PUP 3002 Fall 11 study guide exam 1 Market failure 1 Prices decoupled from Supply Demand Healthcare 2 Common Pool Resource problems depleted fisheries 3 Negative externalities pollution 4 Monopolies cartels Trusts 5 Non excludability pollution When markets fail the government is used as a mechanism for achieving public outcomes societies are market oriented let market take care of itself Public goods goods that are non subtractable and non excludable available to everyone Common Pool Resources special type of public good that IS subtractable but IS NOT excludable Difficulties in governance but must be governed because they include an incentive to behave in ways that are bad for society as a whole Subtractibility implies that the total can be reduced Externalities Positive those things that result from actions that have a positive effect that were not necessarily meant to happen Negative those things that result in negative effects that were not necessarily meant to happen Communitarianism Opposite of Classical liberalism society would work better if it were a collection of individuals working together Liberalism a la Locke Father of Liberalism Also Known as Classical Liberalism ideal of limited government constitutionalism rule of law due process and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion speech press assembly and free markets Why study policy 1 To increase knowledge of substance and process improve citizens ability to participate and make choices 2 More informed arguments and analyses improve citizens ability to influence policy decisions Why policy analysis Systematic organized way to evaluate existing programs or potential policy alternatives a need for impartial thoughtful assessment of problems and solutions avoid shooting from the hip Criteria for choosing policies Effectiveness are goals achieved Efficiency Benefits to Costs Ratio Equity Is it fair Ethics Is it morally good Technical Feasibility Political Feasibility is it doable Institutional Capacity Social Acceptability Efficiency v equity Efficiency The cost of a policy in relation to its expected benefits vs Equity The distribution of costs and benefits opportunity for community involvement Types of public policy Active speed limit enforcement with radar and traffic stops Passive discretion officers exert when they decide whether or not to ticket drivers Distributive 1 particularistic policies patronage 2 distinguished by the ease which they can be disaggregated and dispensed 3 Pork Barrel Politics bridges harbors road projects Regulatory 1 also specific and individual but cannot be disaggregated as much 2 can affect individuals but cannot be applied to individuals as with distributive benefits 3 regulations appeals to class 4 regulatory policies include things such as rules that affect the sales of new drugs Redistributive 1 affect relations among broad categories of individuals 2 impact social classes take from the haves and give to have nots 3 take from the group and confer benefits to other half Case studies v comparisons Power is crucial to understanding politics Power is the ability of A to get B to do what B would not do otherwise Understanding political power is elusive Case Studies as Evidence problem of uniqueness can t generalize evidence strength from multiple studies Separation of powers John Jay James Madison Alexander Hamilton reflects the founders concerns over government tyranny adds complexity to governing adds to the challenges of building consensus especially between the legislative branch and executive branch Legislative Branch making of laws rules regulations Executive Branch enforces the laws rules regulations Judicial Branch responsible for interpreting the laws rules regulations Federalism Federalism is a governmental system where power is divided between member units and common institutions Nation State School Local Special County Town Village City Issues in Federalism Evolution 1 Dual Federalism distinct national state and local levels of government 2 Cooperative Federalism a lot of interaction between state and local governments Controversies money expectations devolution policy capacity Unitary system of government Governmental system where power is solely held by the central government contrasts with the federal system Pluralism 1 power is in groups 2 coalitions from around shared attitudes 3 groups rise in certain arenas 4 power is decentralized fluid and situational 5 Conflict is important but channeled Elitism 1 power is held by group at the top 2 Marxist view that power is related to money 3 Ruling by the few military industry and political classes 4 conflict is stifled Satisficing Sometimes we do what we can rather than what we would most like to do a compromise is often needed to get results Rational decisions Rational Choice Theory 1 derived from microeconomics 2 makes assumptions about nature of human behavior self interested utility maximizer Types of policy analysis Scientific search for truths and build theories about policy actions and effects may be too theoretical for most decision makers Professional analyze alternatives to solve problems the goal is practical value may be too narrow due to time or resource constraints Political advocate and support preferred policies may be too ideological or partisan may lack analytical depth Factors affecting growth of government Contributing Factors population growth increasing complexity business regulation protection of social welfare international role citizens demands legal steps Effect of public opinion on public policy Important to democracy voiced in numerous ways can have an impact can lead to interest group formation and activity see below Interest group strategies in policy interest group actions direct contact provide information organize and mobilize influence and campaign money for elections take Policy subsystems Informal settings where policy is made also known as sub governments issue networks and iron triangles Policy devolution transfer or delegation of powers from the central government to lower levels of governance such as state local or regional Issue networks Issue networks are an alliance of various interest groups and individuals who unite in order to promote a single issue in government policy Barriers to policy constitutional design divided government complex problems public opinion and consensus organized interests ineffective political leadership Iron triangles Decisions v non decisions Agenda
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