Topic 6 - Public Policy (PDF)

CHAPTER 6 PUBLIC POLICY OBJECTIVES 1.Define Public Policy (PP) 2.Discuss the functions of PP 3.Explain the importance of PP 4.Explain the PP process  WHAT IS PUBLIC POLICY?  Public policy is a combination of two words: (1. public, 2. policy – which means the policy pertaining to pub...

CHAPTER 6 PUBLIC POLICY OBJECTIVES 1.Define Public Policy (PP) 2.Discuss the functions of PP 3.Explain the importance of PP 4.Explain the PP process  WHAT IS PUBLIC POLICY?  Public policy is a combination of two words: (1. public, 2. policy – which means the policy pertaining to public affairs and public interest )  Definition of Public Policy: “A purposive course of action followed by an actor or set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern (Anderson, 2015)”…  Policy is the finalized goal-oriented action taken by the government to resolve a problem (e.g. health, education, poverty and etc) or achieve a certain objective or goal or to fulfil a specific need under certain circumstances  Cont.… ◦Public policy is made by the institutions of the government, i.e. The executive, the cabinet, the legislature, the judiciary and government departments. ◦Public policy is one of the importance instruments in public administration that applied to activities of governmental administration, management and operation. ◦The executive branch is responsible for the implementation of public policy Public policy incorporates objectives and strategies that address a number of social concerns and issues: ◦EDUCATION POLICY – concern with education service and its delivery ◦HEALTH POLICY – concern with health and strategies to improve health services. ◦NEW ECONOMIC POLICY – concern with long term and short term development plan and its implementation. ◦NATIONAL BUDGET – concern with planning of national income and expenditure.  WHO MAKES THE PUBLIC POLICY? ◦ The process of formulating public policy comprises political and non-political (NGO) groups, administrative, legal and parliamentary components. ◦ Every components have their own roles in ensuring their interests are fulfill. ◦ Federal public service institutions play a leading role in the formulation of public policies. These institutions include such as Central agencies (refer to chapter 4), Ministries and department. ◦ Example : The PM’s department through the EPU dictates policy all around the country. It is centered in Putra Jaya with offices in each state of the country. Other ministries manage the details and fill in the gaps where the EPU doesn’t outline any policy framework. ◦ All major public policy of the country is decided by the Cabinet.  THE CONTENT OF PUBLIC POLICY ◦ISSUE – the concern of the government ◦OBJECTIVE – aims or goals of the policy ◦STRATGIES – how to achieve the goals ◦PROGRAMMES – a particular activities that going to be implemented ◦FINANCE – cost incurred of achieving the objectives  EXAMPLE: NATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP) ◦ISSUE – POVERTY AND DIFFERENCE IN ECONOMIC STATUS RURAL VS URBAN ◦OBJECTIVES – IMPROVING OPPORTUNITIES AND INCREASE INCOME ◦STARTEGIES – ERADICATION OF POVERTY AMONG POOR PEOPLE, RESTRUCTURING MALAYSIAN SOCIETY ◦PROGRAMMES - FELDA  CONT… Other examples of Public Policies in Malaysia: 1. National Education Policy - This policy is aimed at "producing Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the society and the nation at large“ 2. Privatization Policy - its objectives are “to reduce the financial and administrative burden of the government,' particularly in undertaking and maintaining services and infrastructure; 'to promote competition, improve efficiency and increase productivity' in the delivery of these services….” The functions/purposes of PP 1. Seek to achieve a goal that is considered to be the best interest of all members of society. 2. Enable the public to measure the achievement of the government 3. As an instrument for the exercise of effective government 4. As the means to direct public resources 5. Democracy becomes more visible and goals of deliberation, consensus and awareness are achieved.  IMPORTANCE/SIGNIFICANCE OF PUBLIC POLICY ◦ (i) Public policy plays an important role in shaping the responses of the various fields of human endeavor - such as education, housing, welfare, healthcare, agriculture, defense, transportation, etc to public needs. ◦ (ii) Public policy is essential to achieving meaningful changes or reforms or improvements in government administration and its services and activities. It is also instrumental in bringing about socio-economic development in a country. ◦ (iii) Public policy serves as a tool or instrument for identifying issues of national concern or problems, implementing the best course of action for resolving the problems and evaluating the impact of the action taken by the government to resolve the problems or issues. ◦(iv) It consists of political decisions for the implementation of specific programs to attain the objectives of the nation. It is therefore important as it is concerned with the goals of a country, intending to create positive impacts. ◦(v) Through public policy, the government strives to advance the collective well-being- social, political, and economic- of a society.  Public Policy Process* ◦Stages in the Policy-making Process (A policy established and carried out by the government goes through several stages from inception to conclusion) ◦These stages are : ◦1. Problem Identification ◦2. Agenda Setting ◦3. Policy Formulation ◦4. Policy Implementation ◦5. Policy Evaluation *also known as policy cycle or policy formulation  Problem/Issue identification ◦This is a process of identification of policy problems through public demands for government action ◦In a democratic countries, public opinions will influence the government policy. The public's views were valued highly and played key roles in government. ◦Attention that prompts the need for government action Cont.… ◦Thus, while making decisions about public policy (Members of Parliament/Policy Makers) should act in the public interest but not always in accordance with their wishes. ◦In identifying the policy problems and issues, two opinions need to be taken into consideration (Dye, 1992): a) Public opinions b) Elite opinion (the government officials) ◦Example of issue : poverty Agenda Setting ◦ According to Dye (1992), the stage of agenda setting is the most important stage of the policy making process. In this stage, it is about defining the problems of society and suggesting alternative solutions. ◦ The first stage - a process wherein policy makers identify a problem or issue and provide a range of solutions ◦ It is about “who decides and what will be decided?” ◦ At this stage, the government needs to identify the policy issue (as a problem to be tackled) Cont.… Actors in agenda setting: Elected public official Bureaucracy Mass Media Interest Groups International Organizations  Policy Formulation ◦It is about the formulation of policy proposals through the initiation and development of policy proposals by policy planning organisations, interest groups, government bureaucracies, and the president and Congress (Dye, 1992). ◦Process of formulating (drafting) / developing acceptable courses of action / options for the selected policy agenda. ◦Anderson (2015) refers to policy formulation as the process of developing pertinent and acceptable proposed courses of action (often called alternatives, proposals, or options) for dealing with public problems.  Cont.. Policy formulators need to consider several factors in producing a successful policy (Anderson, 2015): 1.Is the policy proposal technically sound? 2.Are the budgetary costs of the proposal reasonable/acceptable? 3.Is the proposal politically acceptable 4.If the proposal becomes law, will it be acceptable to the public?  Cont.… List of policy makers in Malaysia: 1. Individual (the Prime Minister) 2. Selected Few (Cabinet, Committee / Councils) Examples: National Economic Action Council Source: Husain (2000)  Policy Implementation ◦According to Anderson (2015), the implementation or administration of the policy is what referred to as “what happens after a bill becomes law”. ◦It is the implementation of policy that encompasses whatever is done to carry a law into affect, to apply it to the target population and to achieve its goals. ◦Policy implementation includes all the activities that result from the official adoption of a policy. Policy implementation is what happens after a law is passed. Cont.… ◦It focuses attention on the day-to-day operation of government ◦Policy implementation is primarily carried out by bureaucratic actors. These can be ministries or autonomous agencies located at the central or the local level (Knill and Tosun, 2012).  Policy Evaluation ◦ The evaluation of policies will be carried out by the government agencies themselves, outside consultants, the press and the public (Dye, 1992). ◦ Determining effectiveness and/or efficiency of a policy. ◦ Identifying areas for improvement. ◦ Has the policy produced the intended results.  Cont.… ◦ Policy evaluation is learning about the consequences of public policy. ◦ It is about “the assessment of the overall effectiveness of a national program in meeting its objectives, or assessments of the relative effectiveness of two or more programs in meeting common objectives” (Dye, 1992) The government agencies evaluate the effectiveness of their own programs: 1. Hearing and reports 2. Site visits 3. Program measures 4. Comparison with professional standards 5. Evaluation of citizen complaints REFERENCES ◦ Anderson, James (2015). Public Policy Marking, United States of America: Cengage Learning ◦ Dye, T. R. (2013). Understanding public policy. Pearson. ◦ Knill, C., Schulze, K., & Tosun, J. (2012). Regulatory policy outputs and impacts: Exploring a complex relationship. Regulation & Governance, 6(4), 427-444.