PSG 485: Week 1-3: Public Policy and Policy Analysis

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PSG 485: Week 1-3

Public Policy and Policy Analysis

Dr. Sami Hasan


samiulh@uaeu.ac.ae
Public Policy and Policy Analysis

• Public Policy
• Public Policy Analysis
• Policy Analysis in Policy Making Process
• Evidence-Based Policy Analysis and Critical Thinking
• State Principles, Government, and Policy: Liberalism, Capitalism, Secularism
• Approaches to Policy Analysis
• Information, Intuition and Creativity in Policy Analysis
• Creative Thinking and Science in Policy Analysis: Forecasting and Benchmarking
• Does Better Analysis Leads to Better Policy Outputs?

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Public policy: A public action to influence public behavior of individuals or organizations
To address a public issue (reactive),
To avoid occurrence of a situation (preventive), or
To achieve a desired situation (proactive)

Public policy is regulatory, fiscal, advocacy, or relationship actions that a government


undertakes to influence (future) private (e.g. obesity-free society) or collective (e.g. pollution
free air) affairs of people, state, or economy.
Public policy is
– Purposive (to attain a defined purpose; to solve a problem)
– A series of actions taken over time (and not a reactive decision to deal with a symptom)
– Current and future actions (not just future intentions)
– Positive direct action, interaction (making others do), and negative (decisions not to do
anything)
– Authoritative and obligatory (no choice for others).
Public policy analysis as ‘examining’ issues: a systematic multidisciplinary enquiry to “critically
assess and communicate information essential for understanding and improving policies.
Public policy analysis as ‘evaluating’ options: “Systematic investigation of alterative policy
options and the assembly and integration of the evidence”.
Public policy analysis as ‘preparing’ a ‘policy brief’ (or policy issue paper’): a document on a
specific policy issue using theories, laws, evidence, experiences’ views (scenarios) into a
coherent set of targeted actions

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Public Research and Policy Analysis
Policy research: think-tank assessment of a major policy area (e.g. traffic modeling; market
assessment of social welfare intervention);
• May use all methods discussed under ‘policy analysis’ and decision analysis;
• Cost-benefit analysis (cost-effectiveness analysis);
• System analysis, e.g. feasibility of waste collection programming as a method of sustainable
waste management
Applied social science research: scholarly assessment of the effects of a policy output
(intervention) on some narrowly defined policy outcome
• Analyzing the relationships among the new speed limit, road vibration, vehicle safety,
road life, air/noise pollution, road fatality (Dunn, 2016)
Policy Analysis: A form of applied research carried out to acquire a deeper
understanding of socio-technical issues and to bring about better solutions. Attempting
to bring modern science and technology to bear on society’s problems, policy analysis
searches for feasible courses of action, generating information and marshaling evidence
of the benefits and other consequences that would follow their adoption and
implementation, in order to help the policymaker, choose the most advantageous action

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Public policy analysis is a systematic multidisciplinary enquiry to “critically assess and
communicate information essential for understanding and improving policies” (Stewart,
Hedge, and Pester, 2008).
Public policy analysis is systematic investigation of alternative policy options and the
assembly and integration of the evidence for and against each option (in a problem-solving
approach by collecting and interpreting information, predicting the consequences of
alternative courses of action, and suggesting the best possible solution) (Kraft and Furlong, 2010
Type and Objective Approaches Limitations Examples
Scientific: Search for Scientific method for Too technical; may not IPCC
truth; build theory of hypothesis testing; serve policy makers’
‘output’ and ‘outcome’ Rigorous analysis; advancing information needs
knowledge
Professional: Searching Blend theory and practice; Resource and time Brookings
reactive policy evaluate current program; constraints; may ignore Institute; Gulf
alternatives add value to the debate sources of policy Centre for
problem strategic studies
Political: Support for Use of legal, economic, and Partisan; low analytic Green Peace;
preferred policy political arguments consistent depth; low objectivity National Rifle
with value position; Association
influencing policy for
organizational goals and
values

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TYPES OF POLICY ANALYSIS
Policy analysis can be done before or after the policy has been implemented. An analysis
can be conducted to anticipate the results of alternative policies in order to choose among
them, or it can be conducted to describe the consequences of a policy.
Retrospective policy analysis: either a historical analysis of past policies or the evaluation
of a new policy as it is implemented. Also called ex post, post hoc, or retrospective policy
analysis. Can be: descriptive and evaluative,
• Descriptive (retrospective) analysis refers to the description and interpretation of past
policies (What happened?)
– For example, a study of user behavior after the increase of energy price would be a
descriptive (retrospective) study.
• Evaluative (retrospective) policy analysis referring to program evaluation (Were the
purposes of the policy met?).
– For example, A study of energy use to see if they matched those that had been
anticipated when the program was set up would be an evaluative policy analysis.
Prospective policy analysis: study of the possible outcomes of proposed policies; also
called ex ante, pre hoc, anticipatory. Can be subdivided into predictive and prescriptive
policy analysis.
• Predictive policy analysis: to project possible outcomes of alternative policies (either
reactive or proactive)
• Prescriptive policy analysis (or policy advocacy): to analyse and recommend actions
because they will bring about an intended result (outcome).
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Policy Analysis: Orientations

Discipline Oriented Analysis Problem Oriented Analysis Action Oriented Analysis

Political Scientists sociologists Political scientists and Persons from other


seeks to develop and test sociologists seek to describe disciplines (social work,
discipline-based theories the causes and public administration,
consequences of policies evaluation research) seek to
describe causes and
consequences of the actions
Describe the causes and Less concerned with the Not concerned with
consequences of the policies testing of theories. What development or testing of
affected the polices. discipline-based theories.
What causes the actions?
Seldom attempts to identify Seldom provides Concerned with the
specific goals and objectives information about specific identification of goals and
of policymakers goals and objectives of objectives of policy makers
policymakers. and other stakeholders. Use
of good information for
evaluating outcomes.

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Policy analysis documents
Policy memoranda (memos): internal documents that policy analysts in government write to their
supervisors (e.g. a diplomat in Kabul writing to FM in UAE). Short (one or two pages). Includes a
problem statement, list of possible policy options and their pros and cons, and the recommended
course of action.
Green Papers (GP): policy documents used in western Europe and other Commonwealth countries.
Written by civil servants and contain policy alternatives to public policy problems. It contains the
government’s preliminary policy reports on a specific policy problem and include a range of policy
solutions to address that problem. GP are typically published to facilitate public consultation,
stimulate discussion and solicit the opinions of relevant stakeholders. GPs do not contain
commitments to action.
White Papers (WP) created by civil servants may include summary of proposed policy solutions to
solicit comments from the citizens and relevant stakeholders. The information and feedback
collected on WP may be formulated as proposals to change or to adopt new laws.
Policy reports are large documents focusing on a problem, its context, possible solutions and
recommendations in greater detail. Written by consultants or researchers to inform the decision-
making process and are based on both primary and secondary information.
Policy briefs (PB) are short, two-to-four-page documents often written by consultants and
researchers to influence decision-makers and general public. PB summarize proposed solutions to a
policy problem and may include: executive summary; problem background; policy alternatives and
their pros and cons; and a recommendation proposing the most desirable policy alternative.

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Public Policy Analysis (Examples)
Examples of questions of policy analysis:
International
• Should the UN Security Council authorize military aid to a non-state party?
• Should the World Health Organize intervene in the COVID 19 booster vaccine program?
National
• Should the UAE foreign aid only be provided to the Muslim majority countries (and not to any
other country or organization?)
• Should the UAE subsidize farming or liberalize import of agriculture produce?
State/Emirate
• Where and how Abu Dhabi should concentrate in enhancing its competitiveness and target
achievement of Abu Dhabi Vision 2030?
• What policy measures the DED’s take in helping local companies export their products and
services?
Local/City
• Should the city increase land tax or construction tax?
• Should Al Ain remove Tawam roundabout?
Institutional
• Should the Department of Education allow on-site classes or continue online classes for schools?
• Should the UAEU mandate Respondus lockdown camera for its online exams
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State Principles influence Public policy analysis (1)

Classical Liberalism or ‘free-ism’, negative freedom: freeing


individuals from ‘divine right theory’ of state in favor of ‘natural
rights to life, liberty, property (John Locke):
Freedom: ability to exert power at will
• Individual freedom: Government, Church, Army must be controlled
• Economic freedom: free to own, invest, compete, and spend,
• Equal opportunity (through individual merit, work); to inputs; not
outputs; not absolute equality (or absolute freedom)
Modern or positive liberalism: freedom from economic difficulty
(positive rights to certain necessities of life makes it debatable)
The individual is sovereign with body, mind, and actions to achieve
or contribute the best (subject to):
Capability, Mutuality, and No Harm Principle

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State Principles influence Public policy analysis (2)

• Conservatism “expresses the instinctive human fear of sudden change, and tendency to
habitual action”.
• “Natural conservatism” that is existent “in almost every human mind” is about “Self-
conscious” thought which rests on “skepticism concerning reason in politics”.
• Aristotle opined that morality and politics—unlike natural science—lack special experts, and
that “in these areas, human experience over generations is the main source of knowledge”.
• Confucius: concerned with the breakdown of contemporary political institutions led to a
cautious, conservative political outlook stressing "authority and hierarchy” in human society.
• English common law’s notion of “precedent” is influenced by “self-conscious conservatism”.
• In this narrow, self-conscious sense, conservatism can be characterized as an approach to
human affairs which mistrusts both reasoning and revolution, preferring to “put its trust in
experience and in the gradual improvement of tried and tested arrangements”.
• In a broader sense conservatism means:
– Traditions and custom guide human worldview.
– Convention and culture of the ancestors must be protected.
– Human society is essentially hierarchic
– Conservation and protection of agrarianism (small farm-based family-oriented
production system) is fundamental to human survival
– “High culture” must be valued in all its manifestation
– Patriotism is attachment to the “homeland” (not the state); thus, leads to parochial
regionalism; breeds xenophobia.
– State power must be limited

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State Principles influence Public policy analysis (3)
The Doctrine of Religious Restraint (DRR) or Secularism
• The DRR is a moral constraint, for citizens of a liberal democracy, and need not be
encoded into law.
• Some secular reasons can themselves justify state coercion; coercive laws that require a
religious rationale lack moral legitimacy.
• The DRR cannot or does not restrict citizens to vote for or advocate publicly for any
policy on religious grounds.
• Conforming to the DRR will help prevent religious warfare and civil strife. Confessional
conflict is not compliance with a norm such as the DRR, but firm commitment to the
right to religious freedom.
• The DRR is likely to lower the probability of any conflict. Secularists have a long history
of hostility to the right to religious freedom and, presumably, that hostility isn't at all
grounded in religious considerations.
• Compliance with the DRR might help prevent anger and distrust between citizens
involved in finding amicable way to make collective decisions about common matters in
a stable liberal democracy.
• Complete privatization of religion is much more objectionable to religious citizens and,
thus, more likely to create social foment.
• The DRR promotes mutual respects among the followers of different religions.
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State Principles influence Public policy analysis (4A)
Capitalism: Control of investment, labor, wages, price,
distribution of goods and profit by Capital
•Freedom of choice in working, producing, buying, and
selling
•Individuals and firms own resources, employ workers,
invest in creating and delivering goods and services
•Market forces allocate goods: quality, quantity, price, profit
•Market determines income/profit through ownership and
productivity; and its distribution
(equity expands balanced market; top-heavy distribution expands
higher end market increasing inequality and insecurity) (cf. Moten and Islam,
2005; Dye and Harrison, 2005).

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State Principles influence Public policy analysis (4B)
Market Economy with Strong State Regulations
•Means of production are mainly Governments use fiscal and
under private ownership; monetary tools
•Market is a dominant form of •To ‘influence’ the market
economic coordination •To manage depression, inflation,
•Profit-making enterprises are or unemployment
fundamental driving force of the •To promote social welfare
economy •To provide public utility
•‘Invisible hand’ self-regulates infrastructure
markets; individuals' efforts to Government allows organizations
maximize gains in a free-market to earn profit, protect interests,
benefits all self-regulate professions, not-
The ‘trickle-down’ theory, its failure, distribute-profit while delivering
and facilitated advent of ‘welfare goods and services to expand
state’ government’s authority by
shrinking its size.
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Approaches to Policy Analysis:
The Substantive Approach
• Policy analyst is a specialist in a particular field or discipline (e.g. economics)
or sub-field (e.g. market analysis) of knowledge or some issues (e.g. health
care)
• Advantage: higher credibility than a generic policy officer (who is an expert in
the process or tools)
• ‘How’ will not lead any where unless ‘What’ or ‘Why’ is understood
• ‘Knowledge’ acquired through a process cannot be used unless understood
(e.g. consumers may not want ‘seedless’ grapes, or low-fat milk unless the
producers promote those to earn higher ‘value-adding’; focus should be on
the ‘buyers’ or the ‘sellers’?)
Substantive knowledge is not necessary to be a good policy analyst; one
needs only to be skilled in the process and methods of public policy,
substance is relatively less important? (Stewart, Hedge, and Pester, 2008).
WHAT IS YOUR POSITION IN THIS DEBATE?
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Approaches to Policy Analysis:
Logical Positivist or Phenomenological?

Logical positivist, quantitative, or scientific approach


• Deductive theories, models, hypothesis testing, statistical data,
comparative analysis
• No consideration of economic and social factors
• Time and context free generalization
• Inquiry is value-free
The Phenomenological Approach, Qualitative, or Social Constructivist
• Each piece of social phenomenon is a unique event requiring intuition,
ethnographic or other qualitative (subjective) analysis; use of case
studies
• Time/context bound idiographic (specific/subjective) analysis
• Inquiry is value-laden with mutual interaction between the researcher
and the subject (Stewart, Hedge, and Pester, 2008).
Do you prefer a ‘Positivist’ (quantitative) or ‘Social constructivist’ (qualitative) approach?
Why? Why not?

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Approaches to Policy Analysis: The Rest
• Economic: (public choice approach) “people pursue their own
preferences regardless of collective outcomes”; creates the ‘principal-
agent’ dichotomy- information asymmetry makes public policy difficult
• Participatory: stakeholder analysis and participation is fundamental to
policy analysis; must guide agenda setting, policy formulation, and
implementation (
• Normative or Prescriptive: self-fulfilling prophecy- ‘A’ is going to happen
‘B’ is the solution
• Ideological: ‘egocentric’ human beings can be won only by incentives
(constrained view) or human beings are capable of intentionally
creating social benefits (unconstrained view)
• Historical: a reactive approach to public policy making which may be
repetitive or an alternating of conservative and liberal policies (Stewart,
Hedge, and Pester, 2008).

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Approaches to Policy Analysis: The Issues

•Policy analysis is for policies to be adopted, implemented, evaluated, and


terminated (or changed)
•‘Self-preservation’ creates institutional resistance to change
•The higher echelon may resist change which may reduce their power and
influence
•The implementers resist change that increases workload or reduce self-
importance
•Organizations promote change that increases professionalism and work
segmentation reducing individual indispensability
•The ‘subjects’ resist ‘change’ just fearing the unknown
•The change may also fail due to (artificial) shortage of resources, capital, skills or
technology created by the above (cf. Henry, 2007).

Public Policy Change Is Always Better When Less Dramatic (Without Disturbing The
Core); Why Then Policy Analysis Is Important?
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Evidence-Based Policy Analysis and Critical Thinking
Policy relevant information: Validity: Establishing correct operational
Data; Documents (current, archival); measures to show certain conditions lead
Expert opinion (writings, interviews); to other conditions (as distinguished from
Observation (direct; participant) chaotic relationships)
Policy claims: Reliability: Data collection procedure is
repeatable with the same result
Ethical, value oriented,
Caution: Quantity vs. quality (more data
Descriptive (value-free logical
never leads to better policy; source,
relations between facts) method, context matter)
Policy arguments: Policy outcomes are dependent on the
Inductive (Bottom-up- generalisation ability and intents of the implementing
from specific observation) or officials, funding, external investment
Deductive (single conclusion from a decisions, international political economy
broader observation)

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Information, Intuition and Creativity in Policy Analysis (1)
•Information: Facts or instruction about a person, object, or idea
•Knowledge: Knowledge: Justified true belief: Belief, Truth, Justification; Theoretical or practical
understanding of and capability to use information
•Acquiring information is expensive, so does ‘richness’ leads to better policies?
–Information is not absolute truth, but is a matter of interpretation so more information is not likely
to create better public policy
–No one ever knows everything and never does everyone know the same things or interpret things
alike
–There are things that we know, things that we don’t know, things that we don’t know; but there are
things that we don’t know that we don’t know about.
–‘Knowledge is awareness about ignorance’ (Socrates)
•Analyzing information is important, but how much is possible?
–The Dunning–Kruger effect- inappropriate confidence of the incompetent: Due to illusory superiority
(cognitive bias), unskilled persons (because of metacognitive inability) assess their ability to be much
higher than it really is.

US President said that peace will come in the region with two states. Israel is a Jewish state,
so there should be a new boundary for a Palestine State.
What are the policy issues for Palestine?
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Information, Intuition and Creativity in Policy Analysis (2)
• The true sign of intelligence is imagination, not knowledge (Einstein)
• Information is useless unless understood in relation to a theory (explicit
knowledge) or practical ability (implicit knowledge)
• Policy making may tend to be subjective and value laden because of
‘imagination’.
– Policy analysts do not (or cannot) include all possible questions to
understand the issues or possible policy outcomes (because of the values,
training, time, or money)
• Prioritizing the problems, identifying the goals, deciding the best courses of
action for the above reasons become subjective
• Policy analysts need information, knowledge, as well as intuition and creativity.
• Intuition consists of spontaneous feelings, images, or thoughts that makes a
person interested in certain problems (not others).
Does it mean, public policy always is (or likely to be) value-laden?

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Information, Intuition and Creativity in Policy Analysis (3)
• An intuitive person:
– Can stay focused on the issue and its environment
– Redefine the problem (moving back and forth on different
‘steps’ to see if the ‘true’ problem has been identified);
– Rely on hunches and nonverbal clues; and
– Consider many options simultaneously (to quickly consider and
discard alternatives) (Hellriegel et al., 1986).
• Creativity in public policy is "applied imagination" and includes:
– Preparation: saturating oneself in the problem.
– Incubation: pause from conscious effort to consider the issues
– Illumination: being conscious of the ‘essential’ of the solution.
– Elaboration: confirming, expanding, tightening, reformulating,
and revising the idea to connect the ‘knowns’ and the needs
Creativity is ‘applied imagination’ (how much creativity policy
analysts should or may have??)
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Creative Thinking and Science in Policy Analysis
• No-action analysis: justify why keeping present policies or
programs is more viable option (due to budget constraints; future
uncertainty; diversity of interests and opinions, etc.)
• Literature review: ‘passive search’ or reviewing academic literature,
government documents, analyze newspaper accounts, interest
groups’ agenda and minutes, policy alternatives used by others (e.g.
a process, code, strategy)
• Quick survey: ‘active search’
– Talking to the ‘policy networks’,
– Organizing questionnaire survey,
– Brainstorming, Focus Group, Benchmarking, Forecasting
to list all possible causes, future options, and solutions for further
analysis
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Creative Thinking and Science in Policy Analysis: Forecasting
Forecasting is a procedure for producing ‘facts’ about future states of some policy
problems by extrapolating prior information
Demographic: population ranges by analyzing population structure, natural growth rates
and likely migration trends
Dependent on the market, especially in the GCC
Economic: most plausible developments of main economic activities i.e. estimating
employment demands and labor force type
But it does depend on the private sector or foreign direct investment and its protection by
state
Societal: most likely behavioral models of the future community
Faster change due to information technology (unsocial media), and globalization may be
disruptive
Technological: possible significant changes and developments in energy supply,
infrastructure, or technology: by default, by choice
“Everything important had already been invented” – Head, US Patent Office, 1899;
“My vision is all households with one PC”- Bill Gates ‘90s
So farecasting will be disastrous, if based on only extrapolation?
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Creative Thinking and Science in Policy Analysis: Benchmarking

Drawing on experiences and lessons comparing issues, information, data, approaches, or


instruments used in other contexts to deal with the current policy problem
“Improving ourselves by learning from others" (Public Sector Benchmarking Service)
1. Strategic Benchmarking by examining long-term strategies and general approaches that
have been ‘high-performers’.
2. Performance Benchmarking or Competitive Benchmarking considering performance
vis-à-vis characteristics of key products and services.
3. Process Benchmarking focused on improving critical processes and operations.
4. Functional Benchmarking or Generic Benchmarking to find ways of improving similar
functions or work processes.
5. Internal Benchmarking to seek partners from similar organisation, for example, from
units located in different areas.
6. External Benchmarking for learning from the ‘leaders’, irrespective of the type.
7. International Benchmarking involves comparison with similar public-service providers
in other countries to put an organisation's performance into perspective.

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Benchmarking: Essentials, Strengths and Weaknesses
Essential steps in benchmarking Strengths Of Benchmarking
Better understanding of issue in hand, and quality,
1. Identify the issues and/or challenges productivity, and performance measurement.
Identifying the key questions for collecting information Better awareness about performance and strengths
about policy instruments, outcomes, and their and weaknesses of possible instruments.
challenges
2. Identify comparator country/region/organization Learning from others can result in greater confidence
Policy environment should be comparable (‘keeping the in developing and applying new approaches
PESTELed+ factors on the table’). Successful benchmarking results in significant tangible
3. Gather relevant evidence benefits improving quality and productivity and
Gaining wide perspectives through data gathering data improving performance measurement.
by:
Weaknesses Of Benchmarking
Searching traditional media or e-media,
• Easy to get bogged down in irrelevant details whilst
Communication in traditional or modern forms
Survey of literature of the international bodies (e.g. EU, trying to get to grips with a new policy setting
OECD, UN, World Bank, IMF), universities, think tanks. An essential trick is to isolate and focus on the most
4. Interpret relevant evidence relevant facts.
May take new lines of enquiry (to search for causes or • Comparing political entities could be misleading
answers) unless differences in history or culture are not
Constitute evidence why any policy idea is likely to considered to understand differences in policy
succeed or fail outputs and their respective outcomes (Source; UK
Testing the potential solutions in the domestic context Strategy Survival Guide 2004)

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Does Better Analysis Leads to Better Policy Outputs?
Dealing with root causes or making pragmatic adjustments?
• Public policy officials cannot address many root causes of the
targeted problems, so need to focus on proximate (actionable)
causes (ignoring possible or even plausible causes)
• Unless the root causes are not understood solutions to
‘actionable’ causes may not work
• Untargeted (possible or plausible) root causes may be affected by
actions on the actionable causes failing the output
Comprehensive analysis or short-term policy initiative?
• Data, expertise, time, funds are issues
Using consensual or mainstream; contentious or value critical;
paradigm-challenging approach?
• Consensual approach is less risky, paradigm-challenging may be
visionary and life changing, but risky.
Rational analysis or popular choice? Risks of ‘externality’ (positive
sum; zero-sum; or current negative for future positive sum)???
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Human nature and Problems in Policy Analysis
Lewis (2013, p 4, p 7) argues that ‘fast’ thinking is ‘typically where the action is’ because people tend to
conserve ‘attention and cognitive processing capabilities for the few activities we currently view as most
essential’ and rely on ‘autopilot’ whenever emotions are heightened.
Psychology studies identify ‘cognitive shortcuts’ that are now a key feature of policy scholarship:
• the ‘availability heuristic (or unconventional problem solving or self-discovery)’, when people relate the
size, frequency or probability of a problem to how easy it is to remember or imagine;
• the ‘representativeness heuristic’, when people overestimate the probability of vivid events;
• ‘prospect theory’, when ‘losses tend to pain us more than gains please us’;
• ‘framing effects’ based on emotional and moral judgements over well thought out preferences;
• ‘confirmation bias’, where material that corroborates what we already believe is given disproportionate
credence;
• ‘optimism bias’, or unrealistic expectations about our aims working out well when we commit to them;
• ‘status quo bias’;
• a tendency to use exemplars of social groups to represent general experience; and,
• a ‘need for coherence’ to establish ‘gestalt principle’ (grouping similar elements, recognize patterns
and simplify complex images when perceiving new objects) even when there may not be any similarity.

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Literature Used
Anderson, James E. (2006). Public policymaking : an introduction, Boston, Cengage.
DeLeon, P. (2008). ‘The Historical Roots of the Field’ in Moran, M. M. Rein, and R.E. Goodin,
eds., The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy, Oxford University Press, NY, pp. 39-57. Gupta, D.K
(2011). Analyzing Public Policy: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques. Washington D.C.: CQ Press).
Dunn, W.N. (2016). Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction, Pearson, NJ (Chapter 2: Policy
Analysis in the Policy Making Process), pp. 44-61.
Fischer, G. Miller, and M. S. Sidney, eds. Handbook of Public Policy Analysis, pp. 29-42, CRC
Press, NY.
Kraft, M. E. and S.C. Furlong (2015a). Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives, CQ
Press, Wash D.C., (Chapter 3: Understanding Public Policy Making, p. 65-72)
Moran, M. M. Rein, and R.E. Goodin, eds. (2008). The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy (NY:
Oxford University Press).
Pal, L. (2010). Beyond Policy Analysis: Public Issue Management in Turbulent Times, 4th Ed.
Scarborough: Nelson-Thompson.

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