The Study of Public Policy

The Study of Public Policy

In the course of their daily lives, people are affected, directly and indirectly, obviously and subtly, by an array of public policies. Take, for example, automobile owners. When a car is purchased, the Truth in Lending Act requires provision of accurate information by a lender on the cost of credit. The vehicle features safety equipment, such as a padded dash and seat belts, required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and a catalytic converter to reduce tailpipe emissions, necessitated by Environmental Protection Agency rules. Out on the highway, financed jointly by the state and national governments, our driver needs to be aware of state and local traffic regulations or risk direct contact with law enforcement officials. State policy requires that the automobile be insured and that both it and the driver be licensed. The price of the gasoline it consumes is indirectly affected by national energy policies and directly increased by national and state excise taxes. The vehicle's gas mileage must meet the national corporate average fuel economy standard or a "gas guzzler" tax will apply. Many more laws and rules apply to automobiles.

Public policies in a modern, complex society are indeed ubiquitous. They confer advantages and disadvantages; cause pleasure, irritation, and pain; and collectively have important consequences for our well-being and happiness. They constitute a significant portion of our environment. This being so, we should know something about public policies, including how they are formed, budgeted, implemented, and evaluated. There are also scientific, professional, and political reasons for studying public policies and policymaking.

Scientifically, the systematic and rigorous study of the origin, development, and implementation of public policies will enhance our knowledge of political behavior and governance, as well as of public policy per se. How is policymaking affected by federalism and the separation of powers? Were pressure groups or public opinion or the media influential in the adoption of a policy? Why did government cease to confront a problem? Concern with questions of this sort are designated as policy study.

Professionally, a person may pursue a career as a policy analyst or evaluator. Practitioners of policy analysis, which draws heavily upon economic theory and statistical and mathematical analytical techniques, have been growing in number in recent decades. Policy analysis has an applied orientation and seeks to identify the most efficient alternative (i.e., the one that will yield the largest net social benefit) for dealing with a current problem, such as the control of air pollution or the disposal of household garbage. A variant of policy analysis is evaluation research, which assesses how well policies attain their goals and the other societal effects that they may have. Cost-benefit analysis and risk analysis fall into this category.

Politically, many people want to engage in policy advocacy, using knowledge of public policy to formulate and promote "good" public policies that will have the "right" goals, that is, goals that serve their purposes. They may think of themselves as liberals, conservatives, libertarians, communitarians, or socialists and disagree greatly in their notions of what is good or just. The research efforts of policy advocates are frequently skewed by their wish to generate data and analysis in line with their preferences. In contrast, policy study is motivated by the intent to be impartial.

This book draws on the scientific policy studies approach to develop a basic understanding of the policymaking process, which is here viewed as an inherently political process involving conflict and struggle among people (public officials and private citizens) with conflicting interests, values, and desires on policy issues. In describing and analyzing the policymaking process, the scientific policy studies approach has three basic aims. First, its primary goal is to explain the adoption of a policy rather than to identify or prescribe "good" or proper policy. Analysis, rather than advocacy, is its style. Second, it searches for the causes and consequences of public policies by applying social-scientific methodology, which is not restricted to the use of quantitative data and methodology. At a minimum, it requires that one should strive to be rational, empirical, and objective. Third, this approach aims to develop reliable theories and explanations about public policies and their politics. Thus, policy studies can be both theoretical and relevant to the more practical aspects of policymaking. It has been said that nothing is as practical as a good theory.

The Plan of This Book

There is not a single process by which public policies are formed. They do not come off an assembly line as do automobiles, refrigerators, and other standard products. Rather, variations in the subjects of policies will produce variations in the style, techniques, and politics of policymaking. Foreign policy, taxation, health-care financing, surface-transportation policy, occupational licensing, and land-use zoning are each characterized by a somewhat different policy process-different participants, procedures, decision rules,