Basic concepts
Basic concepts
- A set of actions government decides to take when approaching a problem resolve or respond to
issue and challenges as a result, programs and projects are created
- A policy is a rule formulated by some government authority expressing an intention to influence
the behavior of citizens, individually or collectively, by use of positive and negative sanctions
(Lowi, 1985).
- Authoritative application of values for the whole society (David Easton)
- Whatever government chooses to do or not to do (Dye)
- A purposive cause of action followed by actor or set or set of actors in dealing with a problem or
matter of concern (Anderson).
- A patterned effect either to resolve or manage political disputes or to persuade rational
incentives to secure agreed upon rules of public issues capable of ranging from material goods
and ethical issues (Frohock)
- The study of government decisions and actions designed to deal with a matter of public concern
(Cochran and Malone).
- Woodrow Wilson – public policy includes government plans, instructions, decisions, and
symbolic systems
- Harold Lasswell & Abraham Kaplan – public policy as projected programs, program can be a
public policy, but not all public policies are programs
- Thomas R. Dye – public policy is whatever government’s choose do or choose not to do, he
focused on government’s action or inaction, public policy is result of government – (political)
“behavioralism “
- Robert Eyestone – public policy is the relationship between governmental organ and their
environment
State power is used in public policy; public goal, state goal is only rhetoric
1. Political Context – liberal democracy (challenges: political dynasty, corruption; responses: anti-
political dynasty, anti-red tape)
2. Economic Context – market economy (challenges: low economic growth; responses: trade
policies, taxation, income distribution, development plan, PPP, SAP)
3. Social Context – demographics, social condition (4Ps, universal health care, k12, gender, labor)
4. Cultural Context – values, ethics, beliefs, traditions (arts and culture, heritage act)
Policy analysis – the interdisciplinary effort to help decision makers in making intelligent, ethical and
effective choices of issues and problem that can be included in the policy agenda. Quantitative and non-
quantitative methods
Activity: Of countless problems in the country that the policy makers can provide solutions to through
public policy, why some are given priority while others simply fade away?
Activity: Give specific examples of these polices that the national government has and discuss the
structures and functions
Nature / Characteristics of Public Policy
1. Purposive action
2. Consistent of patterns of actions
3. Government actually do
4. Based on law and it is authoritative
5. Cause of bargaining and compromise among policy makers and interest groups
6. Dynamic and changing (not forever)
1. Elite theory
2. Group theory
3. Systems theory
4. Institutional theory
5. Incremental
6. Bounded Rationality Model
7. Garbage can model
8. Multiple streams model
Official actors
1. Legislative / law-makers
2. Executive / President
3. Judiciary
Unofficial actors:
1. Individual citizens
2. Interest groups
3. Political parties
4. Media
5. Experts, scholars and researchers
Activitiy:As an individual how will you influence your leader to pay attention to the problem / issue you
are confronting / addressing?
Structural Contents:
A program can be public policy, but not all policies are programs.
Importance of data for public policy process (public debate, researches, academe)
Data-driven policy making and not inventing data to make policy (alternative facts)