Showing papers on "Public policy published in 1976"

Policy Analysts in the Bureaucracy

Abstract: For many years, the public administration community and the newer field of public policy analysis were at war, fighting battles in the way that academicians sometimes do-with disparaging statements about the intellectual prowess of the other and with acerbic comments about the relevancy and effectiveness of the opposing approach. Within these debates, rigid stereotypes were used to frame the arguments. To the public policy community, public administrators were functionaries who could not see beyond the limitations of their narrow techniques and their organizational myopia. The public administration community viewed the public policy people as Chicago-school economists in new dress-individuals who were driven by their maximizing models and who, in the process, ignored the "reality" of the institutional policy world. Times have changed. In some instances, the opposing "force" simply adopted the values and approach of the other. For example, some schools and departments of public administration offer courses in public policy analysis that are really applied micro-economic approaches, focusing on the formal, goal-maximizing techniques of analysis. Conversely, some public policy schools have "discovered" public management and have become infatuated with the processes and nuances of organizational behavior. The reappearance in paperback of Arnold J. Meltsner's important work, Policy Analysts in the Bureaucracy, reminds us that there is another way to approach these issues. The book, originally published in 1976, was the first work in the public policy literature that focused on the working policy analyst. Based on interviews with federal officials who were selfor organizationallyidentified as "policy analysts," the work continues to be a powerful source for individuals who are concerned about the way that decision makers are given-and receive-advice. While the examples in the volume are somewhat dated, the organizing framework in the work continues to be extremely salient. Meltsner conceptualizes the policy analyst as an individual who is located in the center ring of four concentric circles. Surrounding the analyst are the immediate client, who as the decision maker is the receiver of advice; then the organizational context, in which both the analyst and the client work; and, finally, the policy area itself, which is made up of a group of policy problems, knowledge, and politics. This approach to policy analysis immediately joins the two worlds of organization and analysis; it catapults the reader to a framework in which the interdependency between the two is the point of departure. Through his interviews of 116 federal policy analysts, Meltsner found that analysts are "a highly variegated species" (p. 14) who could be classified along two major

Policy termination as a political process

Abstract: The problem of how to terminate ineffective or outdated public policies, programs, or organizations is increasingly important. This paper argues that it is helpful to conceive of termination as a special case of the policy adoption process: there is a struggle to adopt a policy A, the substance of which is to eliminate or curtail policy B. The main distinguishing feature of this class of policy contests is the activity of “vested interests” who are able to advance a peculiarly powerful moral claim concerning the “inequity” or “unfairness” of change.

Toward a Sociology of Consumption

Abstract: The study of some psychological processes has become the main focus of consumer research; consequently, there has been a tendency to overlook the societal context in which consumers operate. The Authors focus on several characteristics of societies which affect individual consumers, and suggest new research directions which delineate the domain of a sociology of consumption and its potential contributions to private and public policy makers.

Assessing the Effects of Information Disclosure Requirements

Abstract: S NE continuing manifestation of consumerism is the increase in legislative and regulatory requirements for disclosure of product information. The pressure for additional information shows no signs of abating,' although the focus of the pressure is certainly changing. For the past five years the greatest emphasis has been on information about ingredients, relative prices, safety, and the useful life of products. The future will see greater attention paid to disclosures of efficiency and comparative performance information2 on a much broader array of products. Table 1 illustrates the scope of present and probable future requirements. A curious feature of the growing demand for more information is the paucity of concrete evidence that past disclosures have made significant differences in consumer or market behavior. And if the future is like the past, there will be little or no programmatic research available to help decision makers forecast the impact of new disclosure requirements.3 The lack of evidence on the behavioral effects of information disclosures is due to the relative newness of most requirements and the inherent difficulties of designing and implementing the appropriate evaluation research.4 These factors are compounded by a lack of conceptual bases for understanding how buyers use informations and confusion as to the objectives to be served by providing additional information. Without specific agreed-upon objectives there is no basis for a subsequent determination of success or failure. Yet there is seldom agreement among proponents as to whether new requirements should simply enhance the consumer's "right to know," improve the quality of products and competition, facilitate value comparisons, enable buyers to better match products and needs and thus increase purchase satisfaction, or pursue broad educational aims such as creating general public interest in nutrition or sensitivity to energy conservation. 1. See generally, Hans B. Thorelli, "Consumer Information Systems of the Future" (Distinguished Lecture in Marketing, York University, 1972); William L. Wilkie and David M. Gardner, "Marketing Research Inputs to Public Policy: The Case of the FTC," JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 38 (January 1974), pp. 38-47; William A. French and Hiram C. Barksdale, "Food Labeling Regulations: Efforts Toward Full Disclosure," JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 38 (July 1974), pp. 14-19; William C. Whitford, "Functions of Disclosure Regulation in Consumer Transactions," Wisconsin Law Review (No. 2, 1973), p. 403; and Gwen Bymers, "Seller-Buyer Communication: Point of View of a Family Economist," Journal of Home Economics, Vol. 64 (February 1972), p. 59. 2. George S. Day, "Full Disclosure of Comparative Performance Information to Consumers: Problems and Prospects," Journal of Contemporary Business, Vol. 4 (January 1975), pp. 53-68. 3. The major exceptions to this pattern have been the research on nutrient labeling and open dating. See Monroe Peter Friedman, "Consumer Responses to Unit Pricing, Open Dating and Nutrient Labeling," in Proceedings of the Association for Consumer Research, M. Venkatesan, ed. (Chicago, 1972), pp. 361-369. 4. George S. Day and William K. Brandt, "Consumer Research and the Evaluation of Public Policy: The Case of Truth in Lending," Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 1 (June 1974), pp. 21-32. 5. William L. Wilkie, "Assessment of Consumer Information Processing Research in Relation to Public Policy Needs" (Report to the National Science Foundation, 1974). Journal of Marketing, Vol. 40 (April 1976), pp. 42-52.

The Public, The Professionals, and Educational Policy Making: Who Governs?

Abstract: In twenty years the argument about who controls the American public schools has changed dramatically. In 1953 Charters challenged the then-prevalent view, derived from a quarter century of research,1 that American public school systems support the values of the 'dominant' social class of their constituent communities.\"2 This view was based upon evidence which supposedly demonstrated (1) the middle class bias of teachers, school administrators, and school board members; and (2) the pervasiveness of dominant community values. By way of illustration, the latter part of this view was well expressed by Warner:

Land use and the States

Abstract: An enlarged and revised book which looks at some programs of state land use control. Focusing on the problems that have caused the public to demand such controls, on the variety of legislative responses, and on the problems of implementation that arise, this study presents a rationale for the role of the state government in the land use field. Originally published in 1979

The new public personnel administration

Abstract: Prepare for your career in public personnel management with THE NEW PUBLIC PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION! With coverage of public policies, law rulings, and court rulings, this text gives you a solid foundation for advanced studies in specialized areas of public personnel management. Major policy trends and debates are discussed including affirmative action, compensation and benefits, sexual harassment, workplace violence, substance and alcohol abuse, performance appraisal, and collective bargaining. Discussion questions, suggested readings, chapter appendices, informative illustrations, and examples are just a few of the tools that will help you succeed in this course.

Net energy analysis: an economic assessment.

Abstract: Public and private decision makers are increasingly confronted with more complex and far-reaching public policy decisions concerning energy. Examples include responsible development of energy resources, allocation of energy research and development funds, legislated restrictions or subsidies for energy production and use, land use restrictions, and government regulation of major energy-producing industries. Decisions regarding all of these require analysis of the many social, economic, environmental, and political options and the delicate balancing of disparate yet competing interests, goals, and values. Various concepts regarding net energy analysis are reviewed and limitations on its usefulness for public policy decisions are evident. Congress has mandated the use of net energy analysis in assessment of new energy resources. Net energy analysis represents a marked departure from economic theory. In this paper, an assessment of the important assumptions and concepts underlying net energy analysis and a comparison of the different conclusions reached by net energy analysis and economic analysis are presented. The concepts of net energy and its important assumptions are defined; net energy analysis is subjected to an economic assessment; and some observations are made concerning the uses and limitations of the technique in the public policy-making process. (MCW)

Elections and Public Policy

Abstract: In the absence of historical opinion survey data, studies of the linkage between popular voting and American public policy have been confined to relatively recent time periods. Questions about these linkages, however, necessarily have a temporal dimension—what is the relationship between voting and policy over time? This paper establishes criteria for citizen policy choice that do not depend on opinion surveys. Data drawn from national party platforms and U.S. statutes, and aggregate voting data are compared to determine the extent to which majority choices are translated into national policy over time. Analysis of these data suggests that whether or not voters are completely aware of all of the implications of their actions, over time, popular majorities appear to govern.

On the priorities of government: a developmental analysis of public policies *

Abstract: The article provides a classification of the activities of the modern state, embracing 32 Western-type nations from 1849. The first two sections of the paper elaborate a comprehensive conceptual framework for classifying activities as defining, mobilizing of physical resources, and providing social benefits. These three types of activities are shown to have developed sequentially in the order named. A mortmain proposition is tested and confirmed demonstrating that states tend not to abandon activities. A convergence proposition is tested and rejected; there is no common pattern of resource mobilization and social services in contemporary industrial nations. The concluding section considers the priorities of states when constrained by resource limitations. Priorities are examined in terms of effectiveness and efficiency; the likelihood of creating losers as well as beneficiaries; and the need to maintain defining activities as a sine qua non of the existence of the state.

Citizen Participation: Practice in Search of a Theory

Abstract: Although citizen participation may be a worldwide phenomenon, its meaning, role, function, and importance vary from one culture and political system to another. The author reviews some of the conceptual problems in the current emphasis on public participation to suggest points at which both normative and empirical social theory may have something to contribute toward putting citizen involvement and public participation into a philosophic perspective. He emphasizes that it is the seeking after the public interest that is the important ingredient of citizen participation.

Steel Production: Processes, Products and Residuals

Abstract: The authors address the problems of determining the implications of different environmental standards and public policies by investigating their effect on industrial costs and resource use within linear-programming framework. Originally published in 1976

Campaign Expenditures and Political Competition

Abstract: THE theory of public choice emphasizes the role of economic assumptions in the mechanisms which generate political choices.1 In a recent contribution to this literature, Stigler has suggested that the "all-or-nothing" characterization of political competition is both unappealing and unrealistic. He is sympathetic to a basic similarity between political and economic competition, where, like the latter, the products of a political process (public policy) can be construed as ranging continuously from failure to success.2 Stigler notes that there has been a tendency to label (incorrectly) the winning of 51 per cent of legislative seats a victory and 49 per cent a defeat and argues that the success of a political party is "more or less," not all-or-none. Thus, the importance of a continuous characterization of political outcomes is that it reduces the apparent fundamental differences which have exacerbated the extent of the analogy between economic and political competition.3

The logic of ‘Policy’ and successful policies

Abstract: Developed on the premise that how we conceive of ‘policy’ and ‘successful policy’ guides policy sciences' research and evaluation, this paper responds to the conceptual questions of “what is a policy?” and “when is a policy successful?” Formal or logical conditions are established to distinguish ‘policy’ from related concepts. The notion ‘relevant public’ is introduced to distinguish public policies from private policies and to identify fairly-declared policies. Further, conditions are developed that can be used as logical tests for three types of policy success: implementation success, instrumental success and success in normative justification.

Race and Authority in Urban Politics: Community Participation and the War on Poverty

Abstract: In this penetrating book, the authors provide a systematic empirical analysis of an important public policy issue-citizen participation in the Community Action Program of the Johnson administration's "War on Poverty." This Phoenix edition includes a new introduction in which the authors explicate the most important themes in their analysis. In a series of lively chapters, Greenstone and Peterson show how the coalitions that formed around the community action question developed not out of electoral or organizational interests alone but were strongly influenced by prevailing conceptions of the nature of authority in America. The book stresses the way in which both machine and reform structures affected the ability of minority groups to organize effectively and to form alliances in urban politics. It considers the wide-ranging critiques made of the Community Action Program by conservative, liberal, and radical analysts and finds that all of them fail to appreciate the significance and intensity of the racial cleavage in American politics.

Multinational corporations and the instability of the Nigerian state

Abstract: Terisa Turner seeks to explain the instability of the Nigerian state. Stability and instability is not just a matter of vulnerability to forcible changes of regime. A stable state is one in which authorized individuals make, apply and enforce legal imperatives and public policies. To say that the Nigerian state lacks coherence is to say that it has not become separate from, dominant over, or capable of regulating society. Nigeria continues to have a predominantly import‐export economy, but one in which the state itself provides the main market for many commodities, and controls access to the supply of and market for others. Because of the key role of the state, its officials play a central part in Nigeria's commercial system. Foreign firms compete with one another for a share of the lucrative Nigerian market by offering inducements to local middlemen and state officials. Bribes are the basis of competitive advantage. State officials and Nigerian businessmen are compradors because they organize the access ...

Language, Communication, and Public Negotiation

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses language, communication, and public negotiation. Modern postindustrial society increasingly requires public participation in the decision-making processes that affect the quality of life. The past few decades have seen the growth of citizen-originated interest groups, which have as their main purpose the monitoring of public policy. Such groups are demanding and are beginning to achieve far-reaching changes in areas such as public health, law, education, and labor negotiations. Partly as a result of their initiative, policy-making agencies themselves are cooperating more and more with citizens' advisory groups. To the extent that cultural differences affect the ability to communicate, there is a need for the direct studies of communication difficulties to isolate the sources of culturally based confusion, before a change in other social factors can be expected. Recent anthropological work on communication processes has begun to show that what is involved in cultural confusion and misunderstandings of communication is much more than the gross factors of racial or ethnic stereotypes and prejudices.

Resource Allocation to Housing Investment: A Comparative International Study

Abstract: The position of the housing sector in various stages of economic development has long been a controversial issue in both the literature and the conduct of public policy. This is especially true for the role of housing investment in developing nations. The subject has been discussed at three levels. First, housing specialists and urban planners have engaged in a debate with economists about the optimal allocation of scarce resources to residential construction. Second, an attempt has been made to formulate and test a normative theory of housing investment on the assumption of indirect benefits of improved housing. Third, some writers have postulated stages of housing development geared to stages of economic growth. As will be seen, none of these approaches has produced even moderately conclusive results. Meanwhile, government action to influence the volume and composition of residential building has become nearly universal throughout the Free World, not to speak of the more complete planning of output allocations in socialist countries. This is in sharp contrast to the earlier growth phases of the now advanced nations when the unbridled market mechanism was the sole arbiter of relative resource use for housing. Strangely, research to date has bypassed any comprehensive and systematic examination of the actual shares of residential construction in the total output of countries at various levels of development. Nor has any effort been made to identify and measure the principal determinants of intercountry variance in resource allocation to housing. An exploration of these two subjects is the main purpose of this article. The analysis is prefaced by a brief review of the previous approaches to defining the role of housing in economic development.