Unit 4

Question 1

1. explain how public policy reflects our values.

Answer 1

1. Two major emphases in this new thinking are citizen engagement and better accountability mechanisms from government to the public. While these are clearly related, the first refers to bringing citizens and groups into the decision- making process, while the second refers more to techniques of providing transparency in public decisionmaking.
2. Politicians and public administrators are interested in striking a balance between what is affordable and what is in the best interests of the public. For example, politicians may choose one policy over another, depending on whether it will gain public support (and voting support) or lose public support at election time. Public administrators look for policies that are well designed and may also be influenced by incentives that could enhance their careers in the longer term.
3. Another framework, which has gained increased recognition over the past three decades, is the determinants of health view. This point of view expands the definition of health beyond the physical workings of the human body to a more preventive approach, which includes the mental and spiritual well being of the individual. This less technological view of health includes looking at the relationship of the individual to their surrounding social, economic and physical environments.

Question 2

2. describe the structure of institutions and the impact they have on public policy.

Answer 2

1. The first shift is a renewed appreciation of the special nature of the public sector, of public sector values, and of how public institutions (government, but the para-public sector as well) serve the public interest.
2. The second shift is a new emphasis on accountability and ethics. While this emphasis is not specific to Canada, the Federal Accountability Act that the newly elected Conservatives passed in 2006 represented a signature policy and one with extraordinary scope.
3. The third shift is not really a shift at all but contains the seeds of potential radical change.
4. Institutions can influence health policy in a number of ways. One such way is by constraining the range of possible policy outcomes. That is, certain options are ruled out or seen as less likely. This may be done by creating decision processes with a limited number of access points, which effectively narrows both the range of interests that need to be accommodated and the number of options to be considered.
5. The structure and organization of institutions can also create opportunity. As we have seen, mutually supportive relationships can develop between government institutions and actors external to government, overcoming traditional boundaries and leading to the development of creative options to make the provision of services possible.

Question 3

3. identify the relationship of the courts to public policy.

Answer 3

1. The fundamental difference is that the institutions we have discussed evolved with full recognition that they were to be part of the policy making process. The courts, as institutions for dispute resolution, were intended to be isolated from policy making.

Question 4

4. The outcomes of court intervention into policy can take differing approaches:

Answer 4

1. The courts may confirm that the policy conforms to standards set by relevant legal tests such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
2. The courts may amend the policy prior to implementation.
3. The policy may be completely abolished, leaving a policy vacuum.

Question 5

4. describe the influence of individuals on policy.

Answer 5

2. Individuals and groups interact with and within institutions and play an important role in the public policy process. Politicians are important actors because they make final decisions about how resources will be allocated. Politicians often serve as policy brokers, bringing together interested parties with diverse views to forge a consensus on policy.
3. All government departments and agencies are deeply involved in the formulation of policy, whereas many politicians are not necessarily knowledgeable in the fields of public policy they administer. Politicians change offices regularly, but public servants do not. The extent of ministerial involvement in a department mainly depends on the personality and skills of the minister. For the most part, ministers leave administrative matters to departmental officials whose continuity and ongoing attention to policy development and implementation allows a closer working knowledge of policy issues.

Question 6

5. discuss the role of information in making public policy.

Answer 6

1. Policy makers base their decisions on information. The type and quality of that information and its availability vary considerably. Some decisions involve complex scientific, financial or demographic calculations. Other decisions involve a quick assessment of the problem and a decision to act in the absence of complete information.
2. A major activity in public policy making is gathering, synthesizing and disseminating information. These activities involve assorted interested parties and occur in various venues. The primary sources of information are researchers, institutes and public polling agencies. Researchers may be based in post secondary institutions (universities and colleges), policy institutes (public or private), or public policy consulting companies.

Question 7

6. discuss how interest groups can influence public policy.

Answer 7

1. Interest groups are individuals with a recognized common interest who band together formally or informally to pressure government to adopt policies that favour their viewpoint. They range from well organized and well financed professional associations to less well organized and less well financed single–issue protest groups and groups representing the general public.
2. The most visible function of interest groups is their role in lobbying government to adopt policies that will have a favourable impact on their membership. Government often consults with interest groups before introducing new policies. By consulting, it hopes to test the response of interest groups before a new policy is put in place.

Question 8

7. identify the impact demographics have on public policy.

Answer 8

1. The age, sex and ethnic makeup of the population also influence health policy. Politicians and other public decision makers are sensitive to the demand and needs of voters. In this respect, the largest demographic segment of the population is the generation born immediately after World War II. The preferences of this group exert a significant influence both on the decisions of government and the private sector about what services or products to provide and how to provide them.

Question 9

8. describe how economics influences or constrains public policy choices.

Answer 9

1. Like everyone else, government must be very attentive to the potential costs, ensuring that no further debt is incurred. Given the major focus in recent years on eliminating annual deficits and reducing the debt, the need to carefully weigh the costs of any initiative has become increasingly important. With the worldwide financial situation that developed in the late part of the first decade of the 21st century, this need is even more accentuated.
2. Canadian governments borrow money from foreign investors and are subject to interest rates that are dependent on how those investors view the credit rating of a particular government. Those investors can bring pressure to bear on governments to control how, and how much, they spend.

Question 10

9. explain the impact technology has on public policy and identify issues technology raises for policy makers.

Answer 10

2. Advances in communication technology have now made possible the rapid collection and transfer of large amounts of data about what we buy, what we eat, how healthy we are, and many other types of personal information.
3. Technology creates both opportunities and challenges for public decision makers. It can provide powerful tools for gathering information relating to public policy choices. However, the amount of information that can be collected is often huge and unmanageable within the short time period in which governments make many policy decisions.
4. Access to technology is also changing the way in which individuals and groups share information and try to influence public policy. For example, the federal government was engaged in discussions with other governments to develop a multilateral agreement on trade and investment (MAI). Individuals and groups with concerns about the implications of such an agreement were able to mobilize internationally by using the Internet to share information.
5. Advances in health care technology (to diagnose, treat, prevent or manage a condition) have also had a major impact on the health care system, not only in terms of costs, but also in terms of the ethical issues arising from the use of technology. Technology allows health care providers to undertake extraordinary measures to save lives, transplant organs, and enable a childless couple to have a family.

Question 11

10. describe the relationship of the media to decision makers and discuss the influence of the media on public policy.

Answer 11

1. Media are an important community of policy actors because of their ability to shape public opinion. This is particularly true in an arena such as health. The saying, “If it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t read,” implies that life and death stories become newsworthy and, therefore, get published and read, and may influence policy.
2. A major activity of public policy actors, including interest groups and politicians, is attracting the attention of media on particular issues. For interest groups, policy advocates, policy institutes and politicians, media attention allows them to convey a particular message about an issue to the broader public. Media attention also adds legitimacy to the particular viewpoint of an individual or interest group.