MODELS OF PUBLIC POLICY-MAKING

These address how public policy is made. Policy-making is only one part of the entire
policy process.

1. INSTITUTIONAL MODEL

Focuses on the traditional organization of government. Describes the duties and

arrangements of bureaus and departments. Considers constitutional provisions, administrative
and common law, and judicial decisions. It focuses on formal arrangements such as federalism
executive reorganizations, presidential commission, etc. Traditionally political science has
studied government institutions--Congress, presidency, courts, political parties, etc.--that
authoritatively determine, implement, and enforce public policy. Strictly speaking, a policy is not
a public policy until it is adopted, implemented and enforced by some governmental institution.

Government lends legitimacy to policies, they are then legal; Government extends
policies universally to cover all people in society; Government monopolizes the power to coerce
obedience to policy, or to sanction violators.

Traditional studies using the institutional approach focused on institutional structures,

organization, duties and function, without investigating their impact on public policy.

2. ELITE-MASS MODEL

A policy-making elite acts in an environment characterized by apathy and information

distortion, and governs a largely passive mass. Policy flows downward from the elite to the
mass. Society is divided into those who have power and those who do not. Elites share values
that differentiate them from the mass. The prevailing public policies reflect elite values, which
generally preserve the status quo. Elites have hither income, more education, and higher status
than the mass. Public policy may be viewed as the values and preferences of a governing elite.
The elites shape mass opinion more than vice versa. Public officials and administrators merely
carry out policies decided on by the elite, which flows 'down' to the mass. It assumes that

 Society is divided into the powerful few and the powerless many; only the few allocate
values (the mass do not decide public policy).

 The few are not typical of the mass; elites are drawn disproportionately from the upper
strata.

 There must be slow and continuous movement of non⌐elites into elite positions, but
only after they accept elite values, in order to maintain stability and avoid revolution.
  All elites agree on basic social system and preservation values, i.e., private property,
limited government, and individual liberty.

 Changes in public policy will be incremental rather than revolutionary, reflecting changes
in elite values (not mass demands)

 Active elites are subject to little influence from apathetic masses.

Implications are that the responsibility for the state of things rests with the elites,
including the welfare of the mass. The mass is apathetic and ill-informed; mass sentiments are
manipulated by the elite; the mass has only an indirect influence on decisions and policy. As
communication flows only downward, democratic popular elections are symbolic in that they tie
the mass to the system through a political party and occasional voting. Policies may change
incrementally but the elites are conservative and won't change the basic system. Only policy
alternatives that fall within the range of elite value consensus will be given serious
consideration. Competition centers around a narrow range of issues, and elites agree more than
they disagree; there is always agreement on constitutional government, democratic procedures,
majority rule, freedom of speech and of the press, freedom to form political parties and run for
office, equality of opportunity, private property, individual initiative and reward, and the
legitimacy of free enterprise and capitalism. The masses cannot be relied on to support these
values consistently, thus the elite must support them.

3. GROUP MODEL

Public policy results from a system of forces and pressures acting on and reacting to one
another. Usually focuses on the legislature, but the executive is also pressured by interest
groups. Agencies may be captured by the groups they are meant to regulate, and administrators
become increasingly unable to distinguish between policies that will benefit the general public
and policies that will benefit the groups being regulated. Interaction among groups is the
central fact of politics. Individuals with common interests band together to press their demands
(formal or informally) on government. Individuals are important in politics only when they act as
part of or on behalf of group interests. The group is the bridge between the individual and the
government.

The task of the political system is to

 establish the rules of the game.

 arrange compromises and balance interests.

 enact compromises in public policy.

 enforce these compromises

 It is also called equilibrium theory, as in physics. Influence is determined by numbers,
wealth, and organizational strength, leadership, access to decision makers and internal
cohesion. Policy makers respond to group pressure by bargaining, negotiating, and
compromising among competing demands. Executives, legislators, and agency heads all put
together coalitions from their consistencies to push programs through. Political parties are
coalitions of groups. The Democrats have traditionally been central city, labor,
ethnics/immigrants, the poor, Catholics, liberals, intellectuals, blacks, and Southern blue collar
workers. Republicans have been wealthy, rural, small town, whites, suburbanites, white collar
workers, conservatives, and middle class.

The entire system assumes:

1) a 'latent' group supports the rules of the game.

2) there is overlapping group membership which keeps groups from moving too far out of the
political mainstream.

3) there are checks and balances on groups competition.

4. SYSTEMS MODEL

Relies on information theory concepts such as input, output, and feedback. Sees the
policy process as cyclical. Asks, "what are the significant variables and patterns in the public
policy-making system?" What goes on within the 'black box' of conversion of demands into
public policy? What are the inputs and outputs? Public policy is viewed as the response of the
political system to forces brought to bear on it from the outside environment. The environment
surrounds the political system. In this model, "environment" means physical: natural resources,
climate, topography; demographic: population size, age, and distribution, and location; political:
ideology, culture, social structure, economy, and technology. Forces enter the political system
from the environment either as demands or as support. Demands are brought to it by persons
or groups in response to real or perceived environmental conditions, for government action.
Support is given wherever citizens obey laws, vote, pay taxes, etc., and conform to public
policies.

The political system is a group of interrelated structures and processes that can
authoritatively allocate resources for a society. The actors are the legislature, the executive, the
administrative agencies, the courts, interest groups, political parties, and citizens.

Outputs are decisions and actions and public policy. The political system is an identifiable
system of institutions and processes that transform inputs into outputs for the whole society.
The elements with the system are interrelated and it can respond to forces in the environment,
and it seeks to preserve itself in balance with the environment. The system preserves itself by
producing reasonably satisfactory outputs (compromises are arranged, enacted and enforced).
It relies on deep rooted support for the system itself and its use, or threat of use, of force.

Macro level policies are those that concern the whole system, and are influenced by
official and unofficial groups (media, etc.). It may center on the proper role of Congress or the
President, or the relationships of government and business or citizens and businesses.
Subsystem policies involve legislators, administrators, and lobbyists and researchers who focus
on particular problem areas; also called sub-governments, policy clusters, coalitions, or iron
triangles. E.G. civil aviation, harbors, agricultural subsidies, grazing lands, etc. Micro⌐level
policies are efforts by individuals, companies, or communities to secure some favorable
legislation for themselves. Typically presented to a legislator as a re\quest from the "home"
district. The incentive to engage in micro-politics increases as the extent of government
benefits, programs and regulations increases.

It asks questions such as:

1) What are the significant characteristics of the environment that generate demands?

2)What are the significant characteristics of the political system that enable it to endure over
time and turn demands into output?

3)How do environmental inputs affect the political system?

4)How do characteristics of the political system affect public policy?

5)How do environmental characteristics affect public policy?

6)How does public policy through feedback, affect the environment and the political system
itself?

5. STREAMS AND WINDOWS MODEL

This model posits three streams which are always simultaneously ongoing. When the
three streams converge, a policy window opens, and a new policy may emerge. The problem
stream focuses the public's and policy-makers' attention on a particular problem, defines the
problem, and calls for a new policy approach (or else the problem fades). Attention comes
through monitoring data, the occurrence of focusing events, and feedback on existing polices,
though oversight studies os program evaluation. Categorization of the problem is important in
determining how the problem is approached and/or resolved: values, comparisons, and
categories.
 The political stream is where the government agenda is formed: the list of issues or
problems to be resolved by government. This occurs as the result of the interaction of major
forces such as the national mood, organized interests, and dynamics of public administration
(jurisdictional disputes among agencies, the makeup of government personnel, etc>). The
players are often quite visible, as members of the administration, appointees and staff,
Congress, medica, interest groups, those associated with elections, parties and campaigns, and
public opinion. A consensus is achieved among those groups and a bandwagon effect or title
effect occurs as everyone wants to be in on the policy resolution and not excluded.

The policy stream is where alternatives are considered and decisions are made. Here the
major focus in intellectual and personal; a list of alternatives is generated from which policy
makers can select one. Policy entrepreneurs and other play a role, such as academics,
researchers, consultants, career public administrators, Congressional staffers, OMB staff, and
interest groups. Trial balloons are sent up to gauge the political feasibility of various
alternatives, either publicly or privately. They must be acceptable in terms of value constraints,
technical constraints, and budgetary constraints. Consensus is developed though rational
argument and persuasion (not bargaining). Tilt occurs when a plausible solution begins to
emerge.

When these three streams converge, a policy window may open, because of a shift in
public opinion, a change in Congress, or a change in administration, or when a pressing problem
emerges. Any one stream may change on its own, but all three must converge for a policy
decision to emerge.