Public Policy Midterm

Question 1

What are the steps in the eightfold path?

Answer 1

1. Define the problem
2. Assemble some evidence
3. Construct the alternatives
4. Select the criteria
5. Project the outcomes
6. Confront the trade-offs
7. Decide
8. Tell your story

Question 2

What is the biggest area of federal spending?

Answer 2

Social Security and Medicare

Question 3

What is the biggest state and local spending?

Answer 3

Education

Question 4

The Process Model -

Answer 4

Views policymaking as a series of political activities

Question 5

The Institutional Model -

Answer 5

focuses attention on the effects of political and governmental institutions in public policy

Question 6

The Rational Model -

Answer 6

Implies that government should choose policies that maximize societal gains and minimize costs

Question 7

The Incremental Model-

Answer 7

views public policy largely as a continuation of past government activities with only incremental modifications

Question 8

Group theory -

Answer 8

views public policy as the outcome of the struggle among societal groups

Question 9

The Elite Model-

Answer 9

views public policy as the preferences and values of the nations governing elite.

Question 10

Public Choice Theory-

Answer 10

applies economic analysis to the study of public policy

Question 11

Game Theory-

Answer 11

portrays policy as the outcome of interaction between two or more rational participants

Question 12

How do we gather evidence?

Answer 12

1. People leading to People
2. People leading to documents
3. Documents leading to documents
4. Documents leading to people

Question 13

Secondary?

Answer 13

When your primary source may not want to provide information. Analogy - relying on a witness rather than on the defendant. ex. Fire chief may not be reliable.

Question 14

Why do we do define the problem?

Answer 14

1. It gives the reason for doing the research and sense
   of direction for the evidence gathering.
2. Quantify if possible
3. Don’t include solution in definition

Question 15

What happens in the assemble some evidence?

Answer 15

1. Collect information to assess the nature and extent of
   the problem;
2. Assess the particular features in the situation; and to
   assess policies that have worked in similar situations.

Question 16

What happens in the construct the alternatives?

Answer 16

1. Make a list of alternatives you might wish to consider..i mean something like policy options, alternative course of actions, alt strategies of intervention to solve or mitigate the problems.
2. Include business as usual
3. They are policy options
4. Start comprehensive and end up focused
5. Model the causes of the problem to cure it
6. Check you assumptions before you proceed

Question 17

What happens in the project the outcomes?

Answer 17

The hardest step

1. Construct an outcome matrix
2. Avoid excess optimism
3. Do a sensitivity analysis
4. Breakeven analysis

Question 18

What happens in the confront the trade offs?

Answer 18

1. Which alternative has dominance.
2. It is trade-off across outcomes
3. Choose between alternatives on weight of
   importance of criteria

Question 19

What happens in the decision stage?

Answer 19

1. You should decide what to do, based on your own
   analysis
2. Apply the $20 bill test
3. Keep fiddling until you invent a variant of you basic idea that will pass

Question 20

What mistakes you should avoid in the problem definition?

Answer 20

1. Is government intervention necessary?
2. Be aware of issue rhetoric
3. .The problem should be analytically manageable

Question 21

What is the eightfold path?

Answer 21

1. It is a problem-solving process
2. It is iterative and consist of trial and error
3. Some of the guidance are practical and some are
   conceptual
4. It is easy to become lost and demoralized

Question 22

What happens in the select the criteria stage?

Answer 22

1. Define the objectives you want obtain
2. Criteria are mental standards for evaluating the result
   of the action
3. will the projected outcome solve the policy problem
4. Equality, equity, justice
5. Polititically acceptable

Question 23

What happens in the tell you story stage?

Answer 23

1. Apply the grandma Bessie test.
2. Consider the medium to use
3. Avoid showing all your work
4. Structure your report

Question 24

What mistakes should you avoid in the problem definition?

Answer 24

1. Is government intervention necessary?
2. Be aware of issue rhetoric
3. .The problem should be analytically manageable

Question 25

What is policy analysis?

Answer 25

It is what governments do, why they do it, and what difference it makes

Question 26

What are the steps in policy making process?

Answer 26

1. Identification of the problem 2. Set the agenda 3. Formulate the policy 4. Legitimate the policy 5. Implement the policy 6. Evaluate the policy

Question 27

What are problems notification placing on the agenda?

Answer 27

1. Interest groups 2, Policy making organizations 3. Mass media 4. Influential individuals

Question 28

What is legality, effectiveness and equality?

Answer 28

I

Question 29

What is best practices?

Answer 29

Solutions that have been tried in other jurisdictions, agencies, or locales. Look for those that appear to have worked pretty well and can you apply it to your situation.

Question 30

Things government do?

Answer 30

1. Tax 2. Regulation 3. Subsides and Grants 4. Budgets 5. Structure of private rights 6. Financing

Question 31

How do you protect credibility?

Answer 31

1. the researcher should take steps to protect the ultimate political credibility of his work from political attacks. Quote published sources. Prepare for premature exposure Seek out experts whom you can attribute views Lineup experts who would be willing to speak for your report.

Question 32

What is outcome matrix good for?

Answer 32

Provides visual representation choices and criteria to help us in the decision making process to see if there any clear winners or clear losers.

Question 33

What are the theory's of public policy?

Answer 33

``` Process Incremental Group Public choice Elite Game Rational Systems ```

Question 34

Gov. resp have generally _____ in recent years

Answer 34

Grown

Question 35

Total gov. spending is ____ percent

Answer 35

37

Question 36

The most expensive undertaking in fed. Gov is

Answer 36

Social Security and medicaire

Question 37

The study of politics is

Answer 37

The study of who gets what, when and how

Question 38

The work of a policy analyst includes all of the following except Prescribing preferences

Answer 38

Prescribing preferences

Question 39

One problem that researchers have in their attempt to find solutions for public problems is

Answer 39

Disagreements over what problems are

Question 40

Gross domestic product is a common measure indicating a government’s

Answer 40

True

Question 41

Policy adv. Is essentially persuasion in favor of a given public policy

Answer 41

True

Question 42

Models are used for all of the following reasons except to | evaluate the morality of dif. policies

Answer 42

evaluate the morality of dif. policies

Question 43

Which of the following is not part of the policy process? | Policy input

Answer 43

Policy input

Question 44

To make a rational policy decision, policy makers must

Answer 44

weigh benefits against cost

Question 45

The institutional model focuses on governmental structures

Answer 45

True

Question 46

The incremental method is generally preferred in times of crisis, when profound change is req.

Answer 46

False

Question 47

Deciding what issues will be decided and what problem will be addressed by the government is part of the

Answer 47

Agenda Setting

Question 48

In a typical two-year session roughly

Answer 48

10,000 bills are introduced to congress

Question 49

What is the purpose of a continuing resolutions?

Answer 49

Uninterruptedd functioning of fed. government

Question 50

Implementation of public policy is the job of

Answer 50

Bureaucracy

Question 51

The work of think tanks is the greatest at the policy stage of policy making

Answer 51

True