Introduction to public policy wheelan pdf

Introduction To Public Policy

BACKGROUND AND PREPARATION For this research project, you’ll write a two-part essay identifying an ineffective public policy and suggesting how it can be improved. In the first part, you’ll choose a topic and discuss a related the current policy that you feel is ineffective. In the second part, you’ll research your point of view and write about changes you would make to the policy to make it more effective. You must use at least two outside sources in addition to the textbook and you must document the sources using a standard format, such as MLA or APA. OBJECTIVE This research project will help you apply what you’ve learned about public policy. More precisely, you’ll have a chance to make some public policy suggestions of your own on a topic of your choice. PROCEDURE Write an essay of at least 500 words, typed and double spaced in a standard, 12-point font, such as Times New Roman. You may use both Internet and print sources for your research. The format of your essay must include an introductory paragraph that summarizes what the paper is about and a concluding paragraph that summarizes your observations and conclusions. Part 1 Select a topic related to one of the following issues: n Immigration n Education n Entitlement programs n Foreign policy n Economy 128 Introduction to Public Policy Once you’ve selected your topic, identify a current policy within the topic that you feel isn’t effective. Read related journal articles or books and use the most relevant material to explore the issue. Discuss relevant ethical, ideological, practical, and any other relevant problems you find with respect to the policy issue you’ve selected. Analyze every aspect of the policy; determine which goals are being met, which aren’t being met, and the reasons for the success or failure of the policy. Part 2 Once you’ve completed assessment of the policy, introduce the changes you would make to remedy the problems you identified in Part 1. Refer to your research sources as needed, using proper citation for any quotes or paraphrased ideas that aren’t your own. Discuss how your changes would address the problems you’ve identified: n Compare the merits of your proposed policy to the existing policy n Analyze both policies with respect to the empirical and normative dimensions, the cost-benefit analysis, shortand long-term goals, and indirect benefits as discussed in your textbook n Discuss how your policy would be implemented in light of groups (stakeholders) that would favor or oppose your policy proposals n Explain and discuss just how your policy would be administered

Introduction to Public Policy By

Robert G. Turner, Jr., Ph.D.

About the Author

Robert G. Turner, Jr., Ph.D., has more than 20 years of teaching experience. He has taught seventh grade, worked as a curriculum developer for the Upward Bound Program, and taught sociology, anthropology, and honors seminars at the university level. As a professional writer, he has written nonfiction books, journal and magazine articles, novels, and stage plays.

Copyright © 2013 by Penn Foster, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to Copyright Permissions, Penn Foster, 925 Oak Street, Scranton, Pennsylvania 18515.

Printed in the United States of America

All terms mentioned in this text that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Use of a term in this text should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS 1

LESSON ASSIGNMENTS 9

LESSON 1: PUBLIC POLICY: WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO 11

LESSON 2: MARKETS AND GOVERNMENT 45

LESSON 3: TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS 75

LESSON 4: MAKING POLICY 117

RESEARCH PROJECT 127

SELF-CHECK ANSWERS 133

iii

C o

n t

e n

t s

C o

n t

e n

t s

1

In s

t r

u c

t io

n s

In s

t r

u c

t io

n s

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to your course in public policy. For many thousands of years, the concept of public policy was essentially nonexistent. Most of us lived in tribal societies composed of relatively small populations. There was no concept of “public” in tribal worlds. Daily life was largely face-to-face and, quite often, the name people had for their society simply meant “the people” or the “human beings.” The word Cheyenne, for example, simply means “human beings.” The face of the world for indigenous people like the Inuit of the Arctic, the Kwakiutl of the Pacific Northwest, or the Navajo (Dine) was the natural world itself. Understanding and cooperating with nature was the name of the game when it came to survival.

However, the rise of civilizations changed all of that in signifi- cant ways. As population densities and numbers increased in the first urbanized civilizations, the mode of production was intensive, organized agriculture that produced food surpluses. The food surpluses, in turn, permitted a far more complex division of labor. While most people in the early civilizations were peasant farmers, food surpluses permitted the rise of whole categories of people who weren’t peasant farmers. Among the new social classes of people there were artisans, soldiers, merchant traders, priests, and bureaucrats. The lat- ter class represented the interests and policies of social elites, such as imperial or monarchial dynasties and their ministers or agents. In general, policies were made at the top and outcomes were often problematic for all those folks trying to make a living day by day—a number of whom were slaves. Today, in light of the powerful forces of advancing technology, ideals of dem- ocratic governance, and sophisticated modes of communication, social orders are imposed on natural environments, sometimes in rather destructive ways. In our world of glass, steel, inter- nal combustion engines, asphalt, and electric power plants, our environments are essentially artificial. Meanwhile, the division of labor is so complex that most of us have little understanding of what others do to make a living. Physicists talk to physicists, and cops talk to cops. Journalists hop about in search of a story. Factory-work environments are a far cry from country club environments. And the people who inhabit these environments aren’t likely to comprehend

Instructions to Students2

the life of a Maine lobster fisherman or a West Virginia coal miner. And so, we begin to grasp the baffling complexity that faces public policy makers.

Today, the word public is still an abstract concept, but it can be loosely defined as all those people in a complex soci- ety who either benefit from or are negatively impacted by policy decisions. For in our world, public policies frame and organize all of our social institutions—economic, political, and social. Education, health care, sports, the military, law enforcement, and the many other fields of human action and discourse require communal dialogue, sorting out differences, and reaching compromises on just how our lives should be conducted and organized.

OBJECTIVES

When you complete this course, you’ll be able to

n Define public policy, and explain the five steps in the policy-making process

n Describe and contrast the characteristics of for-profit, nonprofit, and government institutions

n Describe and explain issues related to balancing private and public concerns in a world characterized by scarcity and uncertainty

n Explain and describe 10 factors that may challenge collective efforts to reconcile differences regarding public policy

n Explain how the complexities of the real world are sim- plified through the use of conceptual models, such as the law of supply and demand or the idea that individuals seek to maximize their utility

n Describe the concept of moral hazards given that infor- mation is often incomplete and that human behavior isn’t necessarily rational

n Explain and discuss the characteristics of externalities— negative or positive—as these may be affected by property rights, transaction costs, and other factors

Instructions to Students 3

n Explain concepts of strategic interaction as these are expressed in game theory as exemplified by the prisoner’s dilemma

n Explain what’s meant by dynamic human behavior as illustrated by things like runs on banks or collective- action problems wherein accepted individual behaviors result in negative group outcomes

n Discuss and explain how indicators, like the poverty threshold, or indexes, like the human development index (HDI), are used to assess levels of social welfare

n Describe and explain conceptual tools for making inferences about social welfare, including efficiency, deadweight loss, equity, and distinguishing absolute from relative poverty

n Differentiate between parliamentary and presidential systems with respect to the legislative process

n Discuss and explain societal approaches to allocating scarce resources and, in particular, the characteristics of markets

n Describe the characteristics of market failure in relationship to enforcing property rights, lowering transaction costs, promoting competition, and ameliorating externalities

n Explain and compare redistribution and paternalism in respect to providing a social safety net

n Describe, explain, and apply descriptive statistics in the context of gathering and measuring information related to public policy

n Describe, explain, and apply principles of probability sampling and statistical inference in the context of public policy decision making

n Describe, explain, and apply linear regression analysis in the context of assessing information related to public policy

n Discuss and describe stakeholder analysis, mechanisms for changing behavior, and the elements of the policy process as aspects of effective public policy

COURSE MATERIALS

This course includes the following materials:

1. This study guide, which contains an introduction to your course, plus

n A lesson assignments page with a schedule of study assignments you’ll complete during the course

n Assignment introductions emphasizing the main points in the textbook

n Self-checks to help you assess your understanding of the material

n A research project and instructions for completing it

2. Your course textbook, Introduction to Public Policy, which contains the assignment reading material

YOUR TEXTBOOK

Your textbook, Introduction to Public Policy, by Charles Wheelan, contains the material on which you’ll be tested. Success in your course depends on your knowledge of the textbook. For that reason, you should take some time to look through the textbook from front to back to get a sense of how the material is arranged. Here are some of the key features of your textbook:

Front Matter

n Brief Contents are found on pages vii–viii.

n Contents are found on pages ix–xix. Studying the contents of the five sections of the textbook will give you a quick overview of the learning challenges you’ll encounter in this course.

n The Preface, found on pages xxi–xxiii, will give you an overall sense of the author’s approach to understanding the challenges and promises of forging effective public policies.

Instructions to Students4

Instructions to Students 5

Chapter Features

n Each chapter begins with an engaging exploration of a topic related to the contents of the chapter.

n A chapter outline follows the introductory essay. Read it carefully to understand the learning goals of the chapter.

n Within the text, key terms appear in bold type.

n Supplements under the heading “Policy in the Real World” offer case studies covering specific public policy issues. They’re found in every chapter.

n A Conclusion ends the main text of each chapter. You’ll want to read it carefully as you review your understand- ing of the chapter.

n A “For Discussion” feature follows the conclusion. It will challenge you to think about a specific public policy issue in considerable detail.

n Questions follow the discussion feature. They can help you think critically and creatively about specific public policy concerns.

n Lastly, a list of Key Concepts is found at the end of each chapter.

End Matter

n A Glossary is found on pages 549–568. This course will introduce you to a great number of concepts and terms. So, beyond using the glossary as a reference when you’re in mid-read and fuzzy about a term, you may also find it useful to simply scan the glossary once or twice as a form of review.

n An Index, found on pages 569–582, can help you pinpoint names, concepts, and topics.

Instructions to Students6

A STUDY PLAN

Think of this study guide as a blueprint for your course. You should read it carefully. To receive the maximum benefit from your studies, follow this procedure:

1. In this study guide, read the introduction to Assignment 1. This is the first reading assignment of Lesson 1. Pay attention to the new ideas and concepts introduced, and carefully note the pages in your textbook where the reading assignment begins and ends.

2. Skim the assigned pages in your textbook to get a general idea of their contents.

3. Then, read the assigned pages in the textbook. Try to see the “big picture” of the material during this first reading.

4. Next, go back and carefully study the assigned pages in your textbook. Pay careful attention to all details, includ- ing the illustrations, charts, and diagrams included in the textbook. Take notes on the important points and terms in a notebook, if you wish.

5. At the end of the reading assignment, review what you’ve learned by completing the self-check questions in this study guide. Write the answers on a separate piece of paper, if you wish. Try to answer the questions on your own without looking them up in the textbook. Don’t worry about making a mistake. The purpose of answering these questions is to review the material and to help you recognize the areas that you may need to study again. After you’ve answered the self-check questions, check your answers with the answers in the back of this study guide to confirm that you answered the questions correctly. If you answered any questions incorrectly, review the material for that topic until you’re sure that you understand it. Note that these questions are provided only for you to review your learning. You won’t be graded on them in any way. Don’t send your self-check answers to the school.

6. Repeat Steps 1 through 5 for each of the remaining reading assignments in the lesson.

Instructions to Students 7

7. When you’ve finished reading all of the assigned textbook pages for the lesson and you’re sure that you’re comfort- able with the material, complete the examination for that lesson. The examination contains a number of multiple- choice questions. You may go back to your textbook to review material at any time when you’re working on the examination. When you’re finished with each lesson, take the examination as soon as you’re ready. Don’t study another lesson until you’ve completed the examination.

8. Repeat these steps until all lessons have been completed.

9. Complete the Research Project and submit it for grading.

Remember that you may ask your instructor for help whenever you need it. Your instructor can answer your questions, provide additional information, and provide further explanation of your study materials. E-mail your questions to your instruc- tor, and he or she will see to it that you receive the needed information.

Now you’re ready to begin Lesson 1.

Good luck with your course!

Remember to regularly check “My Courses” on your student homepage. Your instructor may post additional resources that you can access to enhance your learning experience.

Instructions to Students8

NOTES

9

A s

s ig

n m

e n

t s

A s

s ig

n m

e n

t s

Lesson 1: Public Policy: Why We Do What We Do

For: Read in the Read in the study guide: textbook:

Assignment 1 Pages 11–15 Chapter 1, pages 3–31

Assignment 2 Pages 16–20 Chapter 2, pages 32–66

Assignment 3 Pages 21–27 Chapter 3, pages 69–105

Assignment 4 Pages 28–35 Chapter 4, pages 106–138

Assignment 5 Pages 36–43 Chapter 5, pages 139–174

Examination 501783 Material in Lesson 1

Lesson 2: Markets and Government

For: Read in the Read in the study guide: textbook:

Assignment 6 Pages 45–55 Chapter 6, pages 177–213

Assignment 7 Pages 56–64 Chapter 7, pages 214–249

Assignment 8 Pages 65–73 Chapter 8, pages 250–287

Examination 501784 Material in Lesson 2

Lesson 3: Tools for Analysis

For: Read in the Read in the study guide: textbook:

Assignment 9 Pages 75–85 Chapter 9, pages 291–327

Assignment 10 Pages 86–93 Chapter 10, pages 328–363

Assignment 11 Pages 94–99 Chapter 11, pages 364–404

Assignment 12 Pages 100–107 Chapter 12, pages 405–443

Assignment 13 Pages 108–116 Chapter 13, pages 444–475

Examination 501785 Material in Lesson 3

Lesson Assignments10

Lesson 4: Making Policy

For: Read in the Read in the study guide: textbook:

Assignment 14 Pages 117–123 Chapter 14, pages 479–510

Assignment 15 Pages 124–125 Chapter 15, pages 511–547

Examination 501786 Material in Lesson 4

Research Project 50178700

Note: To access and complete any of the examinations for this study guide, click on the appropriate Take Exam icon on your “My Courses” page. You should not have to enter the examination numbers. These numbers are for reference only if you have reason to contact Student Services.

11

L e

s s

o n

1

L e

s s

o n

1

Public Policy: Why We Do What We Do

ASSIGNMENT 1 Read Assignment 1 in your study guide. Then, read Chapter 1 on pages 3–31 of your textbook, Introduction to Public Policy.

Imagine yourself living near a national park that gets lots of snow during the winter. You’re a fan of outdoor camping and backpacking; you respond to the “call of the wild.” So, how might you feel about snowmobiles? Would you adore riding them across snowy wastes? Would their noise bother you? Would you view their riders as barbaric invaders of nature’s precious solitude?

If you’re responsible for crafting public policy, how would you go about reconciling the range of attitudes about snowmobiles in national parks? Of course, at this point, that’s not a fair question. But this scenario does tell you one thing: Making public policy is intensely challenging. Understanding how and why is the whole point of this course.

Defining Public Policy

To quote your textbook, “Public policy is the process by which a society makes and enforces decisions on what behavior is acceptable and what is not” (page 7). Basically, this formalism tells us that public policy is all about what we, collectively, are willing to allow other people to do. Consider these questions: Are you in favor of legal abortion? Are you in favor of a livable minimum wage? Do you feel your tax burden is too high, about right, or too light? Do you agree that America has the right to wage preemptive wars against foreign states, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, in pursuing a global fight against terrorism?

You’ll notice two kinds of questions here. The issues of abortion and same-sex marriage may involve communal discourse and debate that might lead to legislative actions. Such debates can have a lot to do with how, collectively, we may decide on what we think other people should be allowed to do. On the

Introduction to Public Policy12

other hand, the issues related to raising revenue (taxes) and waging war are pretty much beyond the control of ordinary citizens. Regardless of how people feel about tax rates, they’ll still have to pay national, state, and local taxes. Regardless of how people feel about preemptive wars, government foreign policy will be what it will be, except for the possibility of mas- sive, organized dissent. That said, it’s still the case—in every case (at least in principle)—that public policies should aim at making things better for people.

The Policy Process

Familiarize yourself with the five steps of the policy process:

1. Identify a social goal. Improving public education, reducing poverty, or improving public infrastructure could be a few, among the many, social goals you might imagine.

2. Diagnose the problem. If the issue is poverty, we’ll seek data that helps us identify possible causes of poverty.

3. Identify the appropriate institution for action. Having iden- tified a key cause, like unemployment, we might decide on ways agencies of the government might offer incentives to business for hiring more workers.

4. Evaluate the substance and politics of competing policy options. Is it better to expand public welfare services (like Medicaid or the food stamps program) or cut funding for such programs in the name of balancing the budget?

5. Implement, enforce, and monitor the policy change. During the Clinton administration, public policy programs— national, state, and local—called for increasing the number of cops on the beat to reduce crime and enhance public safety. With such programs in place, enforced by government mandates, public policy experts went about monitoring the results, such as looking at changes in crimes rates.

Note: Refer to the graphic on page 11 for an overview of the five steps in the policy-making process.

Lesson 1 13

For-Profit, Nonprofit, and Government Institutions

The key idea to keep in mind here is that all of the institu- tions mentioned in your textbook, for-profit firms, nonprofit firms, and the government, influence and are influenced by public policy.

For-profit firms exist to make money. They aim to keep their expenses lower than their revenues. Most of our daily needs and jobs come from the private sector, and private sector operations can thrive only when they’re meeting the needs of the people they employ and the customers they serve.

Nonprofit firms offer goods and services to people that aren’t provided by the private sector. In this way, they contribute to the overall social welfare. For example, university endow- ments can be used to finance the education of students who can’t afford to pay tuition costs.

Government institutions are unique in that they can compel people to do what they would prefer not to do. This is true of local, state, and national governments because, in general, governments maintain a monopoly on force. Western states embrace representative democracies. Too much government can squelch and limit free enterprise and human freedom in general. Too little government can lead to a “war of all against all,” civil corruption, and the unraveling of the social order.

Balancing Private Life and Public Policy

With respect to the economic face of public policy, here’s the key idea: Our collective decisions, expressed as public policy, create the framework for the private and corporate production of goods and services. In short, we need public policy. On the other hand, policy makers must always try to find the balance between liberated human expression and the collective good. Private, individual freedom must be balanced against the rights and welfare of communities and society as whole.

Introduction to Public Policy14

The Art of the Possible: Life in a World of Scarcity and Uncertainty

Most people who’ve lived on planet Earth for a while under- stand this: Much of what we value is scarce and life is full of unforeseen contingencies hidden in clouds of uncertainty. A blizzard arrives, people get snowed in, and the power bill goes through the roof.

On a larger scale, it’s simply a fact that many amenities peo- ple might want are beyond their financial means. That’s why families need budgets: Incomes are finite, and we can never buy everything we might want. Yet, even our budget estimates may be hedged about with uncertainty.

Fields of uncertainty noted in your textbook include

n Scientific uncertainty. Scientists must deal with a great swarm of data to figure out just how climate change will affect conditions like sea-level rise and spreading desertification.

n Human unpredictability. Humans can be identified by their fingerprints, because each of us has a distinctive fingerprint pattern. In the same sense, actual individual responses, for example, to a new zoning policy, are inherently subject to uncertainty.

n Deliberately hidden information. As your textbook points out, the invasion of Iraq was based on the assumption that Saddam Hussein’s government was harboring and producing weapons of mass destruction. In fact, no such weapons were ever found. So the questions arise: Was the intelligence faulty or was information deliberately with- held from the public to carry out a preconceived plan?

n The sheer complexity of life. Your textbook discussion here focuses on the immense complexity of economic outcomes in the context of financial meltdowns and international trade agreements. But you’ve probably guessed that life is bafflingly complex simply from trying to figure out why you bought a car you couldn’t afford or why your boss failed to smile while passing your cubicle.

Take some time now to review what you’ve learned by completing Self-Check 1.

Lesson 1 15

Self-Check 1

At the end of each section of Introduction to Public Policy, you’ll be asked to pause and check your understanding of what you’ve just read by completing a “Self-Check” exercise. Answering these questions will help you review what you’ve studied so far. Please complete Self-Check 1 now.

Indicate whether each of the following statements is True or False.

1. In the world of public policy, adverse effects are more likely to be significant when an intervention has a profound effect on people’s lives.

2. The private sector is composed of for-profit firms.

3. The first step in the policy-making process is identifying the appropriate institution for implementing the policy.

4. Policy makers can make decisions only if they have complete information.

5. In a nonprofit organization, surplus revenues are retained by the organization.

Check your answers with those on page 133.

Introduction to Public Policy16

ASSIGNMENT 2 Read Assignment 2 in your study guide. Then, read Chapter 2 on pages 32–66 of your textbook, Introduction to Public Policy.

Public Policy Success: Life Is Better Now

Overall, even given reversals in some areas of public welfare in the last few years, it can be said that life is better for many, if not for all. In the developed world, on average, people live longer than they did several decades ago. Per-capita income (adjusted for inflation) is considerably greater now than it was in 1970. In many areas of the economy, people work fewer hours per week than they did in the 1960s and 1970s. But these are overall, general trends. They don’t account for things like the off-shoring of jobs that’s currently undermining the health of the American middle class. Furthermore, calls for austerity sparked by the international financial crisis of 2008 have stirred a hornet’s nest of protest across the European Union. In America, the “Occupy” movement protested the accelerating gap between the superrich and ordinary wage earners.

So Far to Go

A host of problems remain. The staggering cost of health care isn’t declining; it continues to increase. Mounting tuition costs are resulting in burdensome student loan debt, now approach- ing one trillion dollars. American prisons are overflowing even as crime rates have been in decline for the last couple of decades. In the face of such problems, a variety of challenges face public policy makers. In preview, here’s a quick look at 10 challenges elaborated in your textbook.

1. What is “better”? What’s good for some may be bad for others. For workers and wage earners in general, a liv- able minimum wage will make the world a better place. For private sector corporate interests, raising the cost of labor is bad news. CEOs seek maximum return on investment (ROI) for owners and shareholders.

Lesson 1 17

2. Disagreements over basic values. Regarding the sharp contention over abortion, imagine a balance-beam scale. In one pan is the “weight” of opinion that a zygote (a fertilized egg) is a person with person rights. In the other pan is the “weight” of opinion that women should control their own bodies. The word weight reminds us that values are subjective, not objective “facts.”

3. Trade-offs among basic values. Again, as illustrated by the abortion issue, the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) made abortion legal. However, despite that decision, based on the Constitution’s concept of the right to privacy, pro-life sentiments continue to be expressed as legislative measures.

4. “Side-effects” and organized interests. After mass mur- ders, such as those at Virginia Tech and a Colorado theater, the National Rifle Association (NRA) continues to lobby for the sale of all kinds of guns based on the Second Amendment. Would restricting gun ownership eliminate or even reduce such incidents? Does the NRA in effect protect the profits of arms manufacturers by protecting the people’s right to bear arms in spite of public sentiment from others favoring restrictions on access to firearms?

5. Balancing the present against the future. An example is balancing demands for energy against rapidly accumu- lating greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Should the use of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum) be reduced to protect future generations from the ecological damage, such as habitat destruction, species die-off, and global warming?

6. Collective-action problems, or the “tragedy of the commons.” Collective-action problems occur when accepted individ- ual behavior results in harm to the common good. The tragedy of the commons is a prime example. If you’re not quite sure what the tragedy of the commons is all about, just consider threats to food-fish populations. In many coastal areas of the planet, people are heavily dependent on harvesting ocean resources for food. However, as indi- viduals and firms pursue their aims, fish stocks in many areas are literally vanishing.

Introduction to Public Policy18

7. Nondemocratic safeguards. These happen when policies deliberately create institutions that bypass the will of the majority in the name of social efficiency. According to polls, most Americans favor some kind of universal health care scheme, such as Medicare for all. However, government policies typically favor the special interests of for-profit, private health insurers, pharmaceutical firms, and for- profit hospital chains.

8. The challenge of changing human behavior. Changing human behavior for the better isn’t easy. In any society, once patterns of attitudes, values, and behaviors are deemed “normal” and “virtuous,” they tend to persist.

9. Progress breeds new challenges. As many have noted, based on historical records, once a weapon is invented, it will be used. So far, no nation has employed nuclear weapons, save for the United States at the end of World War II. However, as demonstrated in the work of Ike Jeanes and others, as proliferation accelerates, the odds that nuclear weapons will be used increases. Today, the United States, the Russian Federation, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel possess employable nuclear weapons. Thus, statistically, the global nuclear threat at present is actually greater than it was during the Cold War.

10. Status-quo bias. This tends to keep us stuck with old ideas, even when they no longer serve the best interests of either individuals or firms. In a nutshell, people who benefit from social institutions as they are will be power- fully inclined to maintain their advantages.

Reconciling Our Differences

Values, Facts, and Theories

Values are strongly held beliefs. Indeed, they’re core beliefs that shape a person’s view of self, others, and the world at large. Values are based on assumptions that may or may not be consistent with reality—whatever that may turn out to be. But because they define one’s identity, they tend to be strongly

Lesson 1 19

defended when questioned or challenged. That understanding can help us realize why some values, such as those associated with a religious faith, can spark violent rivalries.

A theory is a model that more or less adequately explains the relationships of a set of observed facts. Newton’s (or Einstein’s) theory of gravity is based on mathematical relationships among measurable variables, such as velocity, mass, and acceleration. All valid science-based theories can be modified as new observations unveil new facts. Theories are models, not “the truth.”

Sources of Disagreement

The four sources of disagreement given in your textbook are as follows:

1. Differences in basic values. Sound public policy formula- tion must not be based on the policy makers’ values. For example, the issue of capital punishment must be viewed in terms of “facts on the ground,” such as public sentiment, the political atmosphere, and cost-benefit assessments.

2. Disagreements over facts or theory. Good public policy research requires sound data and sound data analysis. Nevertheless, studies may vary when it comes to the question of, say, the deterrence value of capital punish- ment.

3. Different interests. Even soundly conceived public policy won’t please all of the people all of the time, even if the benefits of a policy are apparent in the overall picture. For instance, someone may decline Social Security benefits because he or she sees them as an unwarranted form of charity.

4. Disagreements over things that are at present unknowable. Existential questions (Does God exist?), questions about the future (such as global warming), and “what if” (coun- terfactual) questions (What if the South had won the Civil War?) may have answers—at least regarding exis- tential and future scenarios. But we can’t know what they are. Even so, assumed answers to such questions can indeed influence public policy formulations.

Introduction to Public Policy20

Self-Check 2

Indicate whether each of the following statements is True or False.

1. Only occasionally can we predict the outcomes of a policy with complete certainty.

2. There is no single, quantifiable measure of public policy success.

3. The so called “tragedy of the commons” is a collective-action problem.

4. A fact is to an objective reality as a theory is to a general principle based on available data.

5. Disagreements over basic values are most often evident with respect to social issues, like abortion or gun control.

Check your answers with those on page 133.

Lesson 1 21

ASSIGNMENT 3 Read Assignment 3 in your study guide. Then, read Chapter 3 on pages 69–105 of your textbook, Introduction to Public Policy.

Simplifying the World

The Role of Models

The most basic model for microeconomics—having to do with the ebb and flow of collective consumer behavior—is the law of supply and demand. As the supply of peanut butter increases, the price of peanut butter declines, and people will buy more peanut butter—but not indefinitely. Once the demand for peanut butter reaches its market limit, an equilibrium price is established. Further increases in the production of peanut butter won’t raise the price and will result in wasted inven- tory. Of course, that simple model is, indeed, a simplification. Be sure to study the graphic illustration on page 73.