Introduction to the Policy Process Chapter 1: What is Public Policy?
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Tom Burkland, author and public policy professor, explains the concept of public policy. He defines public policy as what governments choose to do or not to do in response to problems. Burkland discusses five key elements common in definitions of public policy: addressing problems, made by governments, focused on public interest, goal-oriented, and implemented by public and private actors. He highlights that policies can involve action or inaction and can be expressed through laws, regulations, and other government decisions, as well as societal practices and discourse.
Takeaways
- 📖 Public policy is defined as what the government chooses to do or not to do.
- 🤔 Public policy typically responds to a problem, such as too much crime or not enough jobs.
- 🏛️ Policies are made by governments, not private entities like companies (e.g., Facebook).
- 🌍 Public policy is made in the public interest, aiming to benefit society at large.
- 🎯 Policies always have explicit or implicit goals, like improving health or equality.
- 🛠️ Both public and private actors are responsible for implementing policies.
- ✈️ Public policies can be demonstrated through regulatory requirements, like airline safety procedures.
- ⏸️ Policies can involve action or inaction—choosing not to do something is also a form of policy.
- 📜 Policy can take many forms, including laws, regulations, or even the lack of a decision.
- 💬 Policies are revealed not just in texts but also through practices, symbols, and the way we discuss them.
Q & A
What is the simple definition of public policy according to Tom Burkland?
-Public policy is defined as what government chooses to do or not to do.
Why do people usually make policies?
-Policies are usually made in response to a problem that people believe the government might provide a solution for.
Who typically makes public policies?
-Public policies are made by governments, distinguishing them from policies made by private entities.
How does the concept of 'public interest' relate to public policy?
-Public policies are made in the public interest, meaning they are intended to be beneficial for the public at large, even if they may affect some individuals more than others.
What are the goals of public policies?
-Public policies have goals, which can be explicit or implicit, such as greater wealth, prosperity, health, or equality.
Who implements public policies?
-Public policies are implemented by both public and private actors, such as government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations.
Can public policy involve inaction by the government?
-Yes, public policy can be an action taken by the government or a decision not to do something, such as the choice not to implement a universal healthcare system.
What does Tom Burkland consider his definition of policy?
-Tom Burkland defines policy as a statement by government at any level of what it intends to do or not to do about a public problem.
How are policies revealed according to Snyder and Ingram?
-Policies are revealed through text, practices, symbols, and discourses that define and deliver values, including goods and services, as well as regulations.
What are the different forms that policies can take?
-Policies can take various forms such as constitutional provisions, laws, regulations, and can even be revealed through changes in behavior or discourse.
How can the way policies are discussed affect their perception?
-The way policies are discussed, such as talking about welfare recipients or business subsidies, can create positively or negatively valued attributes and influence public perception.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Public Policy
Tom Burkland, author of 'An Introduction to the Policy Process' and professor at North Carolina State University, introduces the concept of public policy. He explains his simple definition of public policy as what government chooses to do or not to do. He also discusses alternative definitions from other scholars, highlighting common themes such as policy as a response to a problem, policies being made by governments, policies affecting the public, policies made in the public interest, policies having goals, and policies being implemented by both public and private actors. Burkland emphasizes that public policy can be both action and inaction, and it is a statement by the government about what it intends to do or not to do regarding a public problem.
📖 Forms and Expressions of Public Policy
This paragraph delves into the various forms public policy can take, such as constitutional provisions, laws, and regulations. It references Snyder and Ingram's view that policies are revealed through text, practices, symbols, and discourses that define and deliver values, including goods and services. The summary points out how policies are not only found in the text of laws but also in their implementation, the symbols used, and the discourse surrounding them. For example, the way people talk about welfare recipients can create negative values, while subsidies to businesses might be seen as positive for the economy. The paragraph suggests that policies can range from obvious constitutional changes to subtle behavioral shifts among professionals like police officers or teachers.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Public Policy
💡Problem
💡Government
💡Public Interest
💡Goals
💡Implementation
💡Inaction
💡Regulation
💡Symbols
💡Discourses
💡Values
Highlights
Tom Burkland introduces himself as the author of 'An Introduction to the Policy Process' and a professor at North Carolina State University.
He offers a simple definition of public policy as 'what government chooses to do or not to do'.
Burkland presents five different definitions of public policy from various scholars.
All definitions share the idea that policy is a response to a problem.
Policies are made by governments, a key feature in defining public policy.
Policies can affect the public but are not public policies unless made by the government.
Public policy is made in the public interest, often with broad benefits.
Policies have goals, such as greater wealth, health, or equality.
Policies are implemented by both public and private actors.
Policy can be action or inaction, including government decisions not to act.
Burkland's definition of policy is a statement by government of what it intends to do or not to do.
Policies can take various forms, such as constitutional provisions, laws, and regulations.
Policies are revealed through text, practices, symbols, and discourses.
The way policies are implemented and discussed can define and deliver values.
Policies can range from obvious constitutional changes to subtle behavioral shifts.
Burkland invites feedback from students and teachers and provides contact information.
Transcripts
hi i'm tom burkland author of an
introduction of the policy process and
professor of public policy
at north carolina state university i
hope you enjoy the book
and i hope you find these videos useful
in this video we'll describe what is
public policy
in my textbook i use a very simple
definition of this term
what government chooses to do or not to
do
but there are other ways to think about
the definition of public policy
and seeing what other scholars have done
to define the term
can help you understand better what it
is when we say we study public policy
here are five different definitions that
various scholars have used
to try to define the policy process
what do you think these definitions have
in common
study them for a second or of course you
can find this in the textbook
well these definitions all share some
ideas in common
the first of these ideas is policy
response to a problem
people don't usually make policies
unless they think that it's going to
solve some sort of a problem
the problem might be there's too much of
something too much crime too much
unemployment
too much disease or not enough of
something not enough jobs
people aren't making enough money
something like that but anytime
people perceive a problem for which
government might provide a solution
they'll propose a public policy the
policies are made by governments this is
a key feature
of these definitions of public policy uh
if
a policy isn't made by government it's
it's not really a public policy policies
can affect the public
policies like facebook's policies on
what sort of things can be posted
certainly have an influence on the
public but they're not public policies
in the same sense that policies pass the
government or public policies
of course government may want to pass a
public policy to regulate
facebook and that would be a public
policy
the third point is the policy is made in
the public interest
most people will make an appeal to the
public interest when they make public
policy what
i mean by this is that people think that
the policy is good for the public at
large
it may affect some people more than
others some people have to pay more
for a service or a thing but the
benefits would be broadly
distributed out amongst the entire
public so for example a proposal to
raise taxes on the very wealthy to
provide services for everybody
that would have an effect on on rich
people but it would benefit everybody
and that would be claimed to be in the
public interest so public policy
is made in the public interest the
fourth
idea these definitions share is that
policies have goals people are trying to
accomplish something
they're trying to accomplish some end
greater wealth greater prosperity
greater health
greater equality however that's defined
all public policy has either an explicit
or an
implicit goal policies are implemented
though
by public and private actors we make
public policies
say in the legislature maybe in
regulations
but we rely on both the public and
private organizations
to implement policies so a regulation of
a business for example
if you're on an airplane and they give
you the the talk about where the
emergency exits are
how to put on your life vest how to
evacuate in an emergency
that's a regulatory requirement of the
airlines in other words a safety idea
that is in public policy is implemented
by the airlines
in pursuit of the public interest which
of course is airline safety
the final definition that a lot of these
share
is that policy can be action or inaction
a public policy can be a decision by
government to do something
or a decision not to do something
and that's a really important thing to
keep in mind there's a lot of things
that government chooses not to do
or that our institutions choose not to
do
we don't have a universal health care
system in the united states for example
a choice has been made not to do that so
public policies
can be both what the government chooses
to do and not to do
so my definition of policy is a
statement by government of what it
intends to do
such as a law regulation ruling decision
order or a combination of these the lack
of such statements may be an implicit
statement of
policy not to do something in other
words if
you don't see a policy about something
the question would be
what did the government do when they
talked about
addressing that problem did they take a
vote and just decide not to do
anything about it that would be an
important question to understand
so a policy is is a statement by
government at whatever level
of what it intends to do or not to do
about a public problem
and those policies take all kinds of
forms such as constitutional provisions
the first amendment of the constitution
is a policy about freedom
of speech but then there's of course
there's laws
there's regulations and as snyder and
ingram say policies are revealed through
text
practices symbols and discourses that
define and deliver values including
goods and services as well as
regulations
income status or other positively or
negatively valued attributes
so what we mean by this is that policies
are revealed by
the text of laws but also the way laws
are
implemented the symbols people use as
they implement policies
the way we talk about policies the way
we talk about people on welfare for
example
uh delivers a value the way we sometimes
talk about people on welfare in a
negative way
um creates negatively valued attributes
around people that are on welfare for
example
whereas sometimes we talk about the
subsidies
given to businesses as being a positive
attribute something that's good for the
economy good for employment things like
that
so policies can be revealed in all sorts
of ways and later in the book
i'll describe a little bit more about
how policies can range from really
obvious ones like changes to the
constitution to really subtle ones like
the changes in the behavior of police
officers or teachers or things like that
thanks for watching this video as always
i really enjoy hearing from students and
teachers
about the book and about public policy
feel free to reach out to me
at tom tombrookland.com or visit my
website
tombrooklyn.com thanks again for
watching
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