Final Exam Flashcards
Which of the following best describes the term “public policy?
What public officials decide to do or not do about public problems.
Which of the following best describes the formal actions that governments take to pursue their goals?
Policy Outputs
Which of the following
best describes the effects that formal policy-related actions actually have on
society?
Policy Outcomes
To which of the following policy scientists can we attribute the observation that: politics is “the authoritative allocation of values for a society.”?
David Easton
Which of the following federal agencies is responsible for ensuring public safety as it relates to the distribution of consumer goods and services?
The Consumer Product Safety Commission
Which of the following policy scientists stated, as follows: politics is about “who gets what, when, and how.”?
Harold Lasswell
Your text identifies several different “contexts” of public policy. Under which of these contexts would you be most likely to find a discussion of the responsibilities of different political institutions under the separation of powers clauses in the U.S. Constitution?
Governing Context
Your text identifies several different “contexts” of public policy. Under which of these contexts would you be most likely to find a discussion of the effects of surpluses and deficits on public policy?
Economic Context
Your text identifies several different “contexts” of public policy. Under which of these contexts would you be most likely to find a discussion of the way in which citizens relate to each other within a particular community?
Social Context
Your text identifies several different “contexts” of public policy. Under which of these contexts would you be most likely to find a discussion of differences in voting behaviors in “red” states versus “blue” states?
Cultural Context
Your text identifies several different “contexts” of public policy. Under which of these contexts would you be most likely to find a discussion of how partisan differences affect voting by members of Congress?
Political Context
Which of the following best describes public parks?
A pure public good
Which of the following best describes electricity services in a particular city?
A toll good
Which of the following best describes air and water?
Common pool resources
Which of the following best describes a car or a television?
Pure private goods
Which of the following best describes the observation that a single individual would be irrational to join an interest group when almost no personal gain follows?
Logic of collective action
In which of the following eras did the deregulation of financial markets occur?
The 1980s
In which of the following eras did the deregulation of energy markets occur?
The 1990s
Which of the following pieces of legislation was passed as a result of diminished faith in the ability of Wall Street financial institutions to limit the kinds of risky investments that contributed to global economic turmoil in the late 2000s?
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Which of the following best describes a law proposed by a state or locality for voters to approve or reject?
Referendum
Which of the following is not a cause of “policy gridlock?”
Conflict between experts writing on the policy problem in scholarly journals
How many cabinet-level bureaus existed in the first American government?
Three
Which of the following
is most true?
The federal government has grown significantly in size since it was founded.
What is meant by the term “divided government” (in the context of stalemate)?
Divided government occurs when one political party controls the presidency and one political party controls Congress.
Which of the following terms is a label given by critics to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010?
Obamacare
Which Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court supported an expanded role of the national government?
Chief Justice John Marshall
Which of the following best describes the term “dual federalism?”
A period of time in which little integration exists between state and federal governments.
Which of the following terms best describes the United States Congress?
Bicameral
Which of the following American political institutions allows its members the right to filibuster, or talk for an extended period of time in hope of delaying, modifying, or defeating a proposal?
The United States Senate
Which article of the United States Constitution establishes (and describes) the legislative powers of Congress?
Article I
Which of the following best describes the partisan (or party membership) makeup of the United States Congress?
Closely divided between Republicans and Democrats
How long is the term of office for a federal judge?
Federal judges serve life terms
Which of the following American political institutions only engages in reactive policymaking (as opposed to proactive policymaking)?
The Federal Judiciary
How many officials in the executive branch of American government are elected directly in national elections?
Two
Which of the following is another term for informal arrangements such as subgovernments or issue networks?
Iron Triangles
Which of the following is a term which describes a situation in which federal requirements are placed upon state governments without any federal funds allocated to implement the requirements.
Unfunded mandates
Which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution reads as follows: “[T]he powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the United States respectively, or to the people.”?
The Tenth Amendment
Which of the following were the cabinet offices in the original American government?
War, Treasury, and Foreign Affiars
Which of the following was the fourth department to be added to the original cabinet of the President of the United States?
Justice
After which of the following wars did the United States emerge a “superpower” able to take “… a larger role in world affairs.”?
World War II
Which of the following describes why social scientists utilize theory in their work?
All of these describe why social scientists use theory
Which of the following best describes the primary assumption of “elite theory?”
The values and preferences of the general public are less influential in shaping public policy than those of a smaller, unrepresentative group of people.
Which of the following theories is a formal way to think about the interrelationships of institutions and policy actors and the role of the larger environment?
Political Systems Theory
John Kingdon’s description of subgovernments or issue networks is especially relevant to which of the following theories?
Elite Theory
Which of the following theories is especially useful to formulate predictions of how agency officials and the objects or targets of policy actions are likely to respond to policy initiatives?
Rational Choice Theory
Which of the following theorists are most closely associated with the Advocacy Coalitions Framework?
Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith
Which of the following is true of the term “institution?”
It can have many meanings, It refers to both the “organizations and the rules used to structure patterns of interaction within and across organizations”, and It encompasses how people within organizations relate to one another and to those in other organizations.
According to your text, which of the following best describes rational choice theory?
A highly developed and rigorous theory
Which of the following theories supplies the policy world with terms like “input, demands, support, policy outputs, policy outcomes, and feedback?”
Political Systems Theory
Which of the following is not a stage in the Policy Process Model?
Policy Renumeration
Which of the following statements best defines the term “policy analysis?”
Part science and part political judgment
Which of the following disciplines is not included in the list cited by your text as contributing to the understanding of policy problems?
Literary Criticism
Which of the following best describes the process of policy analysis?
Empirical study and normative assessments
Which of the following is not a step in the policy analysis process?
Seeking feedback from affected citizens
Which of the following steps in the policy analysis process is described by your text as “… perhaps the most important stage in the policy analysis process.”?
Construct policy alternatives
Which of the following steps in the policy analysis process is referred to by some authors as “… projecting the outcomes…”?
Assess the alternatives
Which of the following entities is not identified by your text as an entity regularly engaged in producing policy analysis studies?
All of these entities are identified by your text as regularly engaged in producing policy analysis studies.
Which of the following are identified by your text as motivations for academic policy analysis studies?
Scientific purposes
Which of the following terms best describes the American Enterprise Institute, as it relates to policy analysis studies?
Professional Orientation
Which of the following terms best describes an assistant professor at a research university, as it relates to policy analysis studies?
Scientific Orientation
Which of the following terms best describes the National Rifle Association, as it relates to policy analysis studies?
Political Orientation
Which of the following terms best describes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as it relates to policy analysis studies?
Political Orientation
Which of the following terms best describes the Brookings Institution, as it relates to policy analysis studies?
Professional Orientation
Which of the following is most likely to include an “executive summary” with their policy analysis studies?
Professional policy analysts
Which of the following academic policy journals is most likely to focus on ethical aspects of public policy?
Philosophy and Public Affairs
What does the beginning of any policy study involve?
A description of a problem.
Which of the following is true about most public problems?
Most public problems are not so simple.
Which of the following is often true with regards to public problems?
Public problems are often difficult to understand.
According to your text, best defines the term “contextual data?”
Background information
According to your text, is true with regards to measuring public problems?
Quantitative measures are abundant for most contemporary public problems.