4 Policy Typologies

1. Constituent policy: The meaning of constituent is permitting one person or

organization to work as an agent. For government, a constituent policy is
connected mainly to development of new departments, internal distribution of
funds and rules for public servants. That is why, such a policy is either structural or
procedural.

Example of structural policy:

After 9/11, government established Department of Homeland Security to

prevent future terrorist attacks.

During the Great Depression of 1930's, government established Social Security

Administration to protect the Americans from severe financial hardships.

Examples of procedural policy:

In 1992, the government established Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration. Now what job were its employees supposed to do?
Answer to it was given in the form of constituent policy. Simply put, they were to
minimize drug use in the country and provide mental health services to Americans.
They received grants from the federal government and how it was to be used was
also dictated by procedural policy.

2. Distributive policy: This policy allows the government to provide public goods
or services to all in the nation with the help of public fund. In general, citizens do
not complain about it, for it is related to equal opportunity. One specific point we
must remember is that distributive policy does not create competition for the goods
and services. Traditionally, government owns the property under this policy.

Examples

Highways: Government built it by using our tax money. All classes of citizens
are free to use it.
 Public schools: Kids from every class are accepted by public schools.

Highway can be used by all

3. Regulatory Policy: Without it, the nation itself falls prey to corruption.
Regulatory policies prescribe do's and don'ts for different groups to prevent
individuals from becoming their victims. It tends to create losers and winners by
allowing one group to enjoy more freedom than the other. Although regulatory
policies tend to garner a lot of criticisms, at the end of the day, they do compel
certain groups to behave and maintain qualities.

Examples:

Prohibition of drunk driving: This is done to keep roads free of fatal accidents

Ban on unfair methods of competition: Businesses are prosecuted for using

illegal methods against their competitors

4. Redistributive policy: This is by far the trickiest of all policies. Its job is to
transfer one group's tax fund to another group with the aim to eradicate social
issues such as poverty for the sake of equality. Realistically, however, this is not
always the case. Redistributive policies has been used many times to favor the rich
over the poor. Sometimes the policy does not have much to do with allocation of
finance. In fact, it can be used to even enhance the power of one group over the
other. That is why, redistributive policies have always been most controversial.

Examples:

Low income housing: Our tax money goes in funding rentals of the
underprivileged or section 8 people.

Executive order of Bush to cut off collective bargaining rights of law

enforcement and intelligence agency workers: This is how the federal government
exercised power over its employees.