Policy implementation Flashcards
what is policy implementation?
transformation of policy output into a policy outcome
why is implementation important?
action speaks louder than words
what 4 things is implementation shaped by?
Policy design
Control structure and institutional design
Administrative capacity
Social acceptance
What is the principal agent problem?
the self-interests of a principal (elected official who formulates policy) and his/her agent (the bureaucrat who implements the policy and fulfils the tasks) are potentially divergent
what are the 4 steps in the policy process?
Set strategic aims
Translate to policy
Plan policy implementation
Rollout policy
who is involved in policy implementation?
central level- executive/departments
agencies
Public service workers otherwise known as street level bureaucrats
what is top-down implementation?
focuses on policy outputs and investigates the extent to which intended objectives have been achieved over time and why.
what is bottom-up implementation?
focuses on actors at the operational level
what are the implementation deficits with top-down implementation?
complexity of joint action: too many actors and too many decision points
What are the pressures for SLBs?
They might be putting into practice political decisions they don’t agree with
what is formal discretion?
where options are explicitly written into the rules
what is informal discretion?
where the options are merely implicit in the statement of the rules
what are the critiques on the bottom-up approach?
Mapping complexities of implementation process makes measuring success challenging.
Over-emphasises local autonomy as often policy itself defines how it should be implemented.
what is the normative criticism of bottom-up approach?
democratic polities local implementers should be subject to central control
why are there gaps between objectives and outcomes?
policy ambiguity
limited resources
top down: too many actors, too many decision points.
discretion
