Pulbic Polcies sometimes do not work.docx

Pulbic Polcies sometimes do not work We find out that they don’t work through evaluation There are many different factors that can contribute to failure Alternatives to policies tried Circumstances can change Relationships between policies Policy fragmentation Unreasonable expectations Inaccurate...

Pulbic Polcies sometimes do not work We find out that they don’t work through evaluation There are many different factors that can contribute to failure Alternatives to policies tried Circumstances can change Relationships between policies Policy fragmentation Unreasonable expectations Inaccurate theory of causation Ineffective choice of policy tools Implementation problems Political institutions break down or styme each other Policy fragmentation/stigmentation Because policy making power is diffused, there are lots of opportunities for different things to happen that may create incongruous policy outcomes Policy makers learn from policy failure and success Learning: Change behavior in response to feedback Types of learning Organizational Learning (Learning within the organization/as in experienced peoples) Individiual learning (Individual knowledge) Learning Single Loop Learning See what happens and backtrack one step at a time Ex: Problem definition step Lets reword the problem Doulbe Loop Learning More than fixing the problem Question the underlying assumptions we have made Did we define the agenda/problem correctly Policy learning defined by Sabatier Enduring changes of thought or behavior as a result of experience concerned with attaining policy objectives Incremental: Viabity of policy interventions (Single Loop Learning) Social: Social Causes (Double Loop Learning) Political Learning: Learning to make more effective arguments in policy demabe Policy Evaluation Policy evaluation is a retrospective tool What did we do and what are its effects? Types of evaluation Process evaluation: How well did implementation of policy match intent Outcome evaluation: What happened because of the policy change Impact: What is the overall change in real world Effectiveness: How closely did we meet our goals Impact/Effectiveness often measured through net benefits and costs Not output (measure of government activity) Miles of streets plowed Measure using number of crashes during a snowfall Accident rates Look at the outcomes when determining how well your policy has worked Target groups should be identified if possible Non target groups may be affected Short and long term effects can differ Symbolic impact includes perceptions and attitudes Elements of outcome evaluation in policy First: Define the Problem Unsatisfactory condition or issue Next, look for activity Efforts related to the policy to remedy the problem Figure out what the outcome of interest is: What is measured to evaluate the effects of the policy 1. Measure validity (Is violent crime the best way to measure impact of assault weapons ban) 2. Take this, and create a Program Theory What is actually going to cause a change in society with our policy Causal claim linking inputs to outputs and outcomes Example: Raising Teacher Salaries