CSP Social Policy Analysis & Advocacy 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The concept of 'policy feedback' in social policy analysis refers to:
- Public opinion surveys administered after policy implementation
- How existing policies shape future political possibilities and citizen behaviors (Correct answer)
- Legislative committee review processes for proposed bills
- Media coverage influencing public perception of a law
Correct answer: How existing policies shape future political possibilities and citizen behaviors
Policy feedback theory explains how enacted policies restructure political landscapes, create constituencies, and constrain or enable future policy changes.
Question 2: A practitioner is comparing a universal basic income (UBI) proposal with a means-tested cash assistance program. Which analytical dimension is MOST important from a sociological equity standpoint?
- Administrative cost differences between programs
- Stigma effects and participation rates across income groups (Correct answer)
- Congressional budget scoring methodology
- IT infrastructure required for program delivery
Correct answer: Stigma effects and participation rates across income groups
Means-tested programs often carry stigma that suppresses participation, while universal programs avoid this but raise equity questions about resource targeting.
Question 3: When applying an intersectional framework to housing policy analysis, a practitioner would PRIMARILY examine:
- How housing costs vary by geographic region
- How race, gender, disability status, and class interact to produce differential housing outcomes (Correct answer)
- Construction industry labor market trends
- Zoning ordinance compliance rates across municipalities
Correct answer: How race, gender, disability status, and class interact to produce differential housing outcomes
Intersectionality requires analyzing how multiple social identities simultaneously shape vulnerability and access, producing outcomes not explained by any single factor.
Question 4: A sociological practitioner reviewing a school discipline policy finds that zero-tolerance rules correlate with higher dropout rates. This relationship is often called:
- The achievement gap paradox
- The school-to-prison pipeline (Correct answer)
- Punitive displacement theory
- Deterrence failure syndrome
Correct answer: The school-to-prison pipeline
The school-to-prison pipeline describes how punitive school discipline policies push students, particularly youth of color, toward the criminal justice system.
Question 5: Which policy instrument relies on changing default options to improve social outcomes without restricting individual choice?
- Mandates with enforcement penalties
- Libertarian paternalism or 'nudge' policy (Correct answer)
- Command-and-control regulation
- Pigouvian taxation
Correct answer: Libertarian paternalism or 'nudge' policy
Nudge policies, associated with behavioral economics, restructure choice environments by changing defaults while preserving freedom to opt out.
Question 6: A practitioner preparing testimony on food insecurity should PRIMARILY ground arguments in:
- Theoretical frameworks from classical sociology only
- Mixed-method evidence combining prevalence data with affected individuals' narratives (Correct answer)
- Comparisons with other nations' food policies without local context
- Anecdotal cases from media reports
Correct answer: Mixed-method evidence combining prevalence data with affected individuals' narratives
Effective policy testimony combines quantitative prevalence data with qualitative narratives to demonstrate both scope and human impact.
Question 7: The 'iron triangle' in social policy refers to the stable relationship between:
- Federal, state, and local governments in policy implementation
- Congressional committees, executive agencies, and interest groups (Correct answer)
- Legislators, judges, and executive officers in policy development
- Think tanks, academia, and nonprofit organizations
Correct answer: Congressional committees, executive agencies, and interest groups
The iron triangle describes the mutually reinforcing relationships among legislative committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that shape policy domains.
CSP Social Policy Analysis & Advocacy 3
The concept of 'policy feedback' in social policy analysis refers to: