Issue Emergence: A problem is identified and brought to the attention of government officials and the public.
Agenda Setting: The problem is placed on the government agenda for consideration.
Alternative Selection: The government considers various policy options to address the problem.
Policy Implementation: The government implements the policy.
Policy Evaluation: The government evaluates the policy to determine its effectiveness.
Policy Maintenance, Succession, or Termination: The government decides to maintain, modify, or terminate the policy.
Issue Emergence: What new issues emerge as the policy is maintained, modified, or terminated?
Stages Model Strengths
Intuitive: The stages model is easy to understand and explain.
Descriptive: The stages model describes the policy process in a way that is consistent with how people think about the policy process.
Flexible: The stages model can be adapted to different policy areas and levels of government.
Stages Model Weaknesses
Linear: The stages model assumes that the policy process is linear and sequential.
Oversimplified: The stages model oversimplifies the policy process by ignoring the complexity of the policy process.
Separate: The stages model separates the policy process into distinct stages, but in reality, the stages overlap and interact with each other.
Systems Thinking
A way of thinking about natural or social phenomena as a system with various inputs that are processed and intermingle to create a discernible set of outputs.
A way of thinking about the world that emphasizes the relationships among the parts of a system and how the parts interact with each other and the system as a whole.
The Systems Model
Public policy is viewed as the response of the political system to forces brought to bear on it from the outside environment.
A policy environment surrounds the political system.
Forces enter the political system from the environment either as demands or as support
The Systems Model
The Systems Model
Policy Environment: The political, economic, and social context in which the policy is developed and implemented.
Inputs: The demands and expectations of the public, interest groups, and government officials.
Throughputs: The policy process is the interaction between the policy environment and the political system. This is the “black box” of the policy process.
The Systems Model
Outputs: The policy outputs are the laws, regulations, and decisions that are created by the policy process.
Feedback: The feedback is the response to the policy outputs.
Policy Outcomes: The policy outcomes are the effects of the policy outputs and feedback.
Systems Model Strengths
Holistic: The systems model is holistic because it considers the policy environment, the political system, and the policy process.
Dynamic: The systems model is dynamic because it considers the interaction between the policy environment and the political system.
Flexible: The systems model can be adapted to different policy areas and levels of government.
Systems Model Weaknesses
Complex: The systems model is complex because it considers the policy environment, the political system, and the policy process.
Abstract: The systems model is abstract because it does not provide a clear explanation of the policy process.
The Policy Environment
The Structural Environment
Political System: The political system is the set of formal and informal political institutions that make and implement collective decisions.
The basic features of American government are the separation of powers, federalism, and checks and balances.
The Social Environment
Political Culture: The political culture is the set of shared beliefs, values, and norms that influence the political system.
The basic features of American political culture are liberty, equality, democracy, civic duty, and individual responsibility.
The Social Environment
Changing Demographics
The population of the United States is becoming
more diverse, older, more urban, more educated, more mobile.
The government must respond to these changing needs
The Economic Environment
Economic Conditions: The economic conditions are the state of the economy.
The basic features of the economy are the business cycle, inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.
Measured by GDP, size of industrial sector, unemployment rate, inflation rate, etc.
The Political Environment
Often measured by the National Mood.
The national mood is the public’s general attitude toward government and politics.
Measured by the Direction of the Country question in public opinion polls.
Measured by the Presidential Approval Rating question in public opinion polls.