Here are a few policy objectives. For each of these can you think of SEVERAL possible policy instruments that could be used to tackle them? (bring your short list to class tomorrow)
- To reduce domestic violence?
- To improve equity of access to higher education?
- To improve road safety?
- To increase the extent of competition in the software industry?
- To tackle over-fishing in the Gulf of Thailand?
- To slow the spread of HIV infections?
- To address a dangerous form of pollution?
How could we judge each instrument?
Also please try to take a peek at W&V's chapter on this and Bardach's 'Things Governments Do' (Bardach's is shorter and easier, so it is a good place to start).
5 comments:
Todays discussion on policy instrument was particularly great. Though the definitions and frameworks continue to be limiting, it provided an interesting and useful method to identify the tools by which one can seek to make policy changes.
I particularly liked Paul's example - are policy instruments like switching on the lights? Or more like the central aircon control system, where only the person with the control (government) can make the changes?
I liked this example especially since there is always a time delay between making changes on the temperature control of an aircon and when the impact is felt. Much more like a policy instrument.
Yes, indeed an interesting discussion on understanding how the policy instrument works. However, I am still contemplating that while during most policy formulation, government looks towards establishing equity (redistribution of income by levying say taxes, giving equal access to education by say provision of quotas), even then the world is far from reaching equity. When the intentions are rational and well thought of, how does the implementation part does not get enough focus? In the event it does, why do we still have side effects of growing at a larger scale?
"while during most policy formulation, government looks towards establishing equity" --> I'm not too sure about this objective. Have a look at the following article. It's slightly algebraic but skimming it should give you an idea of what the author (who btw is a Nobel Laureate in Economics) is talking about. He talks about the economics of influence. In another paper, he talks about how campaign finance can lead to elite capture in politics. Fascinating stuff :)
Becker, Gary S. A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 98, No. 3 (Aug., 1983), pp. 371-400
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/stable/1886017
I was particularly excited about this topic, with the idea that this is something I know. Reading through the entire article of W&V however confused me a bit. Maybe the classification was meant to organize the policy tools but in the end, tools could not really be as distinct from each other. The context by which their arguments revolved may also differ from other political environments and would actually result to another outcome from what they assumed. For instance, the Philippine Department of Health is currently implementing a sector-wide reform using four policy instruments: governance, service delivery, financing and regulation. The context of these instruments differ in some aspects from what has been described in our readings. Also, these group of instruments may work in tandem when applied to the health sector but may fail to serve the purpose of another sector. A policy analyst connoisseur should therefore be able to wisely choose from the menu of instruments and know which ones would work with what in a given situation. Given the aircon analogy, the group of instruments chosen can then be utilized to cool down an entire building (if needed) or specific rooms strategically chosen for certain reasons. :)
I found that the feedback on our memos today was really useful. First, although we are supposed to write memos, we just write what we think. But now, I come to know that I can use these feedback strategies on our own memo so that the memos might become more perfect.
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