PUBLIC POLICY MAKING An Introduction

Second Edition

JAMES E. ANDERSONTexas A &M University

Chapter 7POLICY IMPACT,

EVALUATION, AND CHANGE

When does the Evaluation of Policy occur?

The Evaluation of Policy occurs throughout the policy process

The final stage of the policy process is the evaluation of policy. Actually, it occurs throughout the policy process as we have to estimate, assesssment, or appraisal of policy which include its content, implementation and effect.

POLICY IMPACT, EVALUATION, AND CHANGE

- Evaluation is usually to estimate the consequences of various policy alternatives for dealing with a problem prior to adopting.

-Evaluation activities may restart the policy process in order to continue, modify, strengthen, or terminate a policy.

-Many of these judgments often based on anecdotal or fragmentary evidences at best and strongly influenced by ideological, partisan self-interest and other evaluational criteria.

-Another common variety of evaluation centers on the operation or administration of a policy.

Policy Impact, Evaluation, And Change

Questions asked may include:Is the program honestly run?What are its financial cost?Who receives benefits and in what amount?Were legal standards and procedure followed?This kind of evaluation may tell us something about honesty or efficiency in the conduct of a program.

Policy Impact, Evaluation, And Change

Policy Impact, Evaluation, And Change

New type of policy evaluation is the systematic, objective evaluation of programs to measure their societal impact and the extent to which they are achieving their stated objectives. We refer this type of evaluation as “Systematic Evaluation”.

Systematic evaluation directs attention to the effects a policy has on the public need or problem to which it is directed.

Systematic evaluation gives policymakers and the general public some notion about the actual impact of policy and provides discussions of policy with some grounding in reality.

An important distinction must be made between policy output and policy outcome. Policy outputs focus on the matter of amount like amount of taxes collected, miles of highways built, welfare benefits paid, and so on. Output usually can be readily counted, totaled, and statistically analyzes.

Policy outcome are the consequences for society which direct our attention to the societal effects of policies.

Policy Im

pact, Evaluation

, And Change

Policy Impact

Policy impacts are an amalgam of outputs and outcomes.

The impact of policy may have several dimensions: 1. Policies affect the public problem at which they are directed and people involved. Those whom the policy is intended to affect must be defined, whether they are the poor, small-business people, disadvantaged schoolchildren, petroleum producer, or whomever. The intended effect of the policy must then be determined. Further, policy may have either intended or unintended consequences, or even both. 2. Policy may effect situations or groups other than those at which they are directed. These are called “third-party effects, spillover effects, or externalities”. 3. Policies have consequences on future as well as current conditions, and for some policies most of their benefits or some of their costs may occur in the far future. 4. The costs of policies are another element for evaluation. It is fairly easy to calculate the direct dollar costs for the governmental implementation of policy. 5. It is also difficult to measure the indirect benefits of public policies for the community.

The analysis of public policy is usually focused upon what government actually do, why and with what material effects.

Policy Impact

The most useful form of policy evaluation is systematic evaluation that tries to determine cause-and-effect relationships and rigorously measure the results of policy.

“ measure rigorously” means to seek to assess policy impacts as carefully and objectively as possible.

Determining whether a policy is doing what it is supposed to do, is not an easy task as a number of conditions create obstacles or problems for effective accomplishment of policy evaluation. These problems include:

- Uncertainty over policy goals - Difficulty in Determining Causality - Diffuse Policy Impacts - Difficulty in Data Acquisition - Official Resistance - A Limited Time Perspective - Evaluation Lacks Influence

Problems in Policy

Evaluation

General Accounting

OfficeCongressional

Oversight

Presidential Commission

s

AdministrativeAgencies

-Intercession with agencies-Committee hearing& investigation-Appropriation process-Approval of presidential appointment-Committee staffs studies

-To evaluate program and report to congress-GAO will produce several hundred

evaluation studies

-As an instrumentof policy evaluation-Set up specially evaluate policy e.g. finding fact, making policy recommendation, or simply creating the appearance of presidential concern.

-Wanna get some notion of how their programs are working and what can be done to improve them-May lead to major program change

Policy Evaluation: Misuse of Cost-Benefit Analysis

Now we examine two additional features of cost-benefit analysis.-One is the discount rate, which is used to equate the value of present and future costs and benefits to permit their comparison. A low discount rate preserves the value of future benefits, whereas a high discount rate sharply reduces them.- Second, when the calculations are completed, costs and benefits are compared. If the value of benefits exceeds cost, if the ratio is more than 1.0, the activity being evaluated can be considered desirable in that it contributes to the general economic welfare of society, even though some people are disadvantaged by it.Cost-benefit analysis has been used as a tool in governmental decision-making.

The Politics of Evaluation:The Case of Head Start

Head Start program was intended to help overcome the effects of poverty on the educational achievement of poor children. Head Start program was highly popular, undoubtedly because it directed attention to poor preschool children.It was designed to provide poor children with physical and mental health services together with meals to improve their diet. However, this case study can be considered as a good one because in terms of its methodological and conceptual base. I suggest you all to look for its whole story for your more understanding.

There are suggestive reasons why public policies either do not achieve their

goals or do not have impact on public problems that they are expected to have, as followings:

1. Inadequate resources may be provided for implementating a policy.2. Policies may be administered so as to lessen their potential effect.3. Public problems are often caused by multiple factors, but policy may be

directed at only one or a few of them.4. People may respond or adapt to public policies in a manner that negates

some of their influence.5. Policy may have incompatible goals that bring them to conflict with one

another.6. Solutions for some problems may involve cost and consequences greater

than people are willing to accept.7. Public problems can not be solved or at least not completely.8. New problems may araise that distract attention and action from a problem.9. Many national policies and programs in such as education, environmental

protection, economic development and social welfare, are actually implemented by state- and local-government agencies.

WHY PUBLIC POLICIES MAY NOT HAVE THEIR INTENDED EFFECT

. The proposition here advanced is that the response to policies, and demands for changes will be affected by the way in which their benefits and costs are distributed or are perceived to be distributed.

THE RESPONSE TO

POLICY

Cost and benefit can be considered in various ways of distribution:-Broad benefits and Broad

Costs Policies that involve broad distribution of costs and benefits e.g. Social security, Highway construction, Police & Fire protection, Public education and National defense.- Broad Benefits and Narrow Costs Policies that provide benefits for

large no. of people but costs at least initially fall primarily upon fairly distinct e.g. control of environmental pollution, automobile safety, inspection of food and meat, regulation of public utilities and

safety, policies for industry and coal mine.

CONT’D

-Narrow Benefits and Broad Costs -Policies benefit readily identifiable interest groups, though the burden of their costs falls upon taxpayers e.g. veterans’ benefits, agricultural subsidies, hospital-construction grants, rivers and harbors projects and special tax provisions.-Narrow Benefits and Narrow Costs Policies that provide benefit to a well-defined group but at the cost of another distint group tend to product continuing organized conflict among groups and their partisans e.g. commercial banks and saving and loan associations over banking policies.

POLICY TERMINATION

- Policy termination is a severe action with unpleasant and negative connotation.- The evaluation and appraisal of a policy , dissatisfaction with its cost and consequences, and development and proliferation of political opposition may lead to its termination.- Policy termination is difficult for a number of reasons.However, problems in connection with current policies may be identified, alternatives formulated, and so on, until the policy is modified in some way. The policy may also be so administered as to make it more acceptable. Whether legislative or administrative in origin, policy change is more likely than termination.