Structure and Processes of Public Policy

PUBLIC POLICY

A Contextual Outline:

Public policy and governance are very closely related to each other. As an important instrument of governance, public policy affects each and every aspect of our life. Therefore, an understanding of the processes by which public policy is actually made and the institutions and actors that play a role in this process is vital for informed citizens and for all of us interested in improving the quality of governance or promoting good governance. It not only offers useful insights into why and how policies are formulated and implemented, and succeed or fail, but also offers strategic choices and options necessary for coalition/support building for appropriate and effective policy formulation and implementation. This may ultimately lead to ensuring good governance.

This course on Public Policy essentially aims at familiarizing the students with the complexities of governance and policy processes. Outlining the meaning, nature, scope and significance of public policy, it examines various approaches to and models of public policy. The course equips the students with the public policy-making processes including the institutions and actors involved in policy formulation and implementation and the dynamics (various forces or factors) that influence policy formulation. Discussing policy implementation in the context of various theories of organization, it highlights the role of bureaucracy and other actors in policy implementation. Further, the focus on politics of policy implementation provides the students with the knowledge of how socio-economic and political forces like, caste, class, community, rural power structure, politician-bureaucratic nexus, etc. impinge on and influence policy implementation. Finally, it tries to acquaint the students with the process of policy evaluation.Course Contents:

1. Public Policy: Meaning, Definition, Scope and Significance2. Approaches to the Study of Public Policy3. Public Policy-Making Processes4. Official Actors: The Institutional Framework

Legislature

Executive

Judiciary

Regulatory Agencies

5. Unofficial Actors in Policy Formulation Interest Groups

Political Parties

The General Public

Research Organizations & Policy Think Tanks

Mass Media

6. Politics/Dynamics of Policy Formulation7. Policy Implementation: The Organizational Set-Up a. Classical and Behavioural Theories of Organization

b. Bureaucracy and its Role in Policy Implementation

c. Street-Level Bureaucracy

d. Development Administration at the District, Block and Panchayat Level

e. Non-Governmental Organizations 8. Politics of Policy Implementation Caste, class and community

Rural power structures and the dominance of local elites

Politician-bureaucratic nexus

Issues of acceptability, resistance and ownership

9. Policy Evaluation

Actors in Policy Evaluation

Policy and Program Evaluation

Difference between Policy Analysis and Policy Evaluation

Types/Stages of Policy Evaluation

Chapter 1:

Public Policy: Meaning, Nature and Scope

Anderson, James E. (2000). Public Policy-Making: An Introduction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.Cochran, Charles L. and Eloise F. Malone (1995). Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Dye, Thomas R. (1998). Understanding Public Policy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003). Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Parsons, Wayne (1995). Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Theodoulou, Stella Z. and Matthew A. Cahn (1995). Public Policy: Essential Readings. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.Chapter 2:

Approaches to the Study of Public Policy

Cochran, Charles L. and Eloise F. Malone (1995). Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices. Boston: McGraw Hill. Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

McCool, Daniel (1995). Public Policy Theories, Models, and Concepts: An Anthology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Parsons, Wayne (1995). Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Sabatier, Paul A. (ed.) (1999). Theories of the Policy Process. Bolder, CO.: Westview Press. Chapter 3:

Public Policy-Making ProcessesAnderson, James E. (2000). Public Policy-Making: An Introduction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.Bonser, Charles E., Eugene B. McGregor, Jr. and Clinton V. Oster, Jr. (1996). Policy Choices and Public Action. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Cochran, Charles L. and E. F. Malone (1995). Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Gerston, Lary N. (1997). Public Policy Making Processes and Principles, Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.

Kingdon, John W. (1995). Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. New York: Longman

Lindblom, Charles E. and Edward J. Woodhouse (1993). The Policy Making Process. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Sabatier, Paul A. (ed.) (1999). Theories of the Policy Process. Bolder, CO.: Westview Press. Theodoulou, Stella Z. and Matthew A. Cahn (1995). Public Policy: Essential Readings. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.Chapter 4:

Official Actors: The Institutional FrameworkAnderson, James E. (2000). Public Policy-Making: An Introduction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.Gerston, Lary N. (1997). Public Policy Making Processes and Principles, Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.

Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kingdon, John W. (2003). Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. New York: Longman

Chapter 5:

Unofficial Actors in Policy Formulation

Anderson, James E. (2000). Public Policy-Making: An Introduction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.Gerston, Lary N. (1997). Public Policy Making Processes and Principles, Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.

Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kingdon, John W. (2003). Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. New York: Longman

Klijn, Erik-Hans (1996). Analyzing And Managing Policy Processes in Complex Networks: A Theoretical Examination of the Concept Policy Network and its Problems, Administration and Society, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 90.

Theodoulou, Stella Z. and Matthew A. Cahn (1995). Public Policy: Essential Readings. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.Chapter 6:

Politics/Dynamics of Policy Formulation

Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.

Echeverri-Gent, John (1993). The State and the Poor: Public Policy and Political Development in India and the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kingdon, John W. (2003). Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. New York: Longman

Klijn, Erik-Hans (1996). Analyzing And Managing Policy Processes in Complex Networks: A Theoretical Examination of the Concept Policy Network and its Problems, Administration and Society, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 90.

Kohli, Atul (1987). The State and Poverty in India: The Politics of Economic Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Meier, K. (1979). Politics and Bureaucracy: Policy Making in the Fourth Branch of Government, North Scituate, Me: Duxbury Press.Chapter 7:

Policy Implementation: The Organizational Set-UpEdwards, George C. III (1980). Implementing Public Policy. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

Handy, C. (1976). Understanding Organizations. Harmondsworth: Penguin

Hill, Michael and Peter Hupe (2002). Implementing Public Policy: Governance in Theory and Practice. London: Sage Publications.

Hughes, O. E. (1998). Public Management and Administration: An Introduction. London: Macmillan Press.

Ingram, Lary C. (1995). The Study of Organizations: Positions, Persons and Patterns. Westport: Praeger.

Linder, Stephen H., and B. Guy Peters (1989). Implementation as a Guide to Policy Formulation. International Review of Administrative Services, 55, pp. 631-652.

Lipsky, Michael (1980). Street Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Maheshwari, S. (1998). Administrative Theory: An Introduction. New Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd.

Montjoy, R. S. and L. J. OToole (1979), Toward a Theory of Policy Implementation, Public Administration Review, 34 (5), pp. 465-476.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey (1997). New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Prasad, D. Ravindra, V. S. Prasad and P. Satyanarayana Eds. (1989). Administrative Thinkers. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers.

Ripley, Randal B., and Franklin, Grace E. (1986). Bureaucracy and Policy Implementation, Homewood Ill.: Dorsey Press,

Sabatier, Paul A. and Daniel A. Mazmanian (1989). Implementation and Public Policy, Lanham: University Press of America.

Terry, L. D. (1995). Leadership of Public Bureaucracies: The Administrator as Conservator. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Turner, Mark and David Hulme (1997). Governance, Administration and Development: Making the State Work. Oakwood Avenue: Kumarian Press Inc.

Weatherly, R. and Lipsky, M. (1977). Street Level Bureaucrats and Institutional Innovation in ImplementingChapter 8:

Politics of Policy Implementation

Barrett, S. and Colin Fudge (eds.) (1981). Policy and Action: Essays on the Implementation of Public Policy. New York: Methuen & Co.

Berman, Paul (1980). Thinking about Programmed and Adaptive Implementation in Helen Ingram and Dean Mann (eds.) Why Policies Succeed or Fail. Newbury Park, California: Sage.

Echeverri-Gent, John (1993). The State and the Poor: Public Policy and Political Development in India and the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gellner, E. and J. Waterbury (eds.) (1977). Patrons and Clients in Mediterranean Societies. London: Center for Mediterranean Studies of the American Universities Field Staff.

Goggin, Malcolm L. (1988). Policy Design and the Politics of Implementation. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.

Hill, Michael and Peter Hupe (2002). Implementing Public Policy: Governance in Theory and Practice. London: Sage Publications.

Kohli, Atul (1987). The State and Poverty in India: The Politics of Economic Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Migdal, J. S. (1988). Strong Societies and Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third World. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Montjoy, Robert S. and Douglas J. Watson (1995). A Case for Reinterpreted Dichotomy of Politics and Administration as a Professional Standard in Council-Manager Government, Public Administration Review, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 231-239.

Nelson, Barbara J. (1996). Public Policy and Administration: An Overview, in Robert E. Goodin and Hans-Dieter Klingemann (eds.). A New Handbook of Political Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Weatherly, R. and Lipsky, M. (1977). Street Level Bureaucrats and Institutional Innovation in Implementing Special Educational Reforms, Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 171-197.

Chapter 9:

Policy Evaluation

Nagel, Stuart S. Ed. (2002). Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Parsons, Wayne (1995). Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

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