Choosing Policy Instruments Flashcards
What are Policy Instruments?
- The set of techniques by which governmental authorities use their power in attempting to ensure support and effect or prevent social change.
- The means by which policy objectives are pursued.
Why the choice of policy instrument is important?
- Instruments for government action set up relationships between the state and its citizens
(If you use too many instruments, it might be thought of that we just follow the government blindly) - even when policy objectives are agreed upon, there are disagreements on the means in which they should be pursued (the tools used)
- Discourse on public policy instruments is discourse on power
Ex of tools implemented by governments to control tobacco use.
Labels - Putting “cancer causing” on the cigarette
Public resources - Ex. Banning smoking on campus
Research and affects from smoking - Evidence, Transmission of knowledge
Stigmatize - Make people believe it is dirty so people are discourage from smoking
Examples of Policy Instruments
Laws (e.g., prohibition of human cloning)
Taxation (e.g., when buying cigarettes)
Subsidies (e.g., rate reduction for long-term care)
Cash transfers (e.g., universal basic income)
Education campaigns (e.g., Youtube ad)
Vouchers (e.g., food stamps)
Charges (e.g., emissions charges)
Labelling (e.g., menu labelling in restaurants)
Grants (e.g., business grants)
What is ‘the stick’? (Regulation)
- Regulatory instruments that obligate people to act in accordance with what the government says
- Regulation: “Government intervention through a set of rules identifying permissible and impermissible activity on the part of individuals, firms, or government departments and agencies, along
with accompanying sanctions and rewards.” - Imposes the most constraint among policy instruments
- The stick should be considered only after you have considered others (bc it is so constraining)
‘Stick’ Policy Instrument Examples
- Legislation (i.e., laws)
- Regulations (defining the application and enforcement
of legislation)
The ‘Stick’ Example
- Possession and use of Cannabis is prohibited with exceptions
- People with medial license are allowed t use it for medical purposes
The ‘Carrot’ (Economic Means)
- Economic instruments used as incentives or disincentives to guide individuals in the direction of the objectives of policy
- the handing out or the taking away of material resources
- not everyone is obligated to take the measures involved
- People can avoid constraints imposed by these instruments
‘Carrot’ Policy Instruments
- Subsidies (conditional transfers of funds from governments to
individuals, etc.) - Taxes (ie. tax on alcohol disincentivizes you from buying it)
- Customs duties
- Grants
- Vouchers
The ‘Carrot’ Example
- We tax cigarettes to disincentivize people to smoke
- To incentivize people to stop smoking, they do not tax nicotine replacement products
Why are economic disincentives criticized for being regressive?
ex. If they create a tax for sugary drinks, that should obligate them to make healthier options cheaper
- The only people that would notice the increase in a tax would be the lower class
- Thus this policy tool only applies to the lower class population
The ‘Sermon’ (Information)
- Information dissemination (a.k.a. moral suasion, exhortation)
- attempts at influencing people through the transfer of knowledge, the communication of reasoned argument, and persuasion.”
- Includes the transmission of knowledge and judgments
about which phenomena are good or bad, how citizens should behave - No obligatory directives or provision of material resources
- Imposes the least constraint among policy instruments
- Can be used AS a policy instrument and ON a policy instrument
○ Ex. Smoking is prohibited on campus, so we might use sermons (signs, education) that it is a policy
○ The information could be the policy instrument itself (Ex. The calories on a wrapper of food)
‘Sermon’ Policy Instrument Examples
- Advertisements (television, online, billboards, etc.)
- Product labelling
Information as a policy instrument versus information on
a policy instrument
‘Sermon’ Examples
- When zika virus was around, they use the sermon to told people they should not be travelling to Mexico, they dd not maximally constrain them
Typology Summary
Regulation - (the ‘stick’)
How is behaviour influenced: Threat of sanction, penalties
Who decides: Government
Degree of constraint on behaviour intended: High
Economic Means (carrot)
How is behaviour influenced: Costs associated with different behaviours
Who decides: Market individuals
Degree of constraint on behaviour
intended: Only to those choosing to engage with product/service
Information (sermon)
How is behaviour influenced: Provision of information, moral suasion
Who decides: Individuals
Degree of constraint on behaviour intended: None
What is a Nudge
- a choice that alters people’s behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives
- Ex. By putting options on the screen, it nudges you to select one
- Another nudge could be to remove 15% and 18%
- You are not constraining their choice, they can still customize their own tip amount it just takes more work to customize, so people will likely just select one
Choosing the right instrument?
- Which policy instrument is the best/most likely to achieve policy objectives?
- Policy instruments almost always come in packages to best achieve policy objectives
- People develop trust in the government if they select inappropriate tools
- Choice of policy instruments is mediated by historical, political, social, and legal contexts; policy-makers’ preferences;
governments’ ideological leaning; the nature of issues - Each policy instrument has a policy context in which it occupies a predominant position relative to other instruments (ie. , health and safety: evidence suggests governments feel compelled
to intervene)
Difference between Vertical and Horizontal Packaging?
Vertical packaging: one instrument is directed at the implementation of another
- ex. If we want food labels on packaging, we need to make a law to put these labels on the food
Horizontal packaging: two or more instruments are directed at the same target
- ex. We have an objective and we throw more tools at it (No smoking signs, subsidized nicotine replacement therapies , warning labels on cigarette packages)
Questions to consider when choosing policy instruments
- What is the relationship between the instrument and the policy
objective(s): has the relationship been specified? - Why do policymakers believe the instrument will be able to solve or
reduce the policy problem? - What are the past experiences of addressing similar policy
problems? - What are the past experiences of implementing this type of
instrument
Criteria for choosing policy instruments
Effectiveness: the likelihood of the policy instrument
achieving the policy objective(s) – includes feasibility, cost,
timeline, etc.
Legality: the degree to which the policy instrument adheres to relevant legal rules
Legitimacy: the degree of support/acceptance a government has for its choices, based upon correspondence with public’s
views, values, feelings, objectives
