Political Science 6040 AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY PROCESS Summer II, 2009

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1 Political Science 6040 AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY PROCESS Summer II, 2009 Professor: Susan Hoffmann Office: 3414 Friedmann Phone: Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:30-4:00 pm and by appointment CLASS MEETINGS: Tuesday and Thursday, noon to 2:30 pm.; Friedmann Hall, room 3303 COURSE DESCRIPTION: This is a seminar in empirical theories of the public policy process. We will explore, evaluate, compare and apply prominent theories in American political science. Readings include classic pieces and current work. REQUIREMENTS: 1) Daily preparation: Please come to class prepared to discuss the reading assigned. As you read, I suggest that you write a couple of questions about the material which you may want to raise during class discussion. You may also want to write a 1-2 page summary of each reading for yourself this is not required and will not be collected. If you revise your summary after class, it would make a nice aid in writing your final exam for this seminar and reviewing for comprehensive exams. 2) Co-lead class discussion: Everyone will co-lead class discussion twice. Your responsibility as a discussion leader is to read carefully, identify central themes and issues, prepare discussion questions, meet with me before class to outline a structure for discussion, and help keep the discussion moving in class. Bring your draft discussion questions when we meet before class. 3) Subgovernment paper: To get a feel for framing empirical work in theoretical terms, please prepare a brief paper (about six pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, 1" margins) that describes the subgovernment in a U.S. domestic policy domain of your choice, and frames the discussion theoretically in terms of work on our reading list. This means that you will discuss some of the theory that we have read, and talk about how it helps us understand the subgovernment in your policy area, or how your empirical findings bring theory into question. Due in class on Thursday, July 30. 4) Journals in public policy: To get a feel for current work in policy studies and the journals in which it is reported, please prepare a presentation of about fifteen minutes in length that summarizes a journal article of your choice and introduces us to the journal in which it appeared. With regard to the article, please discuss its question, theoretical frame, method, and empirical findings. Aspects of the journal to present based on looking through issues over the last year or so and its web site (if it has one) include: What kind of questions are being asked in the pieces? Is a particular theory of policy change prominent? What methodologies are in evidence? Who are the editors and where are they? Presentations on. 5) Final exam: There will be a take-home, open-book, open-notes final exam. It will consist of answering one or two questions in a 4-6 page essay (for each question). Due in class on August 13.

2 COMPONENTS OF GRADE AND WEIGHT 10% Co-lead discussions 40% Subgovernment paper 20% Journal article presentation 30% Final exam In evaluating written work, quality of the writing always counts! Kim Ballard, Director of the Writing Center does some one-on-one work with masters students. READINGS: Books: available at WMU bookstore: Berry, Jeffrey M and Clyde Wilcox. The Interest Group Society. 5th ed. Pearson Longman, Sabatier, Paul A. Theories of the Policy Process. 2nd ed. Westview Press Baumgartner, Frank D. and Bryan D. Jones. Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Kingdon, John W. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, Electronic databases: Several articles are available in JSTOR or other on-line data bases through Waldo library. WebCT: Materials that may be difficult to access, such as book chapters, are available on WebCT for the course. 2

3 SCHEDULE June 25 June 30 Course introduction Introduce ourselves. Go over the syllabus. What is public policy? What is the policy process? Subgovernments [actors in the policy process] Freeman, J. Lieper. Analyzing Federal Legislative-Executive Relations. Chapters 1 and 2 in The Political Process: Executive Bureau Legislative Committee Relations. Rev. Ed. New York: Random House, [WebCT] Lowi, Theodore J. American Business, Public Policy, Case-Studies, and Political Theory, World Politics 16 (July 1964): [JSTOR] Heclo, Hugh. Issue Networks and the Executive Establishment. In Samuel H. Beer et.al. The New American Political System. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, [WebCT] Wilson, James Q. and Robert DiIulio, Jr. The Policy Making Process. Chap. 15 in American Government. 9th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin [WebCT] Discuss: policy area for paper July 2 Anderson, James E. Chapter 2 in Public Policymaking. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Be prepared to sketch out in class the actors in the subgovernment in your policy area. July 7 July 9 Berry, Jeffrey M. and Clyde Wilcox. The Interest Group Society. Pearson Longman, Steps in the policy process Brewer, Garry D. The Policy Sciences Emerge: To Nurture and Structure a Discipline. Policy Sciences 5 (3) (September 1974): [WebCT] Sabatier, Paul A. The Need for Better Theories. Ch. 1 in Paul A. Sabatier, ed. Theories of the Policy Process. Westview Press, DeLeon, Peter. The Stages Approach to the Policy Process: What Has it Done? Where is it Going? Ch. 2 in the first edition of Theories of the Policy Process. [WebCT] July 14 Economists and policy analysis Utilitarianism and cost-benefit analysis [ synoptic rationality] Haveman, Robert H. and Burton A. Weisbrod. Defining Benefits of Public Programs: Some Guidance for Policy Analysts. Policy Analysis 1 (1975). [WebCT] Meier, Kenneth J. Political Economy and Cost-Benefit Analysis: Problems of Bias. In Alan Stone and Edward Harpham. The Political Economy of Public Policy. Beverly Hills: Sage, [WebCT] 2 journal article presentations 3

4 July 16 What is a public problem? [one rationality?] Lasswell, Harold D. The Policy Orientation. Ch. 1 in Lerner, Daniel and Harold D. Lasswell, eds. The Policy Sciences. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press, [WebCT] Stokey, Edith and Richard Zeckhauser. Achieving Desirable Outcomes. Ch. 14 in A Primer for Policy Analysis. New York: W.W. Norton, [WebCT] Rochefort, David A. and Roger W. Cobb, Problem definition: An emerging perspective. Ch. 1 in Rochefort and Cobb, eds. The Politics of Problem Definition. University Press of Kansas, 1994 Bosso, Christopher J. The contextual bases of problem definition. Ch. 9 in The Politics of Problem Definition. 1 journal article presentation July 21 How does policy change? Incrementalism [Bounded rationality] Lindblom, Charles. The Science of Muddling Through. Public Administration Review, Volume 19, no. 2 (Spring 1959), pp [JSTOR] Etzioni, Amitai. Mixed Scanning: A Third Approach to Decision-Making. Public Administration Review, Vol. 27, No. 5. (Dec. 1967), pp [JSTOR] Lindblom, Charles. Still Muddling, Not Yet Through. Public Administration Review, Vol. 39, No. 6. (Nov./Dec. 1979), pp [JSTOR] Braybrooke, David and Charles E. Lindblom. A Strategy of Decision: Policy Evaluation as a Social Process. Free Press, pp [WebCT, optional] 1 journal article presentation July 23 July 28 No class Time to work on that paper! Multiple streams [Chance versus rationality] Zahariadis, Nikolaos. The Multiple Streams Framework: Structure, Limitations, Prospects. Ch 3 in Sabatier, Theories. Michael D. Cohen; James G. March; Johan P. Olsen. A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1. (Mar., 1972), pp [JSTOR] (Just have a look at this. Do not get bogged down in details.) Kingdon, John W. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, July 30 What is a policy solution? Ingram, Helen, Anne L. Schneider, and Peter deleon. Social Construction and Policy Design. Ch 4 in Sabatier, Theories. Two journal article presentations Subgovernment paper due in class 4

5 August 4 Punctuated equilibrium [Bounded rationality with jolts] True, Jones and Baumgartner. Punctuated Equilibrium Theory: Explaining Stability and Change in Public Policymaking. Ch. 6 in Sabatier, Theories. Baumgartner, Frank D. and Bryan D. Jones. Agendas and Instability in American Politics. University of Chicago Press, August 6 Advocacy coalition framework [Actors, time, bounded rationality, ideas] Sabatier, Paul and Christopher M. Weible. The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Innovations and Clarifications. Ch 7 in Sabatier, Theories. 2 journal article presentations August 11 Historical institutionalism Institutional constraints on policy change] Weir, Margaret. When does policy create politics? The organizational politics of change, chap. 7 in Rethinking Political Institutions: The Art of the State, edited by Shapiro, Skowronek and Galvin. New York: New York University Press, Distribute final exam questions August 13 Bounded rationality revisited Jones, Bryan D. Bounded Rationality and Public Policy: Herbert Simon and the Decisional Foundation of Collective Choice, Policy Sciences 35, 3 (Sept., 2002), pp [ Final exam due in class 5