Making Public Policy
 The process consists of
deciding what the problem is
and then how to solve it
 Policy making can have three
purposes:
 Solving a social problem
 High crime rates,
unemployment, poverty,
teenage drinking
 Countering threats
 Terrorism or war
 Pursuing an objective
 Building a highway, finding a
cure for cancer
 Policy can be achieved by prohibiting certain types of
behavior
 Polygamy, murder, rape
 Or by protecting certain activities
 Granting patents, protecting the environment, workplace
safety
 Or by providing direct benefits to citizens
 Building libraries or hospitals
 Policy making can be frustrating because it often
depends on public opinion
 The issue attention cycle requires policy makers to
act quickly before the people lose interest
 It often involves trade-offs between competing goods
 Ex: to find new energy resources may hurt the
environment
 It can have unforeseen results
and be bitterly disputed
 So legislators use the policy of
incrementalism – a slow,
step-by-step process to
making a policy
 Sometimes taking no action is
a way of making policy
 Argue over health care reform
and it can result in keeping
the status quo
 A big event like war, or a
collapsing stock market can
set the agenda
Making Policy
 Several steps to making policy:
 1) defining the role of government in solving social
and economic problems
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Liberals believe the gov’t has a greater responsibility than the
conservatives
The result is bigger, more active government
 2) agenda setting identifies the social and economic
problems
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Socioeconomic status can determine which items are more
important to people
When many people are affected, the issue will be high on the
agenda
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Sometimes those with the most money get items placed high
on the agenda
 Especially corporations
 3) formulating policy and adoption

Can be accomplished in several ways:
 Most difficult is the legislative process in Congress
 Easiest way is executive orders by the president
 Another way is regulatory agencies adopting rules
 Finally, the Supreme Court often sets policy
 4) policy implementation puts policy into effect
by enforcement through the appropriate agency
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There are timetables and rules
Problems need to be anticipated
A major concern are unforeseen consequences
 5) policy evaluation is the last step
 Does the policy work?
 Has it caused other problems?
 Evaluation provides feedback to policymakers so they can
make modifications
Obstacles to Policy Making
 We are a pluralist democracy with many centers of
power for making public policy
 We have a federal system which means that policy
can be made at local, state and federal levels
 This can cause policy fragmentation – many pieces
of legislation deal with parts of the problems but never
the entire problem
 Example: war on drugs has 75 congressional committees
with some oversight, local and state law enforcement,
Army, Navy, Border Control, DEA, etc
 When so many are
involved in policy, it takes
some coordination
 Compromise is necessary
 Another obstacle is cost
 Any burden, monetary or
nonmonetary that people
must bear
 People must see benefits
for them to approve of a
policy
 Disputes must be settled over who will benefit or pay
for a program versus who ought to benefit or pay
 Most people want government programs that provide
big benefits with low cost (haha)
Majoritarian Politics:
 Distributed Benefits,
Distributed Costs:
 Policies where lots of
people get benefits and
lots of people have to pay
 Example: Social Security,
national defense
 This type is controversial,
but usually over cost or
ideology
Interest Group Politics:
 Concentrated Benefits,
Concentrated Costs:
 Policy that gives benefits to a
small, identifiable group and
give the costs to another small,
identifiable group
 These are usually fought over
by interest groups
 Sometimes the public doesn’t
know about it until it is
already done
 Example: TV broadcasters
(CBS, NBC, ) vs. cable
companies = increase in cable
bill
Client Politics:
 Concentrated Benefits,
Distributed Costs:
 Some identifiable, usually
small group benefits, but
almost everyone will pay the
cost
 Because costs are widely
distributed and affect people
only slightly, many are unaware
or indifferent to costs
 Example: farmers get subsidies
and the public pays more in
taxes and higher food prices,
but doesn’t really notice it.
 Local areas also benefit as “clients” when they get a
new harbor, road, etc.
 Usually called pork barrel projects
 Usually several are put in one “barrel” (law) like the
“rivers and harbors” bill Congress passes every year.
 Trading votes gets support from members of Congress
from each region
 Then a majority coalition is formed
 This is called logrolling
Entrepreneurial Politics:
 Distributed Benefits, Concentrated Costs:
 When most of society benefits from a policy, and a
small, identifiable party of society pays for it
 Example: antipollution and safety requirements to
protect Americans at the expense of car makers
 These policies are hard to pass, but have been adopted
more frequently lately
 Policy entrepreneurs – people who work on behalf of
an unorganized or indifferent majority

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Ralph Nader is the best example
He calls himself a “consumer advocate”
Regulatory Policy
 US gov’t first began regulating people, businesses and
its own agencies in the late 1800’s
 It has grown quickly since then.
 Almost all activities in the US are regulated in some
way
 Three significant regulatory activities are:
 1) regulating business
 2) regulating labor
 3) regulating energy and the environment
Business Regulation
 Efforts by government to regulate business illustrate
these four types of policy-making processes
 It also sheds light on the relationship between wealth
and power
 Some believe that large corporations are a threat to
popular rule
 They believe economic power will dominate political
power for three reasons:
 1) money can buy influence
 2) politicians and businessmen have similar class
backgrounds, thus similar beliefs
 3) official must defer to businesses to keep the economy
health and growing
 Some have the opposite view – that politics is a threat
to the existence of a market economy, growth, private
property, personal freedom
 Heads of large corporations believe they will be
portrayed as the sinister elite and blamed for war,
unemployment, etc.
 Defenders of business worry that businesses will be
taxed excessively to pay for social programs which will
bring more votes for politicians
 Regulation of business first began with trying to
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eliminate monopolies
Oil, RR, beef, etc.
Sherman Anti-trust Act – 1890
Federal Trade Commission Act – 1914
Clayton Anti-trust Act – 1914
All these are majoritarian politics
 Interest group politics also affects regulatory policies
with labor unions
 1935 – Wagner Act created the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB)
 Regulated conduct of unions and right to hear unfair
labor practice complaints
 NLRB made up of five members of five year terms
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Dem Prez favor labor and appt Dems to Board
Rep Prez favor business and appt Rep to Board
 Occupational Safety and Health Act – 1970 –
pushed by unions and labor
 Set up OSHA under the Dept. of Labor
 Same thing happens b/w Dem and Rep Prez when appt
an administrator
 Client politics affects regulation also
 Benefits one group at the expense of many others
 Agricultural Adjustment Act – 1930’s
 Regulated the milk industry
 Helps keep the price of milk up so dairy farmers won’t go
out of business
 As a result, we pay more for milk
 This also happens with sugar, wheat, corn etc.
 Farmers get paid subsidies to NOT produce
 Entrepreneurial politics also affects business
regulation
 Distributed benefits, concentrated costs
 Pure Food and Drug Act – 1906
 Meat Inspection Act - 1906
 Protection for the consumer, cost for the companies
producing food and drugs
 Food and Drug Administration created
 Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970
Deregulation
 1980’s – several industries were deregulated over their
objections
 Ex: airline fares had been set by Civil Aeronautics
Board – this kept competition down and prices up
 Today, airlines set their own fares and have to compete
with each other
 The monopolistic AT&T prices were set by FCC
 Today, long distance phone companies compete with
each other with lower prices