Trade Negotiation Course Code: IE409 Evening Class 1
What are the four stages of policy process? Explain each of them. How many aspects do trade policy practitioner has to analyse the issue in depth? Explain each of them.
Actors influence on Policy Process
Think-Tanks Media Policy-Making Process Public Government officials
Policy Process
Policy Process Evaluation Implementation Decision Making Agenda Setting
Agenda-Setting It involves policy advocacy by key actors, and is the recognition of problems to be resolved and often the identification of a range of alternative approaches to addressing the problem. The definition of alternative is crucial to the policy process and outcomes. Before a policy can be formulated and adopted, the issue must compete for space on the agenda (list of items being actively considered).
The tools for agenda setting are largely political, requiring the selling of agenda items to authorized decision-makers. Agenda-setting also requires a detail knowledge of the issue in question so that it can be related. A. First, to know preferences of decision-makers B. Second, to know the existing policies and programs of decision-makers
An agenda is a collection of problems, understandings of causes, symbols, and other elements of public problems that come to the attention of members of the public, media, and their governmental officials. Either public opinion or elite opinion expresses dissatisfaction with a status quo policy. The problem is defined and articulated by individuals and institutions such as mass media, interest groups and parties
Decision-making Form the problems that have been identified and have made it into the various agenda, policies must be formulated to address the problems. It includes the choice of a preferred alternative by public officials with the responsibility to exercise public authority.
The Policy formulations then must be adopted through the congressional process and refined through the bureaucratic process. A non-decision (inaction, or defeating a proposal) is itself policy-making.
Implementation Executive agencies (the bureaucracy) carry out or implement the policy. Implementation could include adopting rules and regulations, i.e. providing services and products, public education campaigns, adjustment of disputes, etc.
Evaluation Involves assessing the impact of the decision and the implementation strategy Numerous actors evaluate the impact of policies, to see if they are solving the problem identified and accomplishing their goals. Evaluation looks at cost and benefits of policies as well as their indirect and unintended effects. Evaluation frequently triggers identification of problems and a new round of agenda setting and policy-making
Policy Process Evaluation Implementation Decision Making Agenda Setting
What else can be considered to add more in process?
Budgeting Evaluation Implementation Decision Making Agenda Setting
Analytical Framework for Commercial Diplomats
Commercial Policy Political In Depth Analysis Legal Macroeconomic Public & Media
The whole purpose of commercial diplomacy is to facilitate exports, imports, and foreign investment activities by making sure that government policies directed at a wide range of social objectives do not impede these transactions more than is necessary to achieve the desired social goals.
Commercial Analysis to be estimated in terms of changes in exports and imports, investments, total sales revenue, market share, growth prospects, costs, employment, and wages to know enough accounting to be able to read the income statements and balance sheets of individual enterprises to know enough economics to be able to estimate the impact of various policy decisions on future economic activity
to identify alternative policy actions that will achieve the same social benefits as the existing policy instrument to identify social objectives served by the targeted policy action and how to achieve to know how the perception evolves overtime
Policy Analysis Traditionally, trade policy use to be about tariffs and quotas, and these policy instruments remain an important, although much less dominant, aspect of commercial diplomacy. Increasingly, however, government policies that are subject of commercial diplomacy today are aimed at a wide range of domestic social objectives such as health, safety, environment, consumer protection, stability of infrastructure networks, and so on.
Political Analysis to build the information necessary for building a coalition of stakeholders dedicated to the common purpose of achieving the desired policy reform to organise a group that is affected by policy decision or has vested interest in the policy to influence the outcome through political action
Legal Analysis to determine whether we can solve the problem by persuading an official to change the way a regulation is to identify permissible interpretations of applicable laws and regulations to determine whether the targeted policy measures are consistent with all relevant provisions of international trade agreements
Macroeconomic Analysis touch not only the commercial interests of individual firms and industries, but also the economic interests of the country any policy change will effect the distribution of income within the country, leaving some better off and some worse off to know how a particular trade policy affects the performance of economy
Public Opinion and Media Analysis to understand the concerns that drive the public opinion and to address these concerns by shaping both the proposed policy action and the advocacy message to analyze the views disseminated by the media in order to shape the further evolution of the story in the press through press releases
What do we need for making analysis possible? and what to do next?
Developing the Research Strategy sources of information/data collection identify analytical tools to be applied to data interpretation of analysis evaluation
Developing Policy Options to identify alternative policy options for addressing the issue (policy recommendation), to recommend a preferred policy solution (pro vs. con) to access the relative importance of different factors
Putting Together the Decision Memo The Background Section The Analytical Section The Option and Recommendation Section The Strategy Section
Next Please!