PUAD 315

ALL SLIDES-PART 1
 WHAT IS PUBLIC POLICY?
What governments choose to do or choose not
to do.
An analytical and cyclical problem-solving and
decision-making process
Multi-disciplinary, multi-method, problem-focused
and action-oriented.
Minimize or Maximize something
Decrease what is too much, increase what is too little.
Speaking truth to power
In pluralist democracies, speaking truth s to powers
Policy sciences of democracy-Lasswell
 Public Policy
Problems
Public and private
Public policy is about the solution of public
problems.
Types of Agendas
Systemic Agenda
Institutional Agenda
 Actors in Public Policy
List of Actors
Government
Levels: International, National, Regional, Local
Powers: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary
Private sector
Same levels
International organizations
Non-governmental organizations
Communities
Individuals in a market
Other Actors: Political parties
Legitimacy of Actors
 Politics and Policy
How much government we want or need in
making decisions for us?
Pendulum swings from more government to less
government (more market) and the other way
around.
Market failure and government failure
Alternatives to government and markets
Etzioni and communitarianism
De Tocqueville and the power of associations/NGOs
 Philosophical Approaches to
Government
Need for government
For maintaining the law and order- Thomas
Hobbes
"Homo homini lupus"
Private sector preference-Adam Smith
The invisible hand of the market
Civil society/Associations- Alexis De Tocqueville
 Market Failures
Need for Government Intervention
Externalities
Public Goods
Monopolies
Imperfect Information
Where did public policy come from?-1
Explanation 1: Since the emergence of
organized societies
After the division of labor regarding the rulers and
the ruled, rulers needed advice.
Knowledge is power.
Advisors beginning from ancient China, Egypt and India
Wazir: the ones who help carry the load
Oral and written advice.
No real data collecton and analysis
Mostly experience-based
Where did public policy come from?-2
Explanation 2: Late 1700s, Early 1800s
French Revolution
Enlightenment
Industrial Revolution
Migration to cities and urbanization
How to solve the problems of urbanization?
Crime, education, health, infrastructure...
Systematic data collection and simple data
analysis
Where did public policy come from?-3
Explanation 3- During and After teh second
World War, in the US and its allies
- Systematic data collection and complicated data
analysis
Statistics, mathematical models, operations research...
Uses spread into the civilian domain after the War
 How did public policy emerge?
Explanation Data Collection Data A nalysis Policy is Based On
E x p la n a tio n 1: A lm o s t n o n e A lm o s t n o n e M o stly e x p e rie n c e
S in c e th e tra n s m is s io n
e m e rg e n c e o f
o rg a n iz e d so c ie tie s

E x p la n a tio n 2: S y s te m a tic data N o C o m p lic a te d S c ie n tific a n a ly sis

S in c e th e co lle ctio n a n a ly sis
In d u stria l
R e v o lu tio n

E x p la n a tio n 3: S y s te m a tic data S ta tistic s, S c ie n tific a n a ly sis

D u rin g an d A fte r co lle ctio n m at h e m a tica l
te h se co n d W o rld m o d e ls,
W a r, in th e U S and o p e ra tio n s
its a llie s re se a rch
 Public Policy in Turkey
Windows of Opportunity (Akdoan, 2011)
1924-Ministry of Education report
1950s to1965- Foreign social scientists' empirical
research efforts abo ut Turkey
1961- Establishment of the State Planning
Organizatio n
1975- Formation of the Turkish Operations
Research Society
2002- Law Number 5018 on Public Finance
Administration and Control Act