MPA Public Policy Analysis 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the 'policy cycle' in public administration?
- The annual appropriations process
- A model describing the stages through which a policy passes from agenda-setting to evaluation (Correct answer)
- The rotation of political appointees across agencies
- A cycle of public hearings required before any regulation takes effect
Correct answer: A model describing the stages through which a policy passes from agenda-setting to evaluation
The policy cycle is a conceptual model describing stages such as agenda-setting, formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation through which policies typically move.
Question 2: Which concept describes the process by which an issue moves from being a general public concern to an item that policymakers actively consider?
- Policy formulation
- Agenda-setting (Correct answer)
- Policy adoption
- Policy legitimation
Correct answer: Agenda-setting
Agenda-setting is the process by which certain issues gain sufficient attention from policymakers to be placed on the formal legislative or governmental agenda.
Question 3: A 'cost-benefit analysis' in public policy primarily:
- Compares voter approval ratings for different policy options
- Quantifies and compares all costs and benefits of policy alternatives to find the most efficient option (Correct answer)
- Determines the legal authority for a proposed regulation
- Audits agency spending after implementation
Correct answer: Quantifies and compares all costs and benefits of policy alternatives to find the most efficient option
Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) attempts to translate all policy costs and benefits into monetary terms to determine whether total benefits exceed costs and to compare alternatives.
Question 4: What does 'street-level bureaucracy' theory, developed by Michael Lipsky, emphasize?
- The role of city administrators in property management
- That front-line public workers exercise significant discretion that shapes policy outcomes in practice (Correct answer)
- The hierarchy of command in local government agencies
- The importance of community policing in urban areas
Correct answer: That front-line public workers exercise significant discretion that shapes policy outcomes in practice
Lipsky argued that front-line workers (teachers, social workers, police officers) make real policy decisions through their day-to-day discretion, often departing from formal policy intent.
Question 5: Which analytical framework examines how different actors with different values and interests compete to influence policy outcomes?
- Systems theory
- Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) (Correct answer)
- Rational choice theory
- Incrementalism
Correct answer: Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF)
The Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), developed by Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith, focuses on coalitions of actors sharing core beliefs who compete to influence policy over time.
Question 6: What is 'regulatory capture' in public policy?
- When an agency successfully enforces regulations on an industry
- When a regulatory agency comes to be dominated by or act in the interests of the industry it is supposed to regulate (Correct answer)
- A legal process for challenging agency rules in court
- The process by which Congress writes detailed regulations into law
Correct answer: When a regulatory agency comes to be dominated by or act in the interests of the industry it is supposed to regulate
Regulatory capture occurs when regulated industries gain undue influence over regulatory agencies, causing the agencies to serve industry interests rather than the public interest.
MPA Public Policy Analysis 1
What is the 'policy cycle' in public administration?