Pol S 321

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Pol S 321

• Lecture 1

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What is Politics?

• Authoritative allocation of values - Easton,
  D.A. Framework for Political Analysis.
• Who gets what, when and how in society -
  Lasswell, H. Politics Who Gets What, When and
  How.

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What is Public Policy

• Anything that government chooses to do or not to
  do? - Dye, T. Understanding Public Policy.
  P.2. - government is the agent of policy -
  involves a fundamental choice to do or not to do
  something (concept of the non-decision) -
  conceptualizes policy as a choice
• a set of interrelated decisions taken by a
  political actor or group of actors concerning the
  selectiion of goals and the means of achieving
  them within a specified situation where those
  decisions, should, in principle, be within the
  power of those actors to achieve. - Jenkins, W.I.
  Policy Analysis A Political and Organizational
  Perspective.

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Lomas, 2000
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Determinants of Health Policy

• notion that policy is determined by a variety
  of broad influences
• ideology, intellectual innovation, technology,
  institutions, socio-demographics, economics

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Values

• Ideologies coherent systematic ways of viewing
  the world, regardless of evidence
• political ideologies liberalism socialism
  conservatism
• Beliefs empirically testable notions of how the
  world operates
• Interestspoliticians, bureaucrats, providers,
  citizens

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Intellectual Innovation

• policy change flows from changes in perceptions
  and attitudes of central decision makers
• policy process as a complex web of communications
  within which information and ideas are exchanged
• relatively small number of individuals contribute
  to the intellectual process

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Technology

• technological imperative has a strong influence
  on society at large and decision makers in
  particular

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Institutions and Actors

• the structures and organizations of the state,
  society and international community
• The state
• political executive
• legislature
• appointed officials

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Institutions and Actors(cont.)

• Society
• business
• labour interest groups
• communities/citizens
• media
• research organizations
• International System
• trade regime
• financial regime

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Policy Communities

• groupings of government agencies, pressure
  groups, media people, and individuals, including
  academics, who for various reasons, have an
  interest in a particular field and attempt to
  influence it.

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Socio-Demographics

• effects of changes in socio-demographic on
  service requirements
• political significance of socio-demographics

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Economics

• economics as a foundation of decision making