Unit Three
Public Policy Typologies
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Unit Learning Outcomes
Up on completion of this unit, we should be able to:
Distinguish important public policy typologies; and
Classify sectoral or state or national policies into
distributive, regulatory, redistributive, self-regulatory,
material or symbolic, etc.
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3.1 THE CONTENT OF PUBLIC POLICY
• ISSUE – the concern of the government
• OBJECTIVE – aims or goals of the policy
• STRATGIES – how to achieve the goals of the policy
• PROGRAMMES – a particular activities that going to be
implemented
• FINANCE – cost incurred of achieving the objectives
Policy and Related Concepts.pptx
3.2 Levels of public policy
Policy levels indicates the layers at which policies are made and
implemented. It is usually a multitier in nature.
a)Extent of codifying and publicizing policies
Policy can be leveled on the basis of how the policies are written
down and codified .
Codification helps citizens understand what government expects
Listed from most to the least visible and tangible.
3.2 Levels of public policy Cont….
1. Constitutional policy–federal or state constitution.
Highly visible at the federal level; edited very few time.
2. Statutory policy –federal/state codes enacted by legislative
bodies
Highly visible through codification in statute law
3. Regulatory policy– moderately visible through federal
regulation.
Regulatory process is central to the implementation of broad
policies and generally include highly technical matters.
3.2 Levels of public policy Cont….
4. Formal record or standard operating procedures/manual
Low visibility because SOPs are often internally published and
are difficult for lay people and even experts to track and understand.
5. Patterned behavior by “street -level bureaucrats”
These policies are often part of a tacit knowledge.
Not formally codified.
Evidence of a ‘policy’ may be found in some agency records
Low visibility because these are behavioral changes with variations
among actors
3.2 Levels of public policy Cont….
b) Geographic levels
• Local/district policy,
• Sub-regional policy,
• Regional /provincial policy,
• National /Federal policy &
• International policy/global policy
Generally we call this classification as:
•Macro policy: at national/higher level of government/whole society
•Micro policy: at the organizational level, departmental level, at agency
Examples of Policy at Macro level
• EDUCATION POLICY – concern with education service and its
delivery
• HEALTH POLICY – concern with health and strategies to improve
health services.
• NEW ECONOMIC POLICY – concern with long term and short
term development plan and its implementation.
• NATIONAL BUDGET – concern with planning of national income
and expenditure.
3.3Types of Public Policy
Policy typology is way of organizing broader range of public
policies into policy types to aid in understanding and analysis.
Policies may be classified in many different ways.
It can be categorized in the following major typologies:
Substantive and procedural policies
Distributive, re-distributive, regulatory and self regulatory
policies
Material and symbolic policies
Public goods policies and private goods policies
Liberal and conservative policies
a) Substantive and Procedural policies
Substantive policies involve what government is going to do (e.g.
construction of roads, payment of welfare benefits, etc.).
Substantive policies directly distribute advantages and
disadvantages or benefits and costs to people.
Procedural policies pertain to how something is going to be done;
who is going to do (e.g. which agencies are responsible for
enforcement of law enacted to ban or control illegal drug trafficking).
b) Distributive, Re-distributive, Regulatory and Self-regulatory
Policies
This typology differentiates policies on the basis of the nature of
their impact on society and the relationships among those
involved in policy formation.
Distributive policies involve the distribution of services or benefits
to particular segment of people i.e. individuals, groups, corporations,
(e.g. bank loans) or distribution of benefits to vast number of
persons (e.g. tax concessions, free public school educations).
Distributive policies also use public funds to assist particular
groups, communities and industries (e.g. flood control, ports
improvement, water supply, health, highways etc.)
Focuses on governmental concern for equal access to resources
for all.
Re-distributive policies involve shifting of allocation of existing
resources, wealth, income, property, rights, and powers among
broad classes of people (e.g. land reforms).
Re-distributive policies are difficult to secure as they involve
reallocation of money, rights, and power. Achieved through
taxation.
Involve “taking from the rich and giving to the poor”.
Redistributive policies involve continuing government intervention
on behalf of the powerless to allow them to hold their own and to
assure balanced participation in government (e.g. progressive
taxation, Government subsidy programs).
NB: both distributive and redistributive policies enjoy strong clientele
support.
o Regulatory policies involve imposition of restrictions or
limitations on the behavior of individuals or groups.
o Reduce freedom to act of those who are regulated (e.g. business
regulatory policies related to pollution control or regulation of
transportation industries, speed limit, tobacco control policy, etc.).
Types of Public Policy…
o It relies on deterrents such as fines and imprisonment to enforce
compliance with prevailing standards of conduct.
o Limits behaviors and violating may result in punishment
oWatchdog function: it has low clientele-public support.
Examples: (1) ministry of Transport ( 2) The quality and standard
control authority of Ethiopia (3) Ministry of Health
Self-regulatory policies are usually sought and supported by the
regulated group as a means of protecting or promoting the interests
of its members (e.g. licensing legislations, health and medical
regulations; agricultural policies influenced by farmers). 14
c) Material and Symbolic policies
This classification depends on types of benefits the policies allocate.
Material policy provides tangible resources/benefits or substantive
power to their beneficiaries (e.g. Public Housing policies, Income
Support Payments to Farmers, Minimum Wages Act, social security
policies, etc.).
Symbolic policies have little material impact on people. They
appeal to the cherished values of the people such as peace,
patriotism, social justice (e.g. Flag, Endangered Species Act, etc.).
d) Policies Involving Collective Goods or Private Goods
Collective goods (indivisible) are provided to one and all persons
equally and similarly (e.g. national defense, public safety, traffic
control, mosquito abatement, clean air etc).
-Various social goods provided by government have some
characteristics of private goods. Charges are sometimes but not
always levied on individual users (examples, garbage collection,
postal service, medical care, museums, and national parks).
Private goods (divisible) may be broken into units and charged on
an individual user or beneficiary basis.
e) Liberal and Conservative policies
Liberals Conservatives
(1) To bring social change and Such changes should occur slowly
greater equality and naturally
(2) Public policies to correct Existing social order satisfactory
social injustices /shortcomings
(3) Economic regulatory Opposed economic regulations
programs
(4) Supported welfare programs Opposed welfare programs
Types of Public Policy…
Policies may also be categorized on the basis of:
Issues (like: economic, health, rural, urban, social, land, forest,
environment, women, children, youth, elderly, labor, welfare, civil
rights, foreign affairs, etc.)
Institution (like: legislative policies, judicial policies,
organizational, departmental policies,)
Time period (like: transitional, short-range, medium-range, long-
range)
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Types of Public Policy…
Policies can also be:
Constituent/Security Policy- serve nation as a whole by protecting
national security and by meeting operating needs of governmental
agents. Examples: defense policy, fiscal policy, foreign policy
Patronage (promotional policy)- include those government
actions that provide incentives for individuals or corporations to act
in a certain way by providing reward or positive motivation.
motivates people to act by using “carrot” as opposed to policies
that threaten punishment for non-compliance (e.g. tax holidays, tax-
free import, lease-free land, subsidies for agricultural inputs etc.)
End of the Chapter
Thank you!!
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