Public Policy

A Public Policy is a policy that is agreed to by a public agency.

• Context:
  • It can range from being a Local Public Policy, a Provincial Public Policy, National Public Policy, or an International Public Policy.
  • It can be effected by: a Public Regulation, Public Subsidy, a Public Law, a Public Quota.
  • It can be studies by a Public Policy School.
• Example(s):
  • a tax reduction on Taxes on Capital.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Corporate Policy.
• See: Executive Government, State Polity, Judicial, Regulation, Funding, Decision-Making, Government Official, Public Sector Ethics, Vaclav Smil.

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References

2014

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_policy Retrieved:2014-3-14.
  • Public policy is the principled guide to action taken by the administrative executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and substantial constitutional law and implementing legislation such as the US Federal code. Further substrates include both judicial interpretations and regulations which are generally authorized by legislation. Other scholars define it as a system of "courses of action, regulatory measures, laws, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives." Public policy is commonly embodied "in constitutions, legislative acts, and judicial decisions."

    In the United States, this concept refers not only to the result of policies, but more broadly to the decision-making and analysis of governmental decisions. As an academic discipline, public policy is studied by professors and students at public policy schools of major universities throughout the country. The U.S. professional association of public policy practitioners, researchers, scholars, and students is the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.^{[citation needed]}

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_policy#Government_actions:_the_process_of_public_policy_making Retrieved:2014-3-14.
  • Public policy making can be characterized as a dynamic, complex, and interactive system through which public problems are identified and countered by creating new public policy or by reforming existing public policy. Public problems can originate in endless ways and require different policy responses (such as regulations, subsidies, quotas, and laws) on the local, on the national level, or on the international level. Public policy making is a continuous process that has many feedback loops. Verification and evaluation are essential to the functioning of this system. The public problems that influence public policy making can be of economic, social, or political nature. Each system is influenced by different public problems and thus requires different public policy.

    In public policy making, numerous individuals and interest groups compete and collaborate to influence policymakers to act in a particular way. The large set of actors in the public policy process, such as politicians, civil servants, lobbyists, domain experts, and industry representatives, use a variety of tactics and tools to advance their aims, including advocating their positions publicly, attempting to educate supporters and opponents, and mobilizing allies on a particular issue. Many actors can be important in the public policy process, however, government officials ultimately choose the ‘public policy’ in response to the public issue or problem at hand. In doing so, government officials are expected to meet public sector ethics and take the needs of all stakeholders into account.

    Since societies have changed in the past decades the public policy making system changed too. Today public policy making is increasingly goal-oriented, aiming for measurable results and goals, and decision-centric, focussing on decisions that must be taken immediately. Furthermore, mass communications and technological changes have caused the public policy system to become more complex and interconnected. These changes pose new challenges to the current public policy systems and pressure them to evolve in order to remain effective and efficient.

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