Pol midterm

incrementalism

Repetitive policymaking Successive limited comparisons

tax expenditures

Revenue losses that result from special exemptions, exclusions, or deductions on federal tax law.

antipoverty programs

- income assistance - general assistance - food stamps - medicaid - social service programs - tax credits - earned income tax credit (EITC)

how do governments get revenue

- income tax - corporate income tax - sales tax - tariffs and duties - property tax

Tools of public policy

- laws - services (direct provision or contracting out) - money (grants) - taxes (incentives, command & control, pollution taxes) - other economic instruments - moral suasion

Bardach's Eightfold Path

1. Define the problem 2. Assemble some evidence 3. Construct the alternatives 4. Select the criteria 5. Project the outcomes 6. Confront the trade-offs 7. Decide 8. Tell your story

Market failures

1. Monopolies 2. Externalities 3. Information Failure 4. Production of goods 5. Public/common goods

4 types of goods and services

1. Private 2. Public 3. Toll 4. Common Pool Resources (CPRs)

cost-benfit analysis steps

1. identify 2. measure 3. adjust 4. aggregate

Reasons for government intervention

1. to smooth exchange rate movements 2. to establish implicit exchange rate boundaries 3. to respond to temporary disturbances 4. importance on free market economy

collective action problem

A situation in which the members of a group would benefit by working together to produce some outcome, but each individual is better off refusing to cooperate and reaping benefits from those who do the work.

9 theories of policy process: bounded rationality

Human limitations/can't look at all the limitations Organizational, political, and cultural parameters constrain choices

opportunity costs

Cost of the next best alternative use of money, time, or resources when one choice is made rather than another

punctuated equilibrium

Political processes are generally characterized by stability and incrementalism, but occasionally they produce large-scale departures from the past

9 theories of policy process: Elites Theory

Elites and the mass public have different attitudes

9 theories of policy process: rational choice theory

Incentives and rules shape the rational actions of individuals

Marginal vs. Average tax rates

Marginal - % tax paid on the next dollar earned Average - total tax bill / taxable income

9 theories of policy process: rational model

Maximize social gain

TANF vs AFDC

Temporary Assistance for the Needy ended Aid to Families with Dependent Children, empized work, put in time limits, states run the program

9 theories of policy process: institutional theory

The power of institutions and what they are

Principle-Agent Problem

When the agent (worker or manager) doesn't act in the best interest of the principle (owner).

discount rate

You value your money now and not later

cost-benfit analysis

a decision-making process in which you compare what you will sacrifice and gain by a specific action

moral hazards

a situation in which one party engages in risky behavior or fails to act in good faith because it knows the other party bears the economic consequences of their behavior

approaches to measuring poverty

absolute measure (set income compare) vs relative measure (under 50% of median income)

rent seeking

activities undertaken by individuals or firms to influence public policy in a way that will increase their incomes

politcal actors and their limitations

congress, president, bureaucracy, courts, media, parties, intrest groups, public

9 theories of policy process: group theory

factions, organization of people and money

the submerged state

government social programs that people don't realize they are benefiting from.

government failures: decentralized gov

implementation problems and competition between levels of gov

government failures: bureaucratic

is the bureaucracy really fulfilling the policy

Linkage Model

ment to link problems in different rent areas to help further them both

asymetric polarization

one party being issue based and the other being more broad

Income vs Payroll Tax

payroll taxes are paid by employer and employee; income taxes are only paid by employees

forms of legitimation

popular, legislative, judcial

cycling

preferences come back around in public opinion

Kingdon's 3 Streams Model

problem stream, policy stream and politics stream

motivated reasoning

processing information in a way that allows consumers to reach the conclusion that they want to reach

how does public opinion effect public policy?

responsiveness

Tragedy of the Commons

situation in which people acting individually and in their own interest use up commonly available but limited resources, creating disaster for the entire community

what makes welfare policy unique

structural system causes it, how to measure poverty, some people dont believe that the gov should do anything about poverty

path dependence

the idea that how policies originate is how they will end up, change is possible but typically it stays on a similar path.

Hacker's Divided Welfare State

the use of government to protect people's economic well-being, it does not just aid the poor.

government failures: representative dem

trustee vs delegate model

government failures: direct dem

tyranny of the majority

government failures

when the government intervention in the market to improve the market failure actually makes the situation worse