Introduction:
The government of the most developing countries is going through experiments to improve on their strategies for national development. To ensure the improvement of the relevant policies is taken as an important mechanism for attaining this goal. The field of public policy has assumed considerable importance in response to the ever-increasing complexities of technology, social organization, industrialization and urbanization.
Meaning of public policy:
Public policy is the reflection of government intensions. It is not only concerned with the description and explanations of the causes and consequences of government activity but also developing scientific knowledge about forces shaping public policy and future perspectives.
There are two parts of public policy-
1. Public: Public is defined as people in general a group of people who share a particular interest or who have some thing common.
We can define public in the following manners-
A group of people.
Have common interest and objectives.
Refers to an unstructured social structure.
May work as a pressure group.
2. Policy: Policy is seen as a plan of action, statement of ideals etc. Proposed or adopted by a government, political party, business etc.
In brief, policy is something that,
Refers to a course of action or intended course of action.
Adopted after a review of possible alternatives.
Proposed or adopted by a government political party, business etc.
Regarded as ways of doing things as well as the content of what is being done.
Concerned not only with what is but also deals with what should be.
Public policy: Public policy is that, which deals with some topic or matter of public concern.
According to Anderson,
“A purposive course of action followed by an actor or a set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern.”
According to Thomas Dye,
“Public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not to do.”
So we can say that, public policy consists of what government does and prefers to do.
Importance of public policy:
1. As inheritors of an enduring democracy, also the sole superpower, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to participate in civic affairs. We need know-how: the analytical, ethical, and practical skills necessary to effectively engage in public affairs. Regard this responsibility as a life-long duty.
2. The sheer extent of the intervention of government in society, the economy, and world affairs makes the study of public policy essential for a conscientious citizen. Similarly, the amount of spending by government at all levels makes this an important subject. As taxpayers, we have a stake in effective public policy and the overall scope of the government in our lives. We consume a vast and varied bundle of public services. A detailed, current discussion of the dimensions, growth, and composition of government spending will be provided in chapter five, which deals with the budget as part of the policy cycle.
3. Understanding policy analysis permits us to actualize solutions to practical problems which are brought to the agenda of government. These may be our own problems, those of our community, our profession, or problems to which we feel a special commitment. Knowing how public policy works can improve our ability to deal with these issues.
4. Public policy analysis can become a professional role for students trained in political science, economics, law, environmental studies, business, and other disciplines. These fields constantly interface with government and have a direct stake in the quality and character of public policy. To the extent that analysts can understand how policy is made, what impacts are derived, and how policy can improve, more effective public policy might be formulated.
5. To sustain improvements in their social system and to increase the capacity of their political system with a view to achieving the major objective of national development.
6. To collection of data for these purposes may include changes in population growth rates, education, public health and so on.
Nature and Scope of Public Policy
Nature of public policy:
A policy may be general or specific, broad or narrow, simple or complex, public or private, written or unwritten, explicit or implicit, discretionary or detailed and qualitative or quantitative. Here we emphasis on “public policy” which is what a government chooses as guidance for action. From the view point of public policy activities of government can be put into three categories-
Firstly, activities which are attached to specific policies.
Secondly, activities which are general in nature.
Thirdly, activities which are based on vague and inconsistent policies.
In practice, a government rarely has a set of guiding principles for all its activities. Important public policies are often made more explicit, particularly where the issue of law, a regulation, or a plan and like is involved.
A public policy may cover a major portion of its activities which are consistent with the development policy. Socio-economic development equality, or liberty or self reliance or similar broad principles of guidance for action may be adopted as developmental policy or national goal.
A public policy may be narrow, covering a specific activity such as family planning. A public policy may also be applied to all people in a country or it may be limited to a section of its people.
Besides each level government- central state, local- may have its specific or general policies. Then they are “mega-policies” general guidelines to be followed by all specific policies are termed as a “mega-policy”
Public policies in modern political systems are purposive or goal oriented statements. Again a public policy may be either positive or negative in form. In its positive form, it may involve some form of government action to deal with a particular problem. On the other hand, in its negative form, it involves a decision by public servants not to take action on some matter o which a government order is sought.
So we can say, public policy is involved-
Legally authorized person, for example- parliamentarian, public officials etc.
The three parts of government like executive, judiciary and legislature branches.
Cradle to graveyard.
Scope of the Public policy:
A significance part of the study of public policy consists of the development of scenarios and extrapolations of contemporary trends. The scope and sheer size of the public sector has grown enormously in all the developing countries in response to the increasing complexity of technology, social organization, industrialization and urbanization. At present the function of practically all government, specially of the developing countries, have significantly increased. They are now concerned with the more complex functions of nation-building and socio-economic progress. Today the government is not merely the keeper of peace, the arbiter of disputes and the provider of common goods and day to day services. For better or worse, government has, directly or indirectly, become the principal innovator, the major determiner of social and economic programs and the main financer as well as the main guarantor of large- scale enterprises.
Modern urban man is born in a publicly financed hospital, receives his education in a publicly supported school and university, spends a good part of his time travelling on publicly built transportation facilities, communicates through the post office or the quasi-public telephone system, drinks his public drinking water, disposes of his garbage through the public removal system, reads his library books, picnics in his public parks, is protected by public police, fire, and health system, eventually, he dies, again in a hospital, and may even be buried in a public cemetery
The government of the most developing countries is going through experiments to improve on their strategies for national development. To ensure the improvement of the relevant policies is taken as an important mechanism for attaining this goal. The field of public policy has assumed considerable importance in response to the ever-increasing complexities of technology, social organization, industrialization and urbanization.
Meaning of public policy:
Public policy is the reflection of government intensions. It is not only concerned with the description and explanations of the causes and consequences of government activity but also developing scientific knowledge about forces shaping public policy and future perspectives.
There are two parts of public policy-
1. Public: Public is defined as people in general a group of people who share a particular interest or who have some thing common.
We can define public in the following manners-
A group of people.
Have common interest and objectives.
Refers to an unstructured social structure.
May work as a pressure group.
2. Policy: Policy is seen as a plan of action, statement of ideals etc. Proposed or adopted by a government, political party, business etc.
In brief, policy is something that,
Refers to a course of action or intended course of action.
Adopted after a review of possible alternatives.
Proposed or adopted by a government political party, business etc.
Regarded as ways of doing things as well as the content of what is being done.
Concerned not only with what is but also deals with what should be.
Public policy: Public policy is that, which deals with some topic or matter of public concern.
According to Anderson,
“A purposive course of action followed by an actor or a set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern.”
According to Thomas Dye,
“Public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not to do.”
So we can say that, public policy consists of what government does and prefers to do.
Importance of public policy:
1. As inheritors of an enduring democracy, also the sole superpower, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to participate in civic affairs. We need know-how: the analytical, ethical, and practical skills necessary to effectively engage in public affairs. Regard this responsibility as a life-long duty.
2. The sheer extent of the intervention of government in society, the economy, and world affairs makes the study of public policy essential for a conscientious citizen. Similarly, the amount of spending by government at all levels makes this an important subject. As taxpayers, we have a stake in effective public policy and the overall scope of the government in our lives. We consume a vast and varied bundle of public services. A detailed, current discussion of the dimensions, growth, and composition of government spending will be provided in chapter five, which deals with the budget as part of the policy cycle.
3. Understanding policy analysis permits us to actualize solutions to practical problems which are brought to the agenda of government. These may be our own problems, those of our community, our profession, or problems to which we feel a special commitment. Knowing how public policy works can improve our ability to deal with these issues.
4. Public policy analysis can become a professional role for students trained in political science, economics, law, environmental studies, business, and other disciplines. These fields constantly interface with government and have a direct stake in the quality and character of public policy. To the extent that analysts can understand how policy is made, what impacts are derived, and how policy can improve, more effective public policy might be formulated.
5. To sustain improvements in their social system and to increase the capacity of their political system with a view to achieving the major objective of national development.
6. To collection of data for these purposes may include changes in population growth rates, education, public health and so on.
Nature and Scope of Public Policy
Nature of public policy:
A policy may be general or specific, broad or narrow, simple or complex, public or private, written or unwritten, explicit or implicit, discretionary or detailed and qualitative or quantitative. Here we emphasis on “public policy” which is what a government chooses as guidance for action. From the view point of public policy activities of government can be put into three categories-
Firstly, activities which are attached to specific policies.
Secondly, activities which are general in nature.
Thirdly, activities which are based on vague and inconsistent policies.
In practice, a government rarely has a set of guiding principles for all its activities. Important public policies are often made more explicit, particularly where the issue of law, a regulation, or a plan and like is involved.
A public policy may cover a major portion of its activities which are consistent with the development policy. Socio-economic development equality, or liberty or self reliance or similar broad principles of guidance for action may be adopted as developmental policy or national goal.
A public policy may be narrow, covering a specific activity such as family planning. A public policy may also be applied to all people in a country or it may be limited to a section of its people.
Besides each level government- central state, local- may have its specific or general policies. Then they are “mega-policies” general guidelines to be followed by all specific policies are termed as a “mega-policy”
Public policies in modern political systems are purposive or goal oriented statements. Again a public policy may be either positive or negative in form. In its positive form, it may involve some form of government action to deal with a particular problem. On the other hand, in its negative form, it involves a decision by public servants not to take action on some matter o which a government order is sought.
So we can say, public policy is involved-
Legally authorized person, for example- parliamentarian, public officials etc.
The three parts of government like executive, judiciary and legislature branches.
Cradle to graveyard.
Scope of the Public policy:
A significance part of the study of public policy consists of the development of scenarios and extrapolations of contemporary trends. The scope and sheer size of the public sector has grown enormously in all the developing countries in response to the increasing complexity of technology, social organization, industrialization and urbanization. At present the function of practically all government, specially of the developing countries, have significantly increased. They are now concerned with the more complex functions of nation-building and socio-economic progress. Today the government is not merely the keeper of peace, the arbiter of disputes and the provider of common goods and day to day services. For better or worse, government has, directly or indirectly, become the principal innovator, the major determiner of social and economic programs and the main financer as well as the main guarantor of large- scale enterprises.
Modern urban man is born in a publicly financed hospital, receives his education in a publicly supported school and university, spends a good part of his time travelling on publicly built transportation facilities, communicates through the post office or the quasi-public telephone system, drinks his public drinking water, disposes of his garbage through the public removal system, reads his library books, picnics in his public parks, is protected by public police, fire, and health system, eventually, he dies, again in a hospital, and may even be buried in a public cemetery
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