Public Policy and Science

fadillah putra

Introduction
The study of public policy is firmly grounded in the study of politics, which is as ancient as human civilization itself. Most of the ancient philosophers looked at politics in general, theoretical ways.
Plato s Republic The search for justice. One of Plato s objectives in the Republic was to show that justice is worthwhile that just action is a good in itself, and that one ought to engage in just activity even when it doesn t seem to confer immediate advantage. Aristotle s Politics - Since we see that every city-state is a sort of community and that every community is established for the sake of some good (for everyone does everything for the sake of what they believe to be good), it is clear that every community aims at some good, and the community which has the most authority of all and includes all the others aims highest, that is, at the good with the most authority. This is what is called the city-state or political community. [I.1.1252a1-7]

Introduction
Modern political theory.
Niccolo Machiavelli.
If we understand and plan the political actions we take in pursuit of our goals, we are better prepared to seize the political opportunities that arise in the normal course of political life.

Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, Marx, Weber, Durkheim.

Focused on the exercise of power between individuals, families, groups, communities, and the various levels of government.

Introduction
The systematic study of public policy is a 20th century phenomenon.
Dates to 1922, when political scientist Charles Merriam sought to connect the theory and practice of politics to understanding the actual activities of government, that is, public policy. Nevertheless, most of the literature on public policy dates back only about 50 years.

Introduction
The study of public policy is the examination of the creation, by the government, of the rules, laws, goals, and standards that determine what government does or does not do to create resources, benefits, costs, and burdens. In studying public policy, we focus on those decisions made (or implicitly accepted) by government and nongovernmental actors to address a problem that a significant number of people and groups consider to be important and in need of a solution.

Introduction
A major element of studying and teaching public policy is the reliance of policy studies on a broad range of the social sciences.

Introduction
Table 1.1. Selected Disciplines That Study Public Policy
Discipline Description
The study of political relationships; that is, the study of the processes by which societies seek to allocate political power and the benefits of such power, Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. The study of the allocation of resources in a community, however defined. Economists study markets and exchanges. Welfare economists seek to understand the extent to which an overall communitys welfare can be maximized.

Relationship to Public Policy

The political process is the process through which policies are made and enforced.

Some important journals

American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Policy, Political Research Quarterly, Public Opinion Quarterly American Sociological Review, Contemporary Sociology, Journal of Sociology

Political Science

Sociology

Community and group activities are an important part of policy making, because groups of people often form to make demands.

Economics

There are many economic factors that influence public policy, such as economic growth, productivity, employment, and the like. The tools of economics are often used to promote policies or to explain why policies succeed or fail.

American Economic Review, Econometrica, Journal of Applied Economics, Journal of Political Economy.

Introduction
Table 1.1. Selected Disciplines That Study Public Policy
Discipline Description
The study of the management of government and nonprofit organizations, including the management of information, money, and personnel to achieve goals developed through the democratic process.

Relationship to Public Policy

The management of public programs is an integral part of the policy process. PA scholars study the motivation of program implementers and targets and help research innovations to improve service delivery. We give this label to the highly interdisciplinary study of the public policy process. Policy scholars develop theories about how the policy process works and develop tools and methods to analyze how policy is made and implemented.

Some important journals

Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory

Public Administration

Public Policy

The study of what governments choose to do or not to do, including studies of the policy process, policy implementation and impact, and evaluation.

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Journal of Public Policy, Policy Studies Review, Policy Studies Journal, Journal of Policy History

Introduction
Because the field of public policy studies is so new, it has yet to coalesce around a shared set of principles, theories, and priorities (paradigm). For public policy to be useful, we must bridge the gap between what academics know and how practitioners and citizens use what we know to make better policy (or better policy arguments).

Policy Science as Applied Science

You may question whether policy is science , but science is defined as the state of knowing: knowledge rather than ignorance or misunderstanding. The values of empirical science: the number of teeth for men and women.

Policy Science as Applied Science

Anecdotal evidence versus scientific evidence: The case of food stamps (discuss).
The problem with anecdotes is that they are little tidbits of information that are unsystematically gathered and that reflect the biases of the person relating the story.

Question: Is the food stamp program a failure?

Policy Science as Applied Science

Scientific evidence (evaluation).
Compared to nonrecipients,
Participants spend a larger portion of their total expenditures on all food items. Foods used at home by recipients have a greater monetary value per person and more nutrients per dollar. Recipients are more likely to shop for food on a monthly basis, resulting in better planning and lower transportation costs. The availability of twelve essential nutrients in the diet is higher for recipients.

One dollar increase in food stamp benefits increases food expenditures between 17 and 47 cents, whereas a dollar increase in income only increases food expenditures 5 to 10 cents. Information is:
Peer-reviewed Aggregate information rather than disconnected cases. Runs counter to common wisdom.

Policy Science as Applied Science

Do food stamps work ? Not necessarily. Difference between policy description and policy advocacy.

Policy Studies as a Science

We can say that the careful study of public policy is scientific because it contributes to knowledge by relying on methodological rigor.
Policy analysts share a commitment to methodology, but not to any one particular method.

Policy Studies as a Science

Harold Lasswell argued that quantitative analysis and the scientific method were important elements of any policy science. But, Lasswell recognized that you must combine quantitative and qualitative information.

Policy Studies as a Science

Lasswell s recommendations for an empirically driven, methodologically rigorous, yet flexible style of policy research has served as the basis for policy studies in late 20th century. But it is also driven by the desire to solve problems. No common paradigm. Dye lists eight theoretical traditions. Most of these theories need testing.

Policy Studies as a Science

Theorizing is important, because they make sense of ambiguous evidence, and they develop concepts that apply to more than one case.

Science, Rationality, and the Policy Process

Policy analysis is an important component of policy sciences. But researchers should keep rational analysis in context: within the interplay of evidence, value and belief systems of the participants, the structure of the process, and the distribution of power. Most policy analysis is not value neutral. Problem identification is rarely neutral, for example.

What Is Public Policy?

Attributes common to various definitions of public policy.
The policy is made in the public s name. Policy is generally made or initiated by government. Policy is interpreted and implemented by public and private actors. Policy is what the government intends to do. Policy is what the government chooses not to do.

What Is Public Policy?

Table 1.2. Defining Public Policy
Definition
The term public policy always refers to the actions of government and the intentions that determine those actions. Public policy is the outcome of the struggle in government over who gets what. Whatever governments choose to do or not to do. Public policy consists of political decisions for implementing programs to achieve societal goals. Stated most simply, public policy is the sum of government activities, whether acting directly or through agents, as it has an influence on the life of citizens.

Author
Clarke E. Cochran, et al.

Clarke E. Cochran, et al.

Thomas Dye

Charles L. Cochran and Eloise F. Malone.

B. Guy Peters.

The Research-to-Policy Gap

Large investments have been made in policyrelevant data collection and research.

Yet, opportunities for increasing knowledge and

putting data to use are often lost.

Researchers and decision makers work in different

spheres.

How is the gap manifested?

Stereotypes Assumptions about how decisions are made

Researchers' Stereotypes of Policymakers

y y y y y y

Uninterested or too busy to read Reach hasty conclusions Actions unsubstantiated by data Distrust survey and research findings Limited perspective Should be responsible for drawing implications from the data

Policymakers Stereotypes of Researchers

y y y y

Avoid policy implications of findings Prone to professional "faddism" Excessive use of technical jargon Inconclusive generalities about broad theoretical matters Little appreciation of real problems and data needs

Assumptions about Decision-making

Researchers may assume that policymakers: Practice rational decision-making Prioritize goals and objectives Examine alternative solutions systematically Choose alternatives that maximize goals

Policymaking is Not Linear

POLITICS

SOLUTIONS

PROBLEMS

A Window of Opportunity for Policy Change

POLITICS

Window of opportunity

PROBLEMS

SOLUTIONS

Moving the Spheres Together

POLITICS

PROBLEMS

SOLUTIONS

Agenda Setting

The Goal of Agenda Setting

Help issues gain and keep the attention of:
y The media y The public y Policymakers

Characteristics of Issues that Get on the Policy Agenda

Clear, measurable indicators Policy champions Feasible policy or program

alternatives Attention-focusing events

Agenda Setting Activities

Press conferences and other kinds of
support for journalists

Public events, seminars and speeches One-on-one meetings with policymakers

Coalition Building
Links together individuals from y Government y The academic community y The media y NGOs and advocacy groups y Businesses

Coalition Building Activities

Create and/or facilitate media or

advocacy networks

Provide information to existing

networks

Policy Learning

The ongoing stream of information

to policymakers

An understanding by all actors of

complex power relations and changing institutional arrangements

Policy Learning Activities

Policy analyses Publications Electronic communications

(websites, CD-roms, e-newsletters) Seminars and briefings

Crafting the Policy Message

Policy communication messages y derive directly from the data y help decision makers to understand policy implications and to make grounded policy recommendations.

Research to Recommendations
Research Key Findings Implications

Recommendations

Implications are:

Broad statements that express a

direction, new information, or a need implied by the findings. Analyses derived from two or more findings. Guides to help the audience begin to interpret the findings.

Making the Link to Recommendations

Implications are a bridge from your key findings to policy recommendations.

Recommendations:

Offer specific actions that you

urge a policymaker or program planner to take.

Should start with an action &

be S.M.A.R.T.

A S.M.A.R.T. Recommendation Is:

Specific Measurable Action-oriented Realistic Timebound

Skilled Attendance at Delivery, by Residence, India 1998-99

Percent of live births 56 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Urba D r Tra e rse/m R ra e 18 11 23

Sour e: OCR Ma ro, India Na iona Family Health Survey, Demographic and Health Surveys.

Implications

Rural women may be at significantly higher risk of maternal death than urban women because of the low level of skill attendance at birth. A higher percentage of the urban women who have skilled care rely on doctors, which may result in higher medical costs.

Recommendations
Within one year, conduct a behavior change
campaign in rural areas to increase awareness of the importance of skilled care, and in urban areas to build support for using nurse/midwives.

Within two years, expand the number of

trained nurse/midwives by 50%, and include a community service requirement to increase the pool of skilled providers in rural areas.

Place of Delivery, by Education, Peru 2000

ercent of live births 84 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 15 20 10 0 No ducation 81 69

29 18

rimar

ducation

econdar +

Deliver at health facility

Source: OCR eru Demographic and Health Survey.

Delivery at home

Implication

Educational level is clearly related to whether women in Peru deliver their babies at home or in facilities, but only the most educated women rely on facilities. Since women with primary education are quite similar to those with no education, programs need to target both groups to address their needs for safe delivery.

Recommendations

Within 6 months, conduct additional analysis on the constraints to facility-based delivery faced by the 2 lower-education groups. Within 1 year, start a community-based project to address those constraints, including materials for low-literate or illiterate populations about the danger signs of obstetric emergencies.

Evaluating Policy Communications

Have policy communications activities : Helped your issues gain the attention of policy makers; Enhanced coalition efforts to increase the saliency of your issues; or Supported policy learning?

And Ultimately The Window of Opportunity

Is there evidence of change in Policies, Programs, Strategies, or Resource allocation?

Need for Benchmarks

Coalition building Policy Learning

best

worst Agenda Setting

Initial Assessment
Policy Learning Coalition building

Agenda Setting

Post-Intervention Assessment
Coalition Building: No change Policy Learning: Improved

Window open

Agenda Setting: Improved

In Summary
Policy change is a complex, dynamic process. Research can play a key role but the research-topolicy gap must be bridged.

Agenda-setting, coalition building & policy

learning are key elements in policy change.

Effective policy communication depends on clear

findings, implications & recommendations.