as sanctions for offenders in the event of non-
compliance
• Public policy-making involves a fundamental choice
on the part of governments to do something or to do
nothing about a problem, and that decisions is made
by elected representatives or government officials.
 Policy Environment
• Public policy is a conscious choice of a
government. That is government actions and
decisions often yield unintended
consequences.
• For example, an effort to control the sale of a
product deemed to be harmful for public
consumption may increase smuggling and
shoot up its price-people operate illegally on
the black market.
 Policy Analysis &Political Conflict
• Policy issues are decided not by analysist's but by political
actors

• Policy analysis sometimes produce unexpected and even

embarrassing findings, that public policies do not always work
as intended, and that different political interests will interpret
their findings of policy research differently-accepting,
rejecting, or using these findings as they fit their own
purposes.