Week 7:

Policy Models and Approaches 1

PA 241
RBCruz, UP NCPAG
Agenda for Today
• Recap of last week
– Government Failures
– Correcting Market and Government Failure
• Policy Models and Approaches
• Reminders
– Annotated Biblio (due: 11 March)
– Midterm Exam (16 March)
• Readings for Next Meeting
Policy Models and Approaches

• Henry, Nicholas (2007). Chapter 10.

• Anderson, James (2015). Chapter 1.
Models and Approaches
• Incrementalist model/paradigm
• Elite-mass model
• Group model
• Systems model
• Institutionalist model
• Neo-institutionalist model
• Organized anarchy model
Models and Approaches
• Rationalist model/paradigm
• Pareto Optimality
• Exclusion/Consumption

• Strategic planning model

Incrementalist Model

Incremental
variations on an
agency’s policies

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Elite-Mass Model

Ruling
Elite

Policy Output

Mass
Group Model
Policymakers

Interest group A Interest group B

Political power Pressure Pressure Political power

and skill and skill

Public policy outcomes favorable to Group B Public policy outcomes favorable to Group A
Systems Model
The Environment

Inputs Outputs

Demands Laws
Political System
Support Decisions

Feedback
Systems Model

Environment: Social and economic variables in the policy

The “black box” (or the

“conversion process,” or Outputs:
Inputs:
“withinputs”): goods, services, and
demands, resources,
structures, procedures, symbols to public and
support, opposition
policymakers’ psycho- other policymakers
social framework

Feedback: The influence of outputs on the environment

Institutionalist Model

Voters

Courts President Congress

Neo-Institutionalist Model
Target of Government Coercion
Conduct of Individual Conduct of System
Of Government Coercion

Distributive Constituent
Remote
Policy Arena Policy Arena
Probability

Immediate Regulative Redistributive

Policy Arena Policy Arena
Organized Anarchy Model
PROBLEM STREAM
1. Getting attention via: 2. Problem is defined 3. Problem
Indicators according to: fades
Focusing events Values
Feedback Comparisons
Budget prioritization Categories of policy

WINDOW OPENS TO
POLITICAL STREAM STRUCTURE DECISION
POLICY IS
AGENDA; 3 STREAMS
1. Formulation of govt CONVERGE 2. Consensus 3. Tilt effect ENACTED
agenda building by
Major forces include: bargaining
National mood among
Organized interest participants
Changes in govt
Visible cluster of
POLICY STREAM participants

1. Formulation of decision 2. Softening-up 4. Consensus building

agenda phase by persuasion
Major forces include: among participants
Ideas 3. Some ideas survive
Policy entrepreneurs Criteria for survival 5. Tilt effect
Hidden cluster of participants include: technical
feasibility; value
acceptability;
anticipation of
future constraints
Rationalist Model
1. Setting and
weighting of
operational goals

Input: Data in the form

of accurately quantified 2. Preparation of Preparation of a full Commission of policy
Calculations of effects (using criterion
social values and the a full set of set of predictions of
expected effects of efficiency) and
administrative capacity alternative costs and benefits of selection of policy with
of each policy
to comprehend and use policies alternatives highest net expectation
those data
3. Establishing an
inventory of
values and their
Policy output
weights
Rationalist Model —
Pareto Optimality
10 Indicates a
higher return Indifference curve
on Value X at
the expense of
lower returns
on all other Point of Pareto optimality, or the
social values most rational public policy
Achievement of value X

Value
achievement
curve
Indicates a lower return on Value X
in exchange for higher returns on all
other social values

1 Achievement of all other social values 10

Pareto and Potential Pareto Efficiency
$1,000

($800, $200)
Allocation to Person 1

Pareto Frontier

$100 ($100, $900)

$200 $1,000
Allocation to Person 2
Source: Weimer and Vining 2005.
Rationalist Model —
Exclusion/Consumption Model
Consumption/Use
Exclusion Individual Use Joint Use

Private goods and services Toll goods and services

Feasible (a bag of groceries, a haircut, a (cable TV, telephone service,
meal in a restaurant) theaters, libraries, electric power)

Collective, or public,
Common-pool goods and services goods and services
Unfeasible (water in a public well, fish in the (peace and security, public safety,
ocean, air to breathe) pollution control, weather
forecasts, public TV, radio)
Source: Weimer and Vining (2005).
Criticisms of the
Incrementalist Paradigm
• Negotiating for nothing?
• The beagle fallacy
• The vision thing
• Curmudgeonly conservativism
Criticisms of the Rationalist Paradigm
• Does anyone read plans?
• People are not powerless.
• Policymaking is not linear.
• They are just wrong.
• Rationalism costs.
Strategic Planning Model
Incrementalist Resources

Budgetary, political,
Traditions, values, and
managerial, and intellectual Agency leadership: abilities
aspirations of agency and its
resources of agency and its and policy priorities
personnel
line personnel

PUBLIC SECTOR STRATEGIC PLANNING

Analyses of short-term
Analyses of long-term
political trends: Interagency competition:
environmental trends:
opportunities, perceptions, perceptions and directions
threats and opportunities
and directions

Rationalist Resources
Other Models and Approaches
• Political Markets
• Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD)
framework
Reminders
Annotated Bibliography
• Due date: 11 March 2017 (Sat)
• Email the following
– Annotated biblio
– Copy of articles in pdf
• Email at [email protected]
Mid-term Exam
• 16 March 2017 (Thur), 5:30-8:30pm
Readings for Next Week
• Cruz (2015). Political Markets.
• Ostrom (2010). Beyond Markets and States.
– Watch her lecture at Indiana University
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6OgRki5Sg
M
Optional Readings:
• Araral (2009).
• Lester and Lund (2002).