Chapter 20: Policy-making by Christoph Knill and Jale Tosun Caramani (ed.) Comparative Politics...

Chapter 20:

Policy-makingby Christoph Knill and Jale Tosun

Caramani (ed.) Comparative Politics

Section V: Public policies

Chapter 20: Policy-making

Introduction (1/1)

Introduction

Conceptual models of policy-making

Analysing policy-making as a process: the policy cycle

The importance of institutions, framing, and policy styles

The role of international factors for domestic policy-making

Policies: Government statements of what it intends to do, including law,

regulation, ruling, decision, or order (Birkland 2001).

Public policy: A more specific term, which refers to a series of actions

carried out to solve societal problems (Newton and van Deth 2005). Public policies are the main output of the political system.

By analysing the policy-making process, we gain a fuller understanding of

the causes and consequences of policy decisions.


Conceptual models

of policy-making (1/3)

Introduction





There are several complementary models of policy-making that clarify the

relationship between politics and public policies:

(1) Institutional model:- Public policies are determined by institutions, especially the

relationship between the executive and the legislative power- Public policies are formulated and implemented only by the

executive and the legislative- Policy-making seen as smooth technical process


Conceptual models


Introduction





(2) Rational model:- How can “optimal” policy decisions be reached?- Assumption of rational actors- Bayesian learning- Starting point for public choice / game theory

(3) Incremental model:- Response to the rational model: Concept of “bounded rationality”- Limited changes to existing policies, incremental policy-process- No ideal, but realistic description of policy-making


Conceptual models


Introduction





(4) Group model:- Public policies are the result of an equilibrium reached in interest

group struggle- Policy-makers are constantly responding to group pressures- Policy-changes triggered by changes in relative strength between

interest-groups

(5) Elite model:- Policy-making is determined by preferences of governing elites- Elites shape public opinions


Analysing policy-making

as a process: The policy cycle (1/4)

Introduction





Considering the main features of policy-making: Multiple constraints Various policy processes Infinite cycle of decisions and policies

It is convenient to analyse policy-making as a policy cycle.

(6) The policy cycle (or process model):

The policy-process is modelled as a series of political activities:

a) Agenda setting

b) Policy formulation

c) Policy adoption

d) Implementation

e) Evaluation




Introduction





a) Agenda setting:

The identification of a public problem:- Systemic agenda: All societal problems that demand public attention- Action agenda: Problems that are up for serious consideration of

decision-makers

Agenda setting is done by different actors:- Public officials- The bureaucracy- Mass media- Interest-groups- Political parties and scientific communities

Agenda-setting is an important source of power first mover

advantage




Introduction





b) Policy formulation:• The definition, discussion, acceptance, or rejection of feasible

courses of action for coping with policy problems• Deals with the elaboration of alternatives of action

c) Policy adoption:• The formal adoption to take on a policy • Policy adoption is determined by a number of factors, of which

two are particularly important:- The expected costs/benefits of the policy- Reduction of the set of feasible policies by the necessity to

build majorities (veto players)




Introduction





d) Implementation:• The conversion of new laws/programs into practice• The “black box” between policy adoption and policy outcomes• Quality of implementation depends on:

- Policy type- Available resources for implementation- Federal or unitary state- Role of top bureaucrats (bureaucratic drift)

c) Evaluation:• Carried out to measure policy efficiency and effectiveness• Provides a feedback loop powerful tool of policy-making

process


The importance of institutions,

framing, and policy styles (1/4)

Introduction





The role of institutions:

The main institutions are:- Electoral system- Executives and legislatives

The relationship between executive/legislative is of crucial importance in

policy-making. Lijphard (1999) differs between two types of democratic

systems:- Majoritarian systems (fusion of power between executive and

legislative power)- Consensus democracies (sharing power, balancing executive and

legislative power)




Introduction





The role of cognitive and normative frames:- Cognitive frames: Schemes through which actors view and

interpret the world- Normative frames: Values and attitudes that shape actors views

Normative and cognitive frames enable and constrain policy-making.

Certain actors have a privileged role in policy-making as they generate and

diffuse cognitive frames (mediators or policy-brokers).




Introduction





National policy styles:

Like the policy cycle, the concept of policy styles also serves as a useful

heuristic tool for identifying common policy-making patterns among

countries.

The main idea is that nations matter for policy-analysis.

However, empirically, there is a remarkable intra-national variation of

policy styles.




Introduction





There are several typologies of policy styles. According to Knill (1998)

national policy styles are defined by two dimensions:

(1) State intervention:- Hierarchical vs. self-regulation- Substantive vs. procedural regulation- Detailed requirements vs. open regulations

(2) Administrative interest intermediation:- Formal vs. informal / legislative vs. pragmatic- Open vs. closed relationships between administrative and social

actors


The role of international factors

for domestic policy-making (1/4)

Introduction





International factors also have an influence on domestic policy-making.

Theories of policy diffusion:- Analysis of the spread of policies across political systems from a

general perspective- Diffusion mainly affects the stage of agenda-setting, less policy-

formulation

Theories of policy transfer:

- Analysis of singular processes of bilateral policy exchange

Governments do not learn randomly about policy practices, but

through common affiliations, negotiations and institutional

membership.




Introduction





Policy convergence:

Any increase in the similarity between one or more characteristics of a

certain policy across a given set of political jurisdictions (Knill 2005).

Theories of policy diffusion and transfer describe a process that

might result in policy convergence. Since national policy processes

are different, convergence is not necessarily the case.




Introduction





Mechanisms behind internationalization:

(1) Imposition:

External political actor forces a government to adopt a certain policy

(2) International harmonization:

Member states engage voluntarily in international cooperation

(negotiated transfer)

(3) Regulatory competition:

Homogenization as a result of competitive pressures (race to the

bottom or race to the top)

(4) Transnational communication:

Mechanisms purely based on communication (drawing from available

experience)




Introduction





Empirical illustration:

Policy diffusion:- Climate policy instruments (e.g. emission trading systems) mainly

through international harmonization

Policy transfer:- CEECs refugees policies through imposition by EU

Policy-convergence:- Environmental policies, mainly driven by transnational

communication

Chapter 20: Policy-making by Christoph Knill and Jale Tosun Caramani (ed.) Comparative Politics...

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