Public policy

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This article is about government action. Policy, both public and private, is a broader concept. The article on public policy doctrine discusses the use of the phrase 'public policy' in legal doctrine. For other uses, see Public policy (disambiguation).

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Public policy is the principled guide to action taken by the administrative executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. The foundation of public policy is composed of national constitutional laws and regulations. Further substrates include both judicial interpretations and regulations which are generally authorized by legislation. Public policy is considered strong when it solves problems efficiently and effectively, serves justice, supports governmental institutions and policies, and encourages active citizenship.[1]

Other scholars define it as a system of "courses of action, regulatory measures, laws, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives."[2] Public policy is commonly embodied in "constitutions, legislative acts, and judicial decisions."[3]

In the United States, this concept refers not only to the result of policies, but more broadly to the decision-making and analysis of governmental decisions. As an academic discipline, public policy is studied by professors and students at public policy schools of major universities throughout the country. The U.S. professional association of public policy practitioners, researchers, scholars, and students is the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

Government actions: the process of public policy making

Public policy making can be characterized as a dynamic, complex, and interactive system through which public problems are identified and countered by creating new public policy or by reforming existing public policy.[4] Public problems can originate in endless ways and require different policy responses (such as regulations, subsidies, quotas, and laws) on the local, national, or international level.[5]

Public policy making is a continuous process that has many feedback loops. Verification and evaluation are essential to the functioning of this system.[6] The public problems that influence public policy making can be of economic, social, or political nature.[7] Each system is influenced by different public problems and thus requires different public policy.[6]

In public policy making, numerous individuals and interest groups compete and collaborate to influence policymakers to act in a particular way.[8] The large set of actors in the public policy process, such as politicians, civil servants, lobbyists, domain experts, and industry representatives, use a variety of tactics and tools to advance their aims, including advocating their positions publicly, attempting to educate supporters and opponents, and mobilizing allies on a particular issue.[5] Many actors can be important in the public policy process, however, government officials ultimately choose the ‘public policy’ in response to the public issue or problem at hand. In doing so, government officials are expected to meet public sector ethics and take the needs of all stakeholders into account.[6]

Since societies have changed in the past decades the public policy making system changed too. Today public policy making is increasingly goal-oriented, aiming for measurable results and goals, and decision-centric, focussing on decisions that must be taken immediately.[6] Furthermore, mass communications and technological changes have caused the public policy system to become more complex and interconnected.[9] These changes pose new challenges to the current public policy systems and pressure them to evolve in order to remain effective and efficient.[6]

As an academic discipline

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Main article: Public policy school

As an academic discipline, public policy brings in elements of many social science fields and concepts, including economics, sociology, political economy, program evaluation, policy analysis, and public management, all as applied to problems of governmental administration, management, and operations. At the same time, the study of public policy is distinct from political science or economics, in its focus on the application of theory to practice. While the majority of public policy degrees are master's and doctoral degrees, several universities also offer undergraduate education in public policy.

Traditionally, the academic field of public policy focused on domestic policy. However, the wave of economic globalization which occurred in the late 20th and early 21st centuries created a need for a subset of public policy that focuses on global governance, especially as it relates to issues that transcend national borders such as climate change, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and economic development.[10] Consequently, many traditional public policy schools had to tweak their curricula to adjust to this new policy landscape, as well as developed whole new ones.[citation needed] The School of International Affairs at Pennsylvania State University, for example, was created as a response to a new transnational landscape. The School of International Affairs is grounded on international policy making, offering interdisciplinary training from various fields, such as law, political science, international relations, geography, sociology, and economics.[11]

Feminist politics and public policy

In feminist analysis of public policy, scholars tend to consider issues such as the welfare state, which focuses on labour practices, wages, employment and unemployment.[12] The early scholarship on the welfare state neglected efforts of women in social feminist organizations to help protect women and children who were not in the workforce.

Gendered analysis has assisted public policy by bringing forth real life issues women face visible to the public sphere;[13] issues such as pay equality, maternity and parental leave, childcare, domestic violence, and sexual assault, each one of public concern.[13] A new policy in effect in the UK in 2015 grants the new mother and father are able to “take time off together or in turns and have a legal right to request flexible working hours”.[14] When compared to the previous policies this recognizes the need for flexibility and the opportunity for fathers to play a larger role in caring for their children. This policy allows women to continue their roles in the workplace, despite motherhood, at the potential expense to the employer and consumer.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Kilpatrick, Dean, "Definitions of Public Policy and Law"
  3. ↑ Schuster II, W. Michael, "For the Greater Good: The Use of Public Policy Considerations in Confirming Chapter 11 Plans of Reorganization"
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Kilpatrick
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ http://www.gppi.net/fileadmin/gppi/Global_Public_Policy_Foreign_Affairs.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.sia.psu.edu/
  12. ↑ Newman & White 3
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Newman & White 4
  14. ↑ BBC

Bibliography

  • Ackelsberg, Martha A. “Feminist analyses of Public Policy Women, Household and the Economy by Lourdes Benreia: Catharine Stimpson: Women, Power and Policy: Toward the Year 2000 by Ellen Boneparth: Emily Stoper: Feminism and Politics: A Comparative Perspective by Joyce Gelb: Women and Public Policies by Joyce Gelb: Marian Lief Palley: Heroes of Their Own Lives: The Politics and History of Family Violence by Linda Gordon: Women, the State, and Welfare by Linda Gordon: Women and t…” Comparative Politics 24.4 (1992): 477-493. Web. 5 May 2013.
  • “Flexible parental leave to give mothers 'real choice' over work-life balance” BBC News: UK Politics. BBC. 13 Nov. 2012. Web. 7 May 2013.
  • Jackson-Elmoore, Cynthia. “How gender Impacts Who Gets to Influence Public Policy”. Gender and Public policy. International Conference on Public Policy, 2013. Web. 6 May. 2013.
  • Newman, Jacquetta., and Linda A. White. Women, Politics, and Public Policy: The Political struggles of Canadian Women. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

Further reading

  • David B. Audretsch, Gilbert, Brett Anitra; McDougall, Patricia P. (2004), The Emergence of Entrepreneurship Policy, Small Business Economics 22
  • David B. Audretsch ; Grilo, Isabel; Thurik, A. Roy (2007), Explaining entrepreneurship and the role of policy: a framework, in: David Audretsch, Isabel Grilo and A. Roy Thurik (eds.), Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship Policy, Edward Elgar Publishing
  • David B. Audretsch und Beckmann, Iris A.M. (2007), From Small Business to Entrepreneurship Policy, in: David Audretsch, Isabel Grilo and A. Roy Thurik (eds.), Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship Policy, Edward Elgar Publishing
  • Considine,Mark (2005) Making Public Policy Polity Press
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