CHAPTER FOUR : PUBLIC POLICY

MAKING PROCESS
Stages of public policy development

4.1.1 Problem identification & agenda setting

4.1.2 Policy formulation & adoption
4.1.3. Policy implementation and evaluation
4.1.4 Policy change
4.1.5 Policy dynamics, success and failure
 4.1.1 Problem identification & Agenda setting
• Policy-making presupposes the recognition of a policy
problem.
• Problem recognition itself requires that a social problem has
been defined as such and that the necessity of state
intervention has been expressed.
• The second step would be that the recognized problem is
actually put on the agenda for serious consideration of public
action (agenda-setting).
• Policy problems are unrealized needs, values or opportunities
for improvement that may be pursued through public action.
• The definition of problem or issue alternatives is the supreme
instrument of power
 Cont…
• “Defining the problems of the society and suggesting
alternative solutions is the most important stage of the
policy making process” Thomas Dye

• Problem identification can be done any time citizens or

groups make demands up on government to do something.

• Problem definition is not an easy task and everyone may

not able to recognize and define a problem.

• Policy analysts are those who can investigate the causes of

problems in different perspectives.
 Cont…

• Policy problems can be perceived or succeed and make it onto

an agenda when meeting the following criteria:
 If an issue reached crisis stage
 Receiving media attention
 Seen as having wider impact,

Agenda setting
What is Agenda?

• “Agenda”: is collection of problems, understandings of

causes, symbols, solutions, and other elements of public
problems that come to the ‘attention of members of the
public and their governmental officials ( Birkland ,2011)
 Cont..
• In a political world, power belongs to those who can
determine the agenda

• Agendas exits at all levels of government

• Example ,an agenda can be something as concrete as a list of
bills that are before the legislature or series of beliefs about
the existence and the magnitude of problems and how they
should be addressed by the government ,by the private
sector ,by non profit organizations ,or though joint action by
some or all of these institutions
• Agenda setting is the process by which problems and
alternative solutions gain or lose public or elite attention

• It refers to the activities of various actors and groups that

cause issues to gain greater attention or prevent them from
gaining attention.
Levels of the agenda
 Cont…
• Agenda Universe:
– All ideas that could possibly be brought up and discussed
in a society or a political system
– The largest level of agenda

– All issues that are commonly perceived by members of the

political community as meriting public attention

– Many of the issues that draw the attention of legislative are

not likely to be discussed widely in the public.
– Because the public’s cognizance or identification of policy
issues is low.
– Awareness and information are mostly confined to a
narrow segment of the public known as “attentive public”
 Cont…
• Systemic agenda:

– All issues that are commonly perceived by members of the

political community as meriting public attention and as
involving matters within the legitimate jurisdiction of
existing governmental authority

– Recurs most often and expansive especially when there is

good national mood towards a specific subject e.g.
environmental protection, drug abuse
– However solutions to such agendas are usually eclipsed by
matters considered “urgent” or “timeliness” and “national
priority”
– Is considered a discussion agenda: general and sometimes
abstract rather than specific or detailed.
 Cont…
– Boundary within the legitimate jurisdiction of existing
governmental authority

– Something considered as government can provide solution

to it
– It must be transformed to institutional agenda to draw full
attention of legislators
• Institutional/ governmental agenda:
– List of items explicitly up for the active and serious
consideration of authoritative decision makers.
– Limited number of items reach from systemic agenda to
institutional agenda
– Due to the limited time and resources available to any
institution or society.
 Cont…
Decision/action agenda:
– Setting agenda is a competitive process, it is only few
issues that will reach end decision
– Items that are about to be acted upon by a governmental
body, such as bills, court cases ,and regulations
 Agenda setting styles
a) Bottom-up approach
b) Top-down approach

a) Agenda setting from the bottom-up

• Peoples-driven type of decision making and considered as a
“democratic-pluralist” model.

• It is exercised in what is known as an open society where any

social problems can be identified by individuals, groups,
candidates/political leaders seeking election,
• All social ,economic and political issues will come into light
to attract public attention.
 Cont…
• Mechanisms used in bottom-up agenda setting
I. Public opinions and opinion polls
– Controversies over the validity
– Considered as unstable and subject to change with in
limited span of time and lack of consensus on issues e.g.
views towards abortion
– Most information received by decision makers are from the
elites not from the ordinary citizen.
II. Media effects and media power
– Sometimes Media persons believe they are the public by
confusing their own opinions with that of public opinion.
– Decision makers may act to response to the media opinion
as it was public opinion.
 Cont…

III. Communication with policymakers

– Opportunity to get access to the grass root public helps
to find out relevant and authentic pressing issues from the
horse’s mouth
– The outcome of the information gathered may result in
misinterpretation of public needs due to intermediate
interferences.

IV. Use of think-tanks

their recommendations lay ground work for policy making
 Cont…
b) Agenda setting from top-down
• Some people argue that government understands and pays
attention to all of their needs, concerns and views.
• When policymakers often overlook or underrate public
opinions at the lower level, policy is made from top- down
approach.
• Mechanisms /manifestations of the top-down agenda
1. Elite (elitist) agenda setting: Usually represent leaders in
business, finance, the media, as well as the government
in power
• It is argued that such leaders perceive that societal needs as
threatening to their interests.
• This leads to agenda setting that begins in corporate board
rooms and groups.
 Cont…
2. Political entrepreneurship
• This takes place during votes where promises are made before
voters.
• Public appearance, interviews, public speeches, and press
releases become so common.
• This helps to creates favorable image for electoral
candidates looking for public office.
• It must be noted that most messages do not contain policy
contents, except in very general terms (e.g. tax reduction for
the poor, care for the working force, etc) that motivate
voters
 Cont…
3. Interest groups
• Advance their policy preferences and proposals with some
members of the parliament who share similar interests.

• Also initiate valuable technical knowledge to policy

formulation,

• Provide precise language to the proposed bills and

amendments.

• Can provide testimony at parliamentary hearings and on

technical reports analyzed by the parliamentary staffs
 Cont…
Iron triangles in agenda stetting
• ‘Iron triangles’, are also known as or ‘triple alliances’,
‘sub-government’ perspectives .

• Of all the public policy agenda setters three of them are

critical ones:
– legislative ( congressional/parliamentary),
– administrative agencies ,and
– the relevant interest groups.
 The sub-government /iron triangle model
Legislative /Parliament Committees
Adopted from Lester and Stewart ,Public policy (senators and staffers )
(2000:74)

THE IRON TRIANGLE

PLAYERS

Interest Groups
Administrative Agencies (professional &
(Career officials and political corporate
appointees ) representatives)
 Reflective questions
1. Who sets agenda in Ethiopian reality?

2. Which of the agenda setting styles do you think is more

relevant and appropriate for the Ethiopian reality, and why?

3. Can there be a bridging mechanism to some of the pitfalls of

bottom up & top-down approach?
 Cont…
• Fewer participants to be involved in policy formulation than
were involved in the agenda-setting process, and more of the
work take place out of the public eye.
• policy formulation takes place in government bureaucracies,
in interest group offices, in legislative committee rooms, in
meetings of special commissions, in think tanks.
• In other words, policy formulation often is the realm of
experts.
• policy formulation uses the concept of policy design.

• Policy design refers to a framework of ideas and instruments

—to be identified and analyzed.
• To design policies ,decision makers must explicitly
consider five elements of policy design
 Cont…

• Table 7.1
 1.The goals of the policy

• Categories of goals

 Equity
 Efficiency
 Security
 Liberty

• To eliminate, to reduce, or to contain is the question to be

addressed by goals.
 2. The causal model
• Emphasizes how to define the problem, which affect the
choice of policy solution

– “What causes the problem and what intervention would

alleviate that problem”?
• Identifying the purposes or motives of a person or group and
link those purposes to their actions provides a basis for
establishing causal relationship in human behaviors.

– Mechanical cause
– Accidental cause
– Intentional cause
– Inadvertent cause
The Causal Model Revisited
 3. Policy Tools/Instruments

• Policy tools can be defined as ‘elements in policy design that

cause agents or targets to do something they would not do
otherwise or it is an instrument with the intention of
modifying behavior to solve public problems or attain policy
goals’

• Policy instruments or tools are also called ‘techniques of

control’ that are by one means or another ,overtly or
subtly ,....designed to cause people to do things , refrain from
doing things ,or continue to do things that would otherwise not
do
 Classification of policy tools
• Five Categories of Generic Policies

1. Market Mechanism: Freeing, facilitating, and stimulating

markets

2. Incentives: Using taxes and subsidies to alter behavior

3. Rules: Establishing rules

4. Non-market Supply: Supplying goods through non-market

mechanism

5. Insurance and cushions : Providing insurance (economic

protection)
 Categories of policy instruments (Howlett &
Ramesh,2003 )
Policy types Examples
Organization -Based •Direct provision
Instruments •Public enterprises
•Community and voluntary organizations
•Market organization (consumers and producers
market )
•Government reorganization

Authority- Based •Command and control

Instruments •Delegated or self regulation

Treasure -Based •Subsides :Grants, tax incentive, Loans

Instruments •Financial Disincentive: Taxes and user charges

Information- Based • Public information campaigns

Instruments • Advertizing
• Research Inquiries & investigative commissions
 4. The Targets of the Policy
• Who is the target of the policy? Targets need to be identified.

• Often policy aims to change the behavior of people in a more

desired direction.

• Behavioral assumptions of target groups becomes important in

the choice of policy tools.
 5. Implementation of the Policy

• Who, what, and how to carry out the designed policy into
action.

• Typical problems at the implementation stages

– Vague definition of the policy objectives but no description

of how to implement

• Government typically has some level of discretion in

designing implementation strategy

– Series of decision making follows after the adoption

 Evaluation criteria of policy tools
1) Certainty: Certainty of the administrative process and the
compliance of targets
2) Timeliness: Extent to which the tools works quickly
3) Less cost: Expense of the tool
4) Efficiency: Extent to which the tool creates maximum
outputs for a given input
5) Effectiveness: Extent to which the tool is likely to achieve its
goals
6) Flexibility: Ease with which the tool can be altered to
changing needs and circumstances
7) Visibility: The extent to which the program is well known or
less well known
8) Accountability: Extent to which implementers are
accountable for their actions.
9) Choice: Degree of citizen preference afforded by the policy.
 Policy alternatives
Policy alternatives can be described as changes related to ends
of policy making (i.e. abstract policy goals or more concrete
program specifications) and to means of policy ( i.e. basic
policy instrument type or existing instrument components)

Level of generality of policy content

Conceptual /policy Practical /Programme
element

Ends Policy goals Programme specifications

Policy

Means Basic Instruments Instrument components

source : policy alternatives model .Howlett &Ramesh,2003:147