Understanding Public Policy

Theories and Issues

Paul Cairney

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781137545190
• eBook ISBN: 9781350311978
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Public Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The fully revised second edition of this textbook offers a comprehensive introduction to theories of public policy and policymaking. The policy process is complex: it contains hundreds of people and organisations from various levels and types of government, from agencies, quasi- and non-governmental organisations, interest groups and the private and voluntary sectors. This book sets out the major concepts and theories that are vital for making sense of the complexity of public policy, and explores how to combine their insights when seeking to explain the policy process. While a wide range of topics are covered – from multi-level governance and punctuated equilibrium theory to 'Multiple Streams' analysis and feminist institutionalism – this engaging text draws out the common themes among the variety of studies considered and tackles three key questions: what is the story of each theory (or multiple theories); what does policy theory tell us about issues like 'evidence based policymaking'; and how 'universal' are policy theories designed in the Global North?
This book is the perfect companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying public policy, whether focussed on theory, analysis or the policy process, and it is essential reading for all those on MPP or MPM programmes. New to this Edition:
- New sections on power, feminist institutionalism, the institutional analysis and development framework, the narrative policy framework, social construction and policy design
- A consideration of policy studies in relation to the Global South in an updated concluding chapter
- More coverage of policy formulation and tools, the psychology of policymaking and complexity theory
- Engaging discussions of punctuated equilibrium, the advocacy coalition framework and multiple streams analysis

1 Introduction to Policy and Policymaking

Key themes of this chapter:

•Why do we study public policy? To compare simple stories of how it should be made with complex stories of how it is actually made.

•Politics and power are central features of this story. Politics is about many actors, with different beliefs and preferences, exercising power to get what they want. We misunderstand the policy process if we ignore politics and focus only on vague ambitions such as ‘evidence-based policymaking’.

•Definitions matter. Policy can be defined as the sum total of government action, from signals of intent to final outcomes. It can refer to specific ‘tools’ or ‘instruments’. ‘Policymakers’ can be elected or unelected people or organizations.

•Simple models help us understand how policy is not made . Policy studies compare ‘ideal-types’ with the real world: there is no ‘comprehensive rationality’, in which governments process all information relevant to policy, or ‘policy cycle’, in which they make policy simply via a well-ordered series of ‘stages’.

•Policymakers have to use cognitive shortcuts. They deal with ‘bounded rationality’ in two ways: ‘rational’, to seek reliable sources of information and analysis, and ‘irrational’, using gut instinct, habits, emotions, and beliefs.

•The power of ‘the centre’ is limited. Political studies often focus on the concentration of power in central government. However, elected policymakers share power with other actors, by choice (to produce checks and balances in political systems) and necessity (because their controlling capacity is limited).

•Policy networks and subsystems are pervasive. Instead of one ‘centre’ in charge of all policy, we see many ‘communities’ of actors spread across government.

•Complex policymaking environments limit policymaker control. Policy studies focus on the environments in which policymakers operate but do not control. An environment contains many policymakers and influencers operating across many levels and types of government, each with their own institutions, networks, ideas, socioeconomic conditions, and key events.

•Ideas matter. Policy theories describe ‘ideas’ as (1) general ways in which to understand the world and policy problems and (2) specific policy ‘solutions’. In some cases, governments transfer policy solutions from one system to another.

•How to analyse policy and policymaking. At the heart of the study of public policy are definitions and measurements (how do we gauge policy change?), power (who or what is responsible for policy change?), and unpredictability (policymaking is often stable then suddenly unstable).

INTRODUCTION: WHY SHOULD WE STUDY PUBLIC POLICY?

Public policy is so important because it influences all aspects of our lives. It is difficult to think of any aspect of social life that has no connection to policy. So, it is important to get policy right, or at least explain what goes wrong and what anyone can be expected to do about it. In other words, we compare simple stories of how we think policy should be made with more complex stories of how it is actually made. For example, we can focus on why particular decisions are made. Why did so many governments decide to ‘bail out’ banks, rather than let them fold, after economic crisis? Why did many governments ‘privatize’ their industries and introduce private sector ideas to the public sector? Why have so many governments introduced major tobacco control policies while others have opposed further controls? Why did the UK government introduce the ‘poll tax’ or the Australian government reform gun laws (McConnell, 2010: 149–53)? Why do some groups seem to ‘win’ and others ‘lose’ when governments make key choices?

We study concepts and theories of public policy because we recognize that there are many different answers to these questions. These answers come from different sources, and we can learn a lot by comparing many perspectives carefully (Allison, 1969, 1971). We can compare insights from different theories, by asking ourselves, for example, if they can explain different parts of a complex question or if we can combine them to produce more general explanation. Although we cannot simply mash theories together (Cairney, 2013a), it is possible to identify a small set of core concepts that all theories seem to use to explain policymaking. Put most simply, they try to capture the role of individual choice within a complex policymaking environment which contains many actors, rules, and networks spread across many levels and types of government. Things get complicated when we try to define each of these concepts, usually with reference to bounded rationality and the relationships between so many of the constituent parts of policy environments.

For example, consider the many ways in which we can begin to study policymaking. We can focus on individual policymakers, examining how they analyse and understand policy problems. We can consider their beliefs and how receptive they are to particular ideas and approaches to the problem. We can focus on institutions, as the rules that influence policymaker choice. We can identify the powerful groups that influence how policymakers think and act. We can focus on the socioeconomic context and consider the pressures that governments face when making policy. Or, we can try to combine this analysis to present an overall picture of policymaking. Most contemporary accounts try to explain policy decisions by focusing on one factor or by combining an understanding of these factors into a theory. There will never be a single theory to unify all of these approaches to public policy, but we can at least generate a language to help us understand and compare many theories, and communicate our findings (Cairney and Weible, 2017). Most of this book is devoted to abstract concepts and theories, to help the reader understand how they provide a range of explanations of policymaking in the real world.

This conceptual understanding of policymaking informs discussions of how policy should be made. For example, there is currently a widespread interest in the idea of ‘evidence-based policymaking’ (EBPM) (Cairney, 2016a). For our purposes, EBPM is interesting because it sums up a classic debate in policy studies about the potential trade-off between a reliance on (1) expertise and evidence to pursue good policy outcomes and (2) the need to encourage the participation of as many people as possible to ensure good policy process. Of course we may want both things, but politics is about the choice between many preferences whenever they collide, and a process driven solely by expertise will produce very different outcomes to a process driven solely by participatory democracy. In practice, neither extreme is likely. Instead, the tensions between expertise and participation are reflected in the ways in which, for example, elected policymakers try to combine many relevant factors – research evidence, public opinion, their own beliefs, and their assessment of what policies are politically feasible – to produce what they consider to be good decisions under challenging circumstances.

Policy theory is crucial to the critical analysis, and full understanding, of what we might call ‘good policymaking’, of which EBPM is only one part. Without the insights of policy theories, it is too tempting to throw up one’s hands and declare that politics and policy-making are dysfunctional, and that policy is made with too much reference to ideology and too little to evidence. Yet ‘there is a big difference between a policy process that does not work and a process we do not understand’ (Wellstead et al., 2018: 7). Without enough knowledge of the policy process, we will struggle to produce a thoughtful and practical understanding of good versus bad policymaking.

A focus on power provides the most important way to think about the relationship between how policy is and should be made (Chapter 3). The most visible illustration of power is when elected policymakers are, in principle, given the authority to govern by the electorate. Our aim in this context is to examine the extent to which that power is used in good faith. For example, we may examine the responsiveness of public policy to public opinion or the electoral and legal mechanisms that keep policymakers in check.

Yet policy studies also analyse the least visible elements of power, often reproduced by unelected actors. For example, powerful groups often maintain their status and get what they want by minimizing attention to certain issues. Policy change requires attention from policymakers and other interested participants, but such attention is a rare commodity: a policymaker can only consider so many issues and most members of the public will only pay fleeting attention to political issues. So, actors exercise power to make sure that important issues do not arrive at the top of the policy agenda, because greater attention could undermine the status quo. This outcome may be achieved in several ways. First, by portraying issues as not worthy of attention. They can be portrayed as issues that have been solved, with only the technical issues of implementation to address. Or, they can be described as private issues in which the government should not interfere. Second, issues can be ‘crowded out’ of the policy agenda by other issues that command more attention. Third, the rules and procedures of government can be manipulated to make sure that proponents of certain issues find it difficult to command policymaker attention.

This potential for a small number of unelected actors to be so powerful can be assessed empirically, in theory-driven accounts of policymaking, and normatively, in relation to a range of principles of good policymaking. Only then can we describe a realistic and pragmatic response to such findings. For example, instead of expecting evidence to speak for itself as part of EBPM, advocates of research may have to get their hands dirty by exercising power and seeking to persuade, by using the techniques of their opponents (Cairney, 2018a).

In doing so, they will encounter many other actors pursuing different ways – combining knowledge, values, deliberation, and governance principles – to ensure good policymaking (Cairney, 2016a, 2018b; Jasanoff 1986: 5; Weale, 2001).

THE GENERAL APPROACH OF THIS BOOK

Public policy is difficult to study but worth the effort. The policy process is complex, messy, and often appears to be unpredictable. The idea of a single process is often a useful simplification. However, when we scratch beneath the surface we find that there are multiple policy processes: the behaviour of policymakers, the problems they face, the actors they meet, and the results of their decisions often vary remarkably. They often vary by region, political system, over time, and from policy issue to issue. Indeed, we might start to wonder how we can make convincing generalizations about all public policy. That is why much of the literature employs the case study method to make sense of very specific events in different political systems.

There are well-established ways to make sense of the process as a whole. The first step is to ensure that our language is clear enough to make sure that we are discussing the same thing. For example, we define public policy and compare definitions of policy to help identify our key focus (Chapter 2). We identify types of policy choice, such as the ‘tools’ or ‘instruments’ of policy, to help us measure policy change. We also juggle definitions of ‘policymaker’, to recognize that they can be elected or unelected, identifiable as individuals or representatives of organizations, and part of wider networks in which it is often difficult to separate the effect of choices made by policymakers and influencers.

The second step is to decide how to make the study of policymaking manageable (Chapter 2). For example, we can use ideal-types or artificial models to present a starting point to analysis. One classic approach is to describe the policy process as a cycle and break down its key features into a series of stages such as agenda setting, formulation, legitimation, implementation, and evaluation. Another is to describe ‘comprehensive rationality’, in which a policymaker has the perfect ability to produce, research, and introduce their policy preferences. We can then examine how useful are these concepts as a way to organize policy studies, and consider how best to supplement or replace them with policy theories. The main aim of this book is to identify those theories, explain how they work, and assess their current ability to explain key parts of the policy process.

I describe the overall plan of each chapter in this paragraph, and then expand on key themes in the remainder of this introduction. First, each chapter sets out a key theory or concern of public policy. In some cases, such as punctuated equilibrium and the advocacy coalition framework (ACF), this task is straightforward because the theory is linked to a small number of authors with a coherent research plan. In others, the chapter describes a disparate literature with many authors and approaches (new institutionalism, multi-level governance, policy transfer). Or, the chapter describes an important issue (defining policy, structural factors, bounded rationality, the role of ideas and power) and outlines key concepts or theories within that context. Second, it identifies the questions that each theory seeks to answer. It is important to assess each theory according to its stated aims. Too much of the literature complains about the things that a theory does not explain, often to introduce the self-serving agenda of the author, rather than simply using theories when they are useful. Third, it considers the value of each theory in different circumstances. For example, many theories have developed from a study of the US political system characterized by a focus on democratic elections and a separation of powers. Therefore, some thought is required when we apply their lessons to many other political systems (see also Chapter 5 on instit...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Boxes
• List of Abbreviations
• Preface
• 1. Introduction to Policy and Policymaking
• 2. What Is Policy and Policymaking?
• 3. Power and Public Policy
• 4. Bounded Rationality and the Psychology of Policymaking
• 5. Institutions and New Institutionalism
• 6. Structures, Environments, and Complex Systems
• 7. Collective Action Problems in Public Policy
• 8. Multi-level Governance and Multi-centric Policymaking
• 9. Punctuated Equilibrium Theory
• 10. The Advocacy Coalition Framework
• 11. Ideas and Multiple Streams Analysis
• 12. Policy Learning and Transfer
• 13. Conclusion: Policy Theory as Accumulated Wisdom
• Bibliography
• Index