POLICY FORMATION:
PROBLEMS, AGENDAS,
AND FORMULATION
CHAPTER 3
COVERAGE
01 02
POLICY PROBLEM THE AGENDA SETTING
THE POLICY AGENDA PROCESS
03
NON-DECISIONS
THE LOSS OF AGENDA STATUS
COVERAGE
04
TWO CASES IN AGENDA SETTING
05
THE FORMULATION OF POLICY PROPOSAL
POLICY FORMULATION
CASE STUDY
01
THE POLICY PROBLEM
AND
THE POLICY AGENDA
POLICY PROBLEMS
Policy problems are conditions or situations that produce dissatisfaction among people
and for which relief through governmental action is sought.
Professor Aaron Wildavsky contends that officials are unlikely to deal with a problem
unless it is coupled with a solution. As he states, "A problem is a problem only if something
can be done about it.“
Criteria of Policy Problem:
• People must judge the troubling condition to be unreasonable or unacceptable and
appropriate for government intervention.
• The condition must be seen as something for which there is a possible governmental
remedy.
POLICY PROBLEM
• Problems may be defined differently by different groups based on their values,
information, and experiences.
• Problems may change over time as values and conditions evolve
Causation – what causes the condition? A condition may be defined as a problem, but
what causes the condition?
Some public problems may be difficult to define or measure due to their diffuse or
"invisible" nature.
Ex. Homelessness presents challenges in accurately estimating the number of homeless
individuals and understanding its causes
POLICY AGENDA
Policy Agenda refers to the set of issues that receive serious consideration from
policymakers at a given time. The policy agenda is distinct from general political
demands and is also different from policy priorities, which rank agenda items based on
urgency. Issues on the agenda may be labeled as "crises" to highlight their importance
and urgency.
There are two main types of policy agendas:
Systematic Agenda
• Consists of 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.
• Includes all issues perceived as needing public attention and within the legitimate
jurisdiction of existing governmental authority.
POLICY AGENDA
Institutional Agenda
• Consists of the problems to which legislators or public officials feel obliged to give
serious and active attention.
• Include mandatory items that Congress is required to handle, like budget requests, as
well as discretionary items, such as new legislation proposals
Examples of issues on the policy agenda include illegal drug trafficking, immigration,
AIDS research, and terrorism. These issues generate public disagreement over the best
solutions and compete for attention from policymakers.
02
THE AGENDA-SETTING
PROCESS
AGENDA SETTING
• The agenda setting is the process or behavior to adopt social issue as a policy
problem: in the process, social issue or problem is chosen as a governmental issue
• Process by which problems and alternative solution gain or lose public and elite
attention
• Group competition to set the agenda is fierce because no society or political system
has the institutional capacity to address all possible alternatives to all possible
problems that arise at any one time.
AGENDA SETTING
Kingdom model: How an issue get on political agenda?
Three streams
• A problem stream; marked by systematic indicators of problem by a sudden crises, or
by a feedback that is not working intended, the issue get on agenda.
• Policy stream”; relate to those policy actors and communities who attach their
solutions (policies) to emerging problems. This concept also relate to the actual policy
being promoted
• Political stream; this consists of the public mood, pressure group campaigns,
election results, partisan or ideological distribution etc.
AGENDA SETTING
Policy Window:
• Some are predictable—upcoming legislative session for instance
• Some are not predictable—the case of a focusing events for example
How do problems get on the higher agendas?
1. Indicators (numbers):
• Magnitude and change
• Deciding to count something is itself a policy decision
AGENDA SETTING
2. Focusing events: “A disaster, crisis, personal experience, or powerful symbol—draws
attention to some conditions more than to others. But such an event has only transient
effects unless accompanied by a firmer indication of a problem, by a preexisting
perception, or by a combination with other similar events.
3. Feedback “Officials learn about conditions through feedback about the operation of
existing programs, either formal (e.g. routine monitoring of costs or program evaluation
studies) or informal (e.g. streams of complaints flowing into congressional offices).”
AGENDA SETTING
2. Focusing events: “A disaster, crisis, personal experience, or powerful symbol—draws
attention to some conditions more than to others. But such an event has only transient
effects unless accompanied by a firmer indication of a problem, by a preexisting
perception, or by a combination with other similar events.
3. Feedback “Officials learn about conditions through feedback about the operation of
existing programs, either formal (e.g. routine monitoring of costs or program evaluation
studies) or informal (e.g. streams of complaints flowing into congressional offices).”
AGENDA SETTING
A Key Actor: Policy Entrepreneurs
Motivated by combinations of:
• Straightforward concern about certain problems
• Pursuit of self serving benefits as protecting or expanding their bureaucracy’s budget
or claiming credit for accomplishment
• Promotion of policy values
• Simple pleasure of participating
AGENDA SETTING
Actors in Agenda Setting
Media- can elevate issues to gain public attention and get onto the systemic and then the
institutional agenda (Ralph Nader). The media can publicize issues that are unknown, or it can
pick up on themes important to decision-makers and push those themes. It can stimulate
controversy among the constituency and get them to contact their representatives.
Interest groups- are often able to block consideration of proposals they do not prefer, or
adapt to an item already high on a governmental agenda by adding elements a bit more to
their liking. They less often initiate considerations or set agendas on their own. And when
organized interests come into conflict with the combination of national mood and elected
politicians, the latter combination is likely to prevail, at least as far as setting an agenda is
concerned
Political Officials, Legislators and Public
AGENDA DENIAL
is the political process by which issues that one would expect to get meaningful
consideration from the political institutions in a society fail to get taken seriously (COBB
and ROSS, 1997: xi). the competition on agenda space occurs not only in the pushing
favored proposal but also between the favoring and opposing action on problem.
Strategies in Agenda Denial
1. Low-cost strategy: ignore the initiator- crucially refuse to engage by either saying
problem does not exist or to claim that what activist are banging on about is ang
isolated incident.
2. Medium-cost strategy #1: “Attack-posture” - attack the issue or the group raising
it. If they are low status/ unpopular, smear their ethics or leaders, plan false
information about them. If they are high legitimacy folks then attract the issue.
AGENDA DENIAL
Strategies in Agenda Denial
3. Medium-cost strategy #2: “Symbolic placation”- admits there’s a problem, but
prevent all consideration of the initiating group proposed solutions. Pretend we are all
on the same page. Propose visible but trivia action.
4. High-cost strategy: “threats of violence”
-legal harassment, attacking people livelihoods, funding political opponents campaign
etc.
03
NON-DECISIONS AND LOSS
OF AGENDA STATUS
NONDECISIONS
Bachrach and Baratz defined Nondecision-making as "a means by which demands for
change in the existing allocation of benefits and privileges in the community can be
suffocated before they are even voiced; or kept covert; or killed before they gain access
to the relevant decision-making arena; or failing all these things, maimed or destroyed in
the decision-implementing stage of the policy process."
• It is a crucial aspect of the policy process that involves preventing demands for
change from being voiced, covertly maintained, or suppressed before reaching the
relevant decision-making arena.
NONDECISIONS
• It explores the various mechanisms through which nondecision-making occurs, such
as the use of force at the local level, the influence of prevailing values and political
culture, and the management of conflict by political leaders and organizations.
•
Nondecision-making involves preventing problems or demands for change from
gaining attention in the political arena. It aims to analyze the concept of nondecision-
making, its implications, and its relevance in understanding the policy process.
NONDECISIONS
Mechanisms of Nondecision-Making
• Nondecision-making has been observed at the local level, where force, as seen in the
1950s and 1960s in the American South, has been used to stifle demands for equal
rights.
• Prevailing values and political culture can operate to deny agenda status to certain
problems or policy alternatives. For example, deeply ingrained beliefs about private
property and capitalism hindered the consideration of railroad nationalization in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Professor E. E. Schattschneider highlights the crucial role of managing conflict in
politics. Political leaders and organizations must prevent issues that could threaten
their existence from reaching the political arena, thus shaping the system according
to their biases.
THE LOSS OF AGENDA STATUS
Mechanisms of Nondecision-Making
• Nondecision-making has been observed at the local level, where force, as seen in the
1950s and 1960s in the American South, has been used to stifle demands for equal
rights.
• Prevailing values and political culture can operate to deny agenda status to certain
problems or policy alternatives. For example, deeply ingrained beliefs about private
property and capitalism hindered the consideration of railroad nationalization in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Professor E. E. Schattschneider highlights the crucial role of managing conflict in
politics. Political leaders and organizations must prevent issues that could threaten
their existence from reaching the political arena, thus shaping the system according
to their biases.
THE LOSS OF AGENDA STATUS
Factors Contributing to Loss of Agenda Status
• Problems may disappear from agendas when decisive action is taken, or a decision is
made not to act. For example, the imposition of user charges on commercial users of
inland waterways resolved the issue, causing it to fade from public attention.
• Changes in the conditions that give rise to a problem, the emergence of more
pressing issues, or societal acclimatization can lead to a problem losing its status on
the agenda. An example is the normalization of noise caused by Concorde airplanes
around Washington, D.C.
THE LOSS OF AGENDA STATUS
Anthony Downs proposed a five-stage "issue-attention cycle" that explains the rise
and fall of public problems.
a. Pre-Problem Stage- A social condition exists but has not gained public notice.
b. Alarmed Discovery and Euphoric Enthusiasm- Public awareness and alarm about the
problem lead to a desire for quick solutions.
c. Realization of the Cost of Progress- Awareness grows that solving the problem involves
high costs and challenges to societal arrangements.
d. Gradual Decline in Public Interest- As the difficulty and cost of solving the problem
become apparent, public interest wanes.
e. Post-Problem Stage- The issue moves into a less attention-focused state, with policies
and programs persisting.
THE LOSS OF AGENDA STATUS
Not all major problems follow the issue-attention cycle. Those that do often possess
three key qualities:
• Issues that impact a numerical minority, like poverty and unemployment, are more
likely to experience the cycle.
• Problems tied to arrangements beneficial to a majority or powerful minority may
fade from public view. An example is the ban on using motor-fuel taxes for mass-
transit systems benefiting car owners and highway lobbies.
THE LOSS OF AGENDA STATUS
• Issues lacking exciting events, such as race riots or NASA space shots, are more
susceptible to the issue-attention cycle.
Examples
War on Poverty, the farm program, and labor-management relations policy, which seem
to have experienced the issue-attention cycle. Downs predicted that environmental
protection would endure due to constant renewal of support, a prediction validated over
time.
04 TWO CASES IN
AGENDA-SETTING
COAL MINE SAFETY
PUBLIC ISSUE AGENDA/AGENDUM POLICY CRAFTED
Accidents and fatalities in To protect the miners from Coal Mine Safety Act of 1952
mining workplaces further workplace-related
hazards
Recurring large-scale To make the mining firms Mine Safety and Health Act of
accidents and the black-lung compensate and make
disease experienced by the preventable measures to stop 1969
miners the said illness.
COAL MINE SAFETY
PUBLIC ISSUE AGENDA/AGENDUM POLICY CRAFTED
The Bureau of Mines, under To create a separate agency to Mining Safety and Health
the department of Interior has focus more on the miners Administration (MSHA)
been lax in the welfare.
implementation of earlier
policies To replace MESA, which is
underperforming under the
said office
The environmental damage To limit surface mining and Surface Mining Control and
caused by strip mining forestry conservation Reclamation Act of 1977
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CONTROL
• Environment pollution is one of the most critical problems in a society, which in the most
basic sense, occurs when there is an act of dumping human wastes in air, water and soil.
• Media intervention and publicity made this issue visible in the community, and the fear for
public wellness made its status to become relevant; thus, making it a consistent agenda in
policy-making body.
• Garnering so much attention as a public concern, the first Earth Day on April 22,1970, which
are participated with various sectors like the college students and citizens have called for the
popular support for environmental protection.
• Famous environmentalist J. Clarence Davies, says that the increase in production has
contributed to an intensification of the degree of actual pollution. This would only mean that
countries with bis manufacturing resources and industry-wielders tends to produce tons of
waste leading to the rapid proliferation of pollution not only at their locality, but the whole
world also.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CONTROL
• The close connection between environmental conservation and public health is another
aspect that makes it politically appealing.
• As per Davies, "This public concern will in turn strengthen the hand of the governmental
agency. The concern with pollution thus becomes institutionalized and the pressure to
take action becomes constant.”
Examples of some anti-pollution policies in the Philippines
• Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
• Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000
• Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
05
THE FORMULATON OF POLICY PROPOSAL,
POLICY FORMULATION
AND CASE STUDY
POLICY FORMULATION
Introduction to Policy Formation
Definition: Policy formulation involves creating proposed plans of action to address
societal issues.
Challenges: Policymakers may face conflicting recommendations, making consensus
difficult.
Historical Example: The Family Support Act of 1988 illustrates how understanding does
not always lead to immediate government action.
Factors Influencing Policy Success
Success Factors: Technical soundness, manageable financial expenses, political
acceptability, and public support are crucial.
The history of the ignition interlock system rule by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration in the 1970s.
POLICY FORMULATION
Sources of Policy Suggestions
National Level: Presidents and advisors traditionally provide major policy suggestions.
State Level: State governors also contribute to policy recommendations.
Other Sources: Bureaucracy, Congress, and Executive Office of the President (EOP)
agencies.
KEY ACTORS IN POLICY
FORMULATION
Governmental Agencies
Role: Career and appointed officials in administrative departments propose policies.
Expertise: Their experience in fields like agriculture, health, and law enforcement informs
policy development.
Example: Proposals to enhance or amend legislation, such as the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
Presidential Organizations
Adhocracies: Temporary groups like interagency committees formulate policy
recommendations.
Example: President's Commission on Privatization under Reagan.
KEY ACTORS IN POLICY
FORMULATION
Legislators
Role: Gather proposals through meetings, hearings, and investigations.
Congress's Involvement: Active in designing policies in sectors like energy conservation,
agriculture, and social reform.
Example: Clean Air Act of 1970 and its Amendments in 1990.
Interest Groups
Collaboration: Work with authorities to influence policies and submit legislative
proposals.
Influence: Examples include modifications to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act in 1988.
POLICY FORMULATION
Policy Formulation Process
• Definition: Policy formulation is the process of drafting legislation or administrative
rules.
• Importance of Clarity: Well-drafted legislation is essential to avoid unexpected
repercussions.
• Example: The National Defense Education Act of 1958 and its contentious loyalty
pledge.
Drafting Challenges and Solutions
• Challenges: Clarity and avoiding loopholes are crucial in the drafting process.
• Skills: Drafters must possess skill in maintaining clarity to prevent misuse.
• Influences: Legislators rely on bureaucrats, interest groups, committee workers, and
bill writing services.
POLICY FORMULATION
Courts' Involvement in Legislative Process
• Judicial Interpretation: Courts play a crucial role in interpreting legislation.
• Textualist Approach: Justice Antonin Scalia's textualist approach emphasizes precise and
plain language.
• Legislative Power: Congress can pass legislation to define the law's meaning, overruling
court decisions.
Conclusion
• Recap: Policy formulation is a complex process involving various actors and
considerations.
• Importance: Well-formulated policies are crucial for effective governance and societal
well-being.
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