Public Administration
PUBLIC POLICY
Public policy may be defined as a course of action taken by a government to address an issue or a matter of national importance or resolve a problem or a crisis ~ Peter Johnson
Other definitions of public policy are:
"Public policy is a purposeful and consistent course of action taken as a response to a perceived problem of a nation, formulated by a specific political process, and adopted, implemented and enforced by a public agency." ~ Wayne Hayes
" The term public policy always refers to the actions of government and the intentions and commitment that determine those actions." ~ Clarke E. Cochran, et al.
"Public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not to do." ~ Thomas Dye
"Public policy consists of political decisions for implementing programmes to achieve societal goals." ~ Charles L. Cochran and Eloise F. Malone
"Public policy is the sum of government activities, whether acting directly or through agents, as it has an influence and impact on the life of citizens." ~ B. Guy Peters
"Public policy can be generally defined as a system of laws, programmes, regulatory measures, courses of action and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a government entity or its representatives." ~ Dean G. G. Kilpatrick
Based on the definitions given above, we could conclude that public policies are those that governments adopt to address certain specific problems. For example, most governments have adopted the public policy of banning the sale of alcohol to minors. This policy addresses the problem of teenage alcohol abuse. Policies are expressed in the form of laws, regulations, decisions and actions. Policies are the means of achieving goals. If the goal is to provide homes for the homeless, a policy might be a plan to build 20,000 units of low-cost housing. If the goal is to fight and reduce crime, a policy might be to put 500 more police officers on the streets of the city.
Numerous issues are addressed by
Public policy may be defined as a course of action taken by a government to address an issue or a matter of national importance or resolve a problem or a crisis ~ Peter Johnson
Other definitions of public policy are:
"Public policy is a purposeful and consistent course of action taken as a response to a perceived problem of a nation, formulated by a specific political process, and adopted, implemented and enforced by a public agency." ~ Wayne Hayes
" The term public policy always refers to the actions of government and the intentions and commitment that determine those actions." ~ Clarke E. Cochran, et al.
"Public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not to do." ~ Thomas Dye
"Public policy consists of political decisions for implementing programmes to achieve societal goals." ~ Charles L. Cochran and Eloise F. Malone
"Public policy is the sum of government activities, whether acting directly or through agents, as it has an influence and impact on the life of citizens." ~ B. Guy Peters
"Public policy can be generally defined as a system of laws, programmes, regulatory measures, courses of action and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a government entity or its representatives." ~ Dean G. G. Kilpatrick
Based on the definitions given above, we could conclude that public policies are those that governments adopt to address certain specific problems. For example, most governments have adopted the public policy of banning the sale of alcohol to minors. This policy addresses the problem of teenage alcohol abuse. Policies are expressed in the form of laws, regulations, decisions and actions. Policies are the means of achieving goals. If the goal is to provide homes for the homeless, a policy might be a plan to build 20,000 units of low-cost housing. If the goal is to fight and reduce crime, a policy might be to put 500 more police officers on the streets of the city.
Numerous issues are addressed by