Introduction to Theories of Public
Policy
• Outline
– Uses of Models
– Types of Models
Dye: Uses of Models
• Simplify and clarify our thinking about politics and
public policy
• Identify important aspects of policy problems
• Help us to communicate with each other by focusing
on essential features of political life
• Direct our efforts to understand public policy better
by suggesting what is important and unimportant
• Suggest explanations for public policy and predict its
consequences
1. What constitutes Public Policy?
2. Stages in Public Policy Process
3. Models of the Policy Process
4. Implications/Assumptions
1. Institutionalism
Public policy as institutional output
• Who: executive, legislative, and judicial branches
• How: policy is authoritatively determined,
implemented, and enforced by these institutions
(legitimacy, universality, and coercion)
• Implications/assumptions: individuals have little
impact; structure/design affects outcomes
2. Process Model
Public policy as political activity
• Who: voters, interest groups, legislators,
presidents, bureaucrats, judges
• How: ID problem, set agenda, formulate policy
proposals, legitimate policies, implement policies,
evaluate policies
• Implications/assumptions: who participates has
a critical or determinant impact on the process
3. Group Theory
Public policy as group equilibrium
Who: interest groups, their allies in government
• How: struggle among interest groups with
legislature/executive as referee to manage group
conflict and establish rules of the game
• Implications/assumptions: groups will always
join to press for particular issues, all interests will
have an opportunity for representation
4. Elite Theory
Public policy as elite preference
• Who: elites that have power, ability to allocate
value
• How: implementation of the preferences and
values of the governing elite; public officials
merely carry out policies decided on by the elites
• Implications/assumptions: public is apathetic
elites agree upon norms; political action is merely
symbolic; protects the status quo
5. Rationalism
Public policy as maximum social gain
Who: decision makers (all social, political, economic
values sacrificed or achieved by a policy choice)
irrespective of dollar amount (Bentham, Mills)
• How: select policy alternative(s) that allows gains
to society to exceed benefits by the greatest
amount
• Implications/assumptions: assumes that the
values preferences of the society as a whole can
be known and weighted
6. Incrementalism
Public policy as variations on the past
• Who: policy makers, legislators, others with a stake
in ongoing programs or problems
• How: continuation of past government activities
with only incremental modifications
• Implications/assumptions: accepts the legitimacy of
established programs; fear of unintended
consequences; sunk costs in other programs may
minimize the opportunities for radical change
7. Game Theory
Public policy as rational choice in competitive
situations
• Who: players/decision makers who have choices to make
and the outcome depends on the choice made by each
(assumes rationality in making choices)
• How: each player has goals and resources, a strategy
developed given possible moves of opponent, and payoff
values that constitute the outcomes of the game
• Implications/assumptions: repeated plays should lead to
better policy outcomes
8. Public Choice
Public policy as collective decision making by
self-interested individuals
• Who: rational self-interested individuals will in both
politics and economics cooperate to achieve their goals
• How: individuals come together in politics for their own
mutual benefit; government must respond to market
failures
• Implications/assumptions: individuals have sufficient
information to know what is in their best interest
9. Systems Theory
Public policy as system output
• Who: individuals, groups, or nations depending upon the
scope of the problem
• How: environment may stimulate inputs into political
system, producing outputs and feedback
• Implications/assumptions: systems implies an
identifiable set of institutions and activities in society that
functions to transforms demands into authoritative
decisions requiring the support of the whole society;
implies that the elements of the system are interrelated,
that the system can respond to forces in its environment,
and that it will do so to preserve itself
10. Kingdon-Garbage Can Model
• Who: participants inside and outside government
• How: choice opportunity is a garbage can into which various
kinds of problems and solutions are dumped by participants as
they are generated; policy outcomes are a function of the mix
of the garbage: problems, solutions, participants, and
participant resources in the can and how the can is processed
• Implications/assumptions: each of the actors and processes
can operate either as an impetus or as a constraint; streams
operate largely independent of one another