Showing papers in "Policy Sciences in 1973"

Dilemmas in a general theory of planning

Abstract: The search for scientific bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, becuase of the nature of these problems. They are “wicked” problems, whereas science has developed to deal with “tame” problems. Policy problems cannot be definitively described. Moreover, in a pluralistic society there is nothing like the undisputable public good; there is no objective definition of equity; policies that respond to social problems cannot be meaningfully correct or false; and it makes no sense to talk about “optimal solutions” to social problems unless severe qualifications are imposed first. Even worse, there are no “solutions” in the sense of definitive and objective answers.

If Planning is Everything, Maybe It’s Nothing

Abstract: Where planning does not measure up to expectations, which is almost everywhere, planners are handy targets. They have been too ambitious or they have not been ambitious enough. They have perverted their calling by entering into politics or they have been insensitive to the political dimensions of their task. They ignore national cultural mores at their peril or they capitulate to blind forces of irrationality. They pay too much attention to the relationship between one sector of the economy and another while ignoring analysis of individual projects, or they spend so much time on specific matters that they are unable to deal with movements of the economy as a whole. Planners can no longer define a role for themselves. From old American cities to British new towns, from the richest countries to the poorest, planners have difficulty in explaining who they are and what they should be expected to do. If they are supposed to doctor sick societies, the patient never seems to get well. Why can't the planners ever seem to do the right thing?

The policy implementation process

Abstract: There is an implicit assumption in most policy studies that once a policy has been formulated the policy will be implemented. This assumption is invalid for policies formulated in many Third World nations and for types of policies in Western societies. Third World governments tend to formulate broad, sweeping policies, and governmental bureaucracies often lack the capacity for implementation. Interest groups, opposition parties, and affected individuals and groups often attempt to influence the implementation of policy rather than the formulation of policy. A model of the policy implementation process is presented. Policy implementation is seen as a tension generating force in society. Tensions are generated between and within four components of the implementing process: idealized policy, implementing organization, target group, and environmental factors. The tensions result in transaction patterns which may or may not match the expectations of outcome of the policy formulators. The transaction patterns may become crystallized into institutions. Both the transaction patterns and the institutions may generate tensions which, by feedback to the policymakers and implementors, may support or reject further implementation of the policy. By application of the model, policymakers can attempt to minimize disruptive tensions which can result in the failure of policy outcomes to match policy expectations.

Bureaucratic politics and American foreign policy: A critique

Abstract: Bureaucracies, we are told, have become central to the forging and wielding of American foreign policy, but with consequences adverse to the substance of that policy.* In the words of a past critic and present practitioner of American foreign policy: "The nightmare of the modern state is the hugeness of bureaucracy, and the problem is how to get coherence and design in it" [l]. That bureaucracies are crucial to our foreign policy and that they can make life difficult for Presidents are two propositions with which any analyst of American foreign policy could scarcely disagree. But what precisely do these propositions mean ? Do they mean that bureau, cracies largely determine our foreign policy through their ability to select the informa, tion presented to top political leaders and through the control they exert over the details of implementing policy ? Do they mean that Congress has little effect on foreign policy because Congress as an institution plays a small rote in tbrmulating policy and virtually none in implementing it ? Do they mean that the systemic perspective on international politics is of no use, or that Presidential assumptions, perspectives, and decisions are not the controling factors in our foreign policy? Do they mean that bureaucracies, if they are powerful, are equally powerful in all areas of foreign policy? Do these propositions mean that we must concentrate primarily on the mechanics of the foreign policy bureaucracy in order to understand or adduce the substance of policy ? Must we look to the nuts and bolts of bureaucracy to explain the thrust of policy ? Should we now adopt as the most fruitful method of analysis what is variously called "the governmental politics model," "the bureaucratic

A theoretical basis for participatory planning

Abstract: Arguments are presented for the reconsideration of models which guide planning behavior and structure planning organizations. Hierarchical organizations are contrasted with reticular organizations and the latter are presented as necessary for effective citizen participation. Legitimacy is presented as a fundamental basis of justifying planning action and historical shifts in forms of legitimacy are noted. Participation, as a form of legitimacy, and several aspects of participatory planning are discussed in terms of recent systems thinking. It is argued that participatory planning increases the effectiveness and adaptivity of the planning process and contributes adaptivity and stability to the societal system. Further, it is argued that citizen participation is an essential element in making the planning process a learning system. This leads to a strengthening of the definition and role of communities in the urban system, and to an unexpected requirement of planners who would adopt a participatory planning process.

Values, norms and policies

Abstract: Norms are defined as specific but tacit standards of what is socially and individually acceptable; values as explicit but general statements of principle, of which the content is continually changing through changing norms, changing circumstances, changing policies and the accompanying ethical debate. The relation of norms, values and policies is shown by an historical example. The inherent conflict within both norms and values is discussed and the role of the policymaker is defined, both as an artist in conceiving and devising one among many possible but always partial realizations of contemporary norms and values, and as a partially conscious agent in reshaping the norms and values of his time. The psychological implications of this are briefly indicated.

A welfare model for selecting indicators of national development

Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to present a frame of reference for selecting social indicators on the basis of values inherent in the concept of social welfare. It is assumed that these values can be captured by the terms Having, Loving and Being. A scheme for selecting indicators of comparative relevance is presented by cross-tabulating the basic value categories with a second set of categories here called elements of society. The point of departure is a conception of national societies as systems in which there are inputs, outputs, and a structure through which inputs and feedbacks flow. The inputs and outputs on the different value-dimensions can be assessed through measures of central tendencies whereas structure can be described through dispersion parameters and correlations.

The failure of federal enforcement of civil rights regulations in public housing, 1963–1971: The co-optation of a federal agency by its local constituency

Abstract: This paper reports on research regarding the federal role with respect to racially discriminatory practices in public housing. It is a case study of federal efforts to deal with inadequate housing for low-income Americans, based on Public Housing in Chicago from 1963 through June 1971.

On the strategy of social planning

Abstract: Social planning deals centrally with human values—values which are important even though they do not appear as explicit factors in the classical problems of social welfare. The philosophical question as to whether facts can provide a logical basis for values need not be considered by the planner. He focuses, rather, on the specific interplay of values and facts in the concrete context of his concern. In the analysis of this interplay we can distinguish a number ofprinciples, criteria for the specification of social ends; for instance, the maximin principle, that improvements in a value distribution consisting in cutting off the bottom of the distribution have priority over raising the top. Social ends, in turn, are analysable intoideals, goals, andobjectives—directions, regions and points, respectively, in the value space. Cutting across these are the desiredqualities of the experience of pursuing those ends, qualities allowing for the assessment of planned alternatives by configurational judgment, rather than by a presumed summation of component values.

Decentralization and alienation

Abstract: Researchers and policymakers alike have made the reduction of citizen alienation one of the important goals for decentralizing public services. Decentralization is thought to bring government closer to the public being served, and therefore to improve public attitudes toward government. No existing research fully tests this hypothesis. However, several national surveys provide sufficient data to examine the relationships between various types of citizen activity linked with decentralization and the two dimensions of political alienation, powerlessness/efficacy and distrust/trust. A review of these surveys reveals that decentralized activity, whether taking the form of citizen participation, citizen awareness of decentralized facilities, or service improvements, is consistently associated with people's sense of efficacy, but not to their sense of trust. The results thus suggest that decentralization may affect alienation in terms of reducing sense of powerlessness, but that it has no impact on people's trust in government. Decentralization of public services may therefore be one of many steps taken to reduce citizen alienation toward government, but it will not, contrary to expectations, significantly impact on alienation by itself.

A decision model for the study of public bureaucracies

Abstract: In this paper the concept “series of decisions” is introduced and defined as the total number of decisions made in the attainment of a goal. The series are analytically divided into two types of decisions, programming and implementation—the first ones are those made during the process of converting policy goals into programs, and the second, those made during the implementation of the programs. The distinction is important because different actors and institutions are involved in the two phases. It is hypothesized that the relation between the time of programming decisions and the time of implementation of decisions tends to be zero the less effective and the less numerous the organizations participating in the programming phase. A list of factors which could be useful in the process of testing and modifying the hypothesis is presented. The division of health environment of the health ministry of Colombia is used to exemplify the concept of “series of decisions,” and to show the utility of the analytical distinction between programming and implementation decisions.

Rationality between the maximizers and the satisficers

Abstract: It is argued that by explicating rationality in terms of benefits balancing or outweighing costs instead of in terms of maximizing or satisficing something, a more adequate view of rationality is obtained.

Social policy implications of the minimum wage law

Abstract: Poverty and unemployment are two critical issues facing the United States today. Linked to both of these is the federal minimum wage law. Established under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the purpose of the law was—and still is—to eliminate, as rapidly as possible, labor conditions thought to be harmful to the “health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers ... without substantially curtailing employment or earning power.”1 In other words, to eliminate low wages without eliminating jobs. This is a laudable goal, with which no one is likely to disagree. The question remains as to how effective the law has been in achieving this goal. Has it eliminated poverty? Or has it, to the contrary, had effects detrimental to those the law was designed to help? It is the contention here that the minimum wage law has played a significant role in causing unemployment among the most disadvantaged groups, including blacks, teenagers, unskilled workers, and people living in economically depressed regions. It is therefore proposed that further increases in the minimum wage be blocked and that the rate and coverage be held at the present level.

Policy roles: an analysis of policy formulators and policy implementors

Abstract: This paper presents an empirical analysis of individuals in policy formulating and policy implementing roles. Data for the comparison are from interviews with a random sample of 119 New Zealand middle-level public administrators from 27 government departments.

The problems and pitfalls of quantitative methods in urban analysis

Abstract: The utilization of quantitative methods in urban analysis is a complicated endeavor faced with many serious problems. The purpose of this paper is to inventory and explain the problems and pitfalls in their utilization. Three types of problems are catalogued: conceptual/technical, administrative and societal. Within the first two categories, the problems are further dimensioned as either analytical or decisional in nature.

Health planning rationality

Abstract: Health planning theory has failed to operationalize the concept of rationality into terms useful for theory building. The concept of rationality has also generally not been translated into a useful tool for the health planning practitioner. In order to decrease the mystique associated with rationality and to aid in refinement of the concept, four attributes of health planning rationality are proposed: (1) Health planning rationality is “bounded” due to the magnitude of problems and man's limited problem-solving abilities; (2) Health planning rationality has multiple dimensions (technical, social, legal, political and economic); (3) The multiple dimensions of health planning rationality interact as complements and substitutes; and (4) Health planning rationality may be conceived of as the exposure of problems to cognitive processes.

Systems analysis and welfare reform: A case study of the family assistance plan

Abstract: This paper discusses the impact that systems analysis has had on the welfare reform legislation of the last four years. After a general discussion of welfare reform's objectives and constraints, and their particular application to the family assistance proposal, the state of the art of systems analysis as related to welfare problems is described. The successes and failures of the cost-effectiveness approach in developing and modifying the proposal are outlined in analyses of major issues, including the proposal's impact on state welfare programs, work incentives, the integration of cash assistance with assistance in kind, and alternatives for welfare administration.

A critical review of some basic considerations in post-secondary education evaluation

Abstract: Following on a short review of North American program evaluation experiences in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, a summary is given of the major problems observed in such evaluation efforts. With this background assessment, the remainder of the paper attempts to specify objectives and criteria that seem appropriate in post-secondary program evaluation in the 1970's. Some attention is devoted to problems of implementing changes in efficiency through increasing productivity by a number of alternative strategies. Finally, some tentative suggestions are made as to possible routes to implementing program evaluation in post-secondary education.

Assessment of an attempt at a system of social indicators

Abstract: Following the publication in 1968 ofIndicators of Social Change, a relatively large number of papers and books have appeared. This review-article systematically assesses some first attempts at the development of comprehensive systems of social indicators.

Evaluating the OEO Legal Services Program

Abstract: During 1970 and 1971, the complex and politically sensitive OEO Legal Services Program received its first independent national evaluation. This paper describes how evaluators dealt with the policy issues arising during the evaluation. Their decisions involved the interaction of three factors: conceptual problems, access to data, and a sense of what would be relevant to public policy. They found only a small area of intersection between a large set of issues important to policy-makers and an equally large, but usually different, set of issues amenable to systematic research.

Regional stabilization: a model for policy decision

Abstract: A policy simulative model with the main purpose of simulating the effects of alternative policy moves and obtaining an accurate read-out of resulting urban-suburban conditions is the focus of this paper.

Development of a simulation model of the Detroit housing market

Abstract: A first generation model simulating the Detroit housing market has been developed for the City of Detroit. The model has the capability both to assist the City in planning for future housing and renewal needs as well as to aid in research to improve understanding of the functional relationships in the housing market. The key inputs to the model are census tract data describing specific attributes of the households, dwelling units and neighborhoods in the City. The model can provide forecasts of future levels of demand for housing with the specified structural and locational attributes. By operating the model under varying assumptions concerning public actions, it is possible to simulate the effects of the public policies being considered. The model is based on what is known, but it is designed to permit the development of a second generation model in response to advances in the state of the art of urban simulation modeling.

Paradigm lost: Five actors in search of the interactive effects of domestic and foreign affairs

Abstract: The Author: So many people are concerned these days about public attitudes toward U.S. foreign policy. The long-standing consensus in support of postwar containment policies appears to have broken down and everyone is wondering wbat the impact of internal change will be on the nation's external behavior. Will a new consensus emerge ? Or is a cyclical process at work in which the public is just entering a withdrawal phase? Will the U.S.'s capacity to cope with the momentous changes abroad be greatly limited by neo-isolationist tendencies in the domestic arena? Or will external changes generate a new public involvement in foreign affairs ? How easy it is to ask such questions. But how hard it is to actually come to grips with them! Which internal changes ? Having what kinds of immediate effects ? With what kinds of long-run consequences ? The questions are awesome and one can hardly begin to cope with them in limited time and space.

Analysis and foreign policy choice

Abstract: The relationships between political analysis and foreign policy choice whatever their other problems have not lacked for discussion in recent years. That is not surprising in a period when the connection between knowledge and action has been under normative re-examination, when the technology of political analysis has changed drastically, when U.S. foreign policy in both program and process terms has disappointed and angered many, when the internal inadequacies of American society have again been recognized, and when federal and foundation funding for internationally focused social science research and training have shrunk. 1 In spite of all the discussion, one is highly optimistic to contend that even modest signs of progress are visible. At the current rate of change, we might as well wait for the secular trend of a new generation of officials and analysts with better undergraduate and graduate social science training. That option is unsatisfactory on two counts. First, the costs of delay are high. Second, there is no particularly convincing reason to believe that if analysts continue what they are doing, the impact of their students will be particularly more beneficial than the impact of the students produced by the burgeoning international relations and area studies programs of the late 1940s and 1950s. Accordingly, in this paper I will put forward, first, a selective set of observations about our past experience and current situation and, second, some suggestions for new strategies and tactics in the future. The first section suggests some lessons for us. These are of a political and technical sort as contrasted with the more discussed problems of communication and morality. The imbalance stems f rom my concern not to repeat what has been said well and also from a conviction that it is arid to focus

Systems analysis and emergency command and control systems for municipalities and law enforcement

Abstract: This article is designed to provide insight into methodologies that can be used to assess alternative emergency command and control systems for municipalities and law enforcement. Some potential pitfalls and errors are highlighted.

Hierarchical resource allocation decisions

Abstract: A model of resource allocations within a hierarchical bureaucracy is presented. Since at the departmental level programs of other departments overlap on certain objectives, allocations independently determined by departments are not optimal. It is well known that if only budgetary guidelines are transmitted by a central decision maker they are insufficient to assure desired allocations. A minimal set of guidelines exist which, when transmitted to departmental advisors, result in desired allocations.

Public policy analysis in Washington and Ottawa

Abstract: Policy analysis in the U.S. and Canada tends to follow the methods of systems analysis and takes into account variables relating to substantive matters as well as political and administrative constraints that governments face in pursuing different alternatives.