CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, HAYWARD Department of Public Administration Fall 1997 Dr. Dvora Yanow Tuesdays MI 4125, 510/885-3282 Prerequisites: PuAd 4800, 4830, 5000 Off hrs: MTW 5:30-6:30 PuAd 6805: Public Policy Formulation and Implementation This course explores the processes by which ideas become public policy issues, are passed into laws and turned into programs. Focusing on the federal level of government, we will seek to understand how policies come about, or don't, in light of three sometimes competing views of policy action: an institutional view, which focuses on the legislation of policies, largely by individual and organizational actors such as the President and Congress; a political process view, which expands the focus on both sides to include agenda-setting, on the one hand, and implementation and evaluation, on the other, seeing policies as evolving in stages; and an interpretive view, which shifts the analytic focus from the instrumental outcomes of policies to the meanings they have for multiple interpretive communities as expressions of societal beliefs, values, and feelings, thereby positing political communities rather than the marketplace as the basis for policy-making and moving toward a communications model of the policy process. One of the fundamental questions that we will consider in this course, which emerges from this third view (which is the one I will argue for), is what meanings specific policies come to have, how they acquire those meanings, and how the transmission of meaning affects their implementation and evaluation. The class will be conducted as part lecture, part discussion. We will use The Dance of Legislation (see below) and other case materials to illustrate the topics of the course. Readings: 1. The following books are on order at the bookstore and on library reserve: James E. Anderson, Public Policymaking, 3d ed., Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1997. Eric Redman, The Dance of Legislation, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1973. Deborah A. Stone, Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making, 2d edition, NY: Norton, 1997. 2. Course readings also include a packet of journal articles and chapters from other books (the course "Reader"; available for purchase from the Student Union Copy Center and on reserve in the library). These are marked with a * in the syllabus. 3. You should also be reading a daily newspaper with good national coverage (e.g., the New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Washington Post, the San Jose Mercury News). See below. Course requirements 1. Read. Think. Come to class. Be prepared to participate. 2. Class exercises: see assignments 1-4 in syllabus. These will require you to choose a policy issue to follow through the quarter. Start clipping articles, essays, and cartoons from the newspaper on your chosen issue. The exercises should be collected and handed in together * 3. Written work: take-home final or course paper (see separate handout). Evaluation for the course will be as follows: 1. classroom participation, as expressed through knowledge of the assigned course material and completion of class exercises (25%); 2. final exam/course paper (75%). All work will be evaluated on the basis of evidence of thoughtfulness and serious consideration of the issues, a balance of policy data (i.e., details) and individual analysis, and the clarity with which those thoughts are communicated. Note: I can accept no late papers or exams, or ones submitted by fax or slipped under my door. They are due by the start of class (that is, by 6:30 p.m.!). This policy enables me to do my work properly. Late papers/exams will automatically be lowered one grade than their quality (i.e., a B paper/exam will receive a C grade).1. Sept. 30 Introduction 2. Oct. 7 Congress makes a law: The institutional view Read: *Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Anderson, pp. 5-8, 38-42, 51-70, 98-109, 128-9. Also, begin reading Redman (including Forward and Preface); the entire book should be read by week 8 for in-class discussion. Identify the actors Redman encounters; begin to draw an "organizational chart" (the form is your choice) to keep track of their institutional affiliations and hierarchical relationships. (Plan to bring it for class #8). For tonight, read through page 72 (at least) and answer (for yourself and for class discussion) the following questions: Think: What does the word "policy" mean? Who are the actors, individual and collective, involved in making federal policy, both inside and outside Washington? Find Who in Congress makes policy on your issue? Have the out: President or the Courts been involved? What administrative agency or agencies take part? In class: Researching policy processes. Assignment #1a: Come to class knowing: 1. the names of your US Senators and Representative; 2. the names of your state Senator and Representative. Assignment #1b: Choose a current policy issue to follow during the quarter. I would prefer that you choose a federal issue, but you may also choose a state issue. The issue can be at any point in its development, from initiation to implementation. Try to find out for next week if your federal and state Congresspeople have a position on your policy issue. This will require you to call his/her local office or to do some library research. Ask for each one's position paper and a copy of or reference to any legislation that s/he sponsors or supports on the subject. You should also begin Assignment #3 now (see below, under weeks 6 and 7). 3. Oct. 14 Researching a public policy issue Meet in the library under the clock on the left wall near the main entrance at 6:25. (If you are late, join us in the classroom in the wing to the right: turn right at the entrance, right again at the doorway, right into the room.) Assignment #2: After the formal presentation, work until 9 p.m. on the assignment sheet that the librarian (possibly Marilyn Oberg) hands out. You may work jointly on it, and you may leave when you are done. 4. Oct. 21 Policy formation vs. execution? Machine and other metaphors Read: Anderson, pp. 25-38. Stone, Introduction, Ch. 1. *Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy (NY: Russell Sage, 1980), Chs. 1, 2, and pp. 27-28. Think: What is a policy? What does Stone mean that policy-making is a "strategically crafted argument" (p. 7)? What is a metaphor, and what is one doing in this course? Stone and Lipsky represent two critiques of the institutional model of policy-making; what are they? 5. Oct. 28 Framing the policy issue: Facts, numbers, and stories Read: Stone, pp. 133-135, Chs. 6: to p. 145 (Symbols), 7 (Numbers), 13 (Facts). *Martin Rein and Donald A. Schon, "Problem Setting in Policy Research." In Carol H. Weiss, Using Social Research in Public Policy Making (Lexington: Lexington Books, 1977), Ch. 16. *Joseph R. Gusfield, The Culture of Public Problems (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981), Ch. 2 and pp. 55-60. Think: What is a frame? What kind of story does a frame tell, and how does it do this? How was Redman's policy variously framed? How has drunk-driving been re-framed, according to Gusfield? How has immigration policy been framed? What other ways might each have been framed? Why was each issue framed one way rather than another? Has the framing changed over time? Due: If you intend to write a course paper, hand in a 1- page statement of the research question you have chosen to analyze and the part(s) of the policy process you will address. If I do not receive one, I will assume that you are taking the take-home exam. 6. Nov. 4 Frames and agenda-setting: 7. Nov. 11 Media, metaphors, and symbols Read: Stone, Ch. 6, pp. 145-end (Symbols). *Dan Nimmo and James E. Combs, "And That's The Way It Is." Subliminal Politics (NJ: Prentice Hall, 1980), Ch. 6: (158-162), 163-175, (175-181), 181-186. *Donald F. Miller (1985), "Social Policy: An Exercise in Metaphor." Knowledge 7: 191-215. See esp. 203-215 & Note 1. Opt'n'l: *Donald A. Schon, "Generative Metaphor: A Perspective on Problem- Setting in Social Policy". In A. Ortony, ed., Metaphor and Thought (NY: Cambridge University Press, 1979). *Donald F. Miller (1982), "Metaphor, Thinking, and Thought." Etc 39: 134-150. Think: What is the relationship among facts, symbols, metaphors, stories and frames? To what in Schon's argument does Miller take exception? What role did the media play in Redman's policy? In your policy? According to Nimmo and Combs (p. 184), the media are seen by some as the 4th branch of government, as the citizens' representative. Which citizens do the media represent? Assignment #3: Find 2 political (a.k.a. editorial) cartoons concerning your policy issue. How does each cartoon frame the issue (e.g., what point of view is the cartoonist representing, what does the cartoon say about causes and effects, about victims or perpetrators, about individuals and institutions)? Does the frame change from one cartoon to another? In what ways? What particular symbols and/or metaphors are used to do this? Present your answers to these questions in class; bring transparencies of your cartoons or copies for all class members. [Note: If you cannot find cartoons, do the exercise using news headlines.] Make sure to mark the source (author, book, publisher, date, page; or newspaper/journal, volume and/or date, page). Include a copy (or the transparency) of the cartoons (or headlines) with your written analysis (length: 1-3 pages). We will begin these presentations in the second half of session #6 and continue them the next week. 8. Nov. 18 Articulating ideas, mobilizing interests, and legislating: The policy dance 1 Read: Anderson, 70-79, 113-120, 135-140, 152-165. Stone, Ch. 9 (Interests), Ch. 10 (Decisions). Think: What is the concept of "interests" that Stone develops? Are "interest groups" and "stakeholders" identical concepts? How did Redman's policy move from someone's private idea to the public agenda? Which stakeholders (individuals and/or groups) were involved in getting it on the agenda? What were their stakes? Which interest groups are involved in your policy issue? Are there other stakeholders involved? Reminder: You should finish reading Redman by tonight. We will spend the evening discussing the book to summarize the course so far. Assignment #4: Bring your "cast of characters"/organizational chart to class (see under week #2). 9. Nov. 25 Implementation -- Policy dance 2: Policy-making by administrative means? Read: Anderson, Ch. 6. Stone, Ch. 12 (Rules). *Michael Lipsky, "Standing the Study of Public Policy Implementation on Its Head." In W. D. Burnham and M. W. Weinberg, American Politics and Public Policy (MIT Press, 1980). *Dvora Yanow, "Toward a Policy Culture Approach to Implementation." Policy Studies Review 7:1 (1987). *Christopher Bellavita, "Public policy, organization theory, and space stations." Policy Studies Review 7:2 (Winter 1987), 275-289. *Connie Bullis and James J. Kennedy, "Professional subcultural value conflicts and policy interpretation: The case of wildlife and fisheries managers in the US Forest Service." Presented to the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 1990. Think: What did Laurence Lynn mean in calling implementation "policy-making by administrative means"? Anderson once recalled a view that "policy is at the mercy of administrators." What does this mean? Do you agree with him that "there is much accuracy" in this view? Jeffrey Pressman and Aaron Wildavsky wrote (Implementation, 3rd edition, University of California Press, 1984, p. 143): There is "no point in having good ideas if they can't be carried out." Do you agree? Does Yanow's essay support this view? Redman briefly outlines at the end of the book his policy's implementation record. Using that and some imagination, analyze the implementation of his policy. Assignment #5: Identify 3 local agencies or individuals (by role, not by name) charged with implementing your policy issue should it be (or when it is) implemented. What is their specific charge? Due: Assignments 1-5. (Note: I prefer to receive these simply stapled together, with your name in the right corner. Skip the binder and the cover page, please.) In class: Hand out take-home exam. 10. Dec. 2 Policy process as the communication of meaning: Toward an interpretive theory Read: Anderson, Ch. 8. Stone, Conclusion. *Dvora Yanow, "The Communication of Policy Meanings: Implementation as Interpretation and Text." Policy Sciences 26 (1993), pp. 41-61. *Pauline Vaillancourt Rosenau, "Anticipating a Post-Modern Policy Current?" Policy Currents 3:2 (May 1993), pp. 1-4. Due: Course papers and take-home exams. Dvora Yanow DYanow@csuhayward.edu Professor Department of Public Administration California State University, Hayward Hayward, CA 94542 US fax 510/885-3726