Dynamics of Representation: The Case of US Spending on Defence

The representation of public preferences in public policy is fundamental to most conceptions of democracy. If representation is effectively undertaken, we would expect to find a correspondence between public preferences for policy and policy itself. If representation is dynamic, policy makers should respond to changes in preferences over time. The integrity of the representational connection, however, rests fundamentally on the expectation that the public actually notices and responds to policy decisions. Such a public would adjust its preferences for ‘more’ or ‘less’ policy in response to what policy makers actually do, much like a thermostat. Despite its apparent importance, there is little research that systematically addresses this feedback of policy on preferences over time. Quite simply, we do not know whether the public adjusts its preferences for policy in response to what policy makers do. By implication, we do not fully understand the dynamics of representation. This research begins to address these issues and focuses on the relationships between public preferences and policy in a single, salient domain.

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Partisipasi Masyarakat dalam Proses Kebijakan Daerah

Jurnal Desentralisasi ◽

10.37378/jd.2012.2.163-177 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 163-177

Author(s):

Abdullah Manshur

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Public Participation ◽

Policy Evaluation ◽

Policy Process ◽

Policy Formulation ◽

Problem Situation ◽

Policy Cycle ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Policy Making Process

Public policy is a decision to deal with a particular problem situation, that identifies the objectives, principles, ways, and means to achieve them. The ability and understanding of policy makers in the policy-making process is very important for the realization of public policy of rapid, accurate and adequate. The product to suit the needs of the public policy, public participation in the policy process is needed in the policy cycle, from policy formulation to policy evaluation. This paper attempts to review the importance of community participation and other forms of public participation in the policy process, in particular, policy areas.

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The Relevance of Trust

10.1093/oso/9780190869229.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Inmaculada de Melo-Martín ◽

Kristen Intemann

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Policy Decisions ◽

The Public ◽

Epistemic Trust ◽

Proper Role ◽

Scientific Institutions ◽

Public Policy Decisions ◽

Scientific Phenomena

This chapter offers a brief overview of the importance of epistemic trust and the relevance that scientific institutions and practices have in promoting or undermining warranted public trust. Epistemic trust is crucial for the production of scientific knowledge, the ability of the public to make sense of scientific phenomena, and the development of public policy. Normatively inappropriate dissent is more likely to take hold and erroneously affect people’s beliefs and actions in a context where the trustworthiness of scientists is called into question and where there is an excessive reliance on scientific information when it comes to assessing policy decisions. Thus, finding ways to facilitate and sustain warranted epistemic trust, as well as increasing understanding of the proper role of science in public policy decisions can help mitigate the negative impact of dissenting views.

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Climate scientists set the bar of proof too high

Climatic Change ◽

10.1007/s10584-021-03061-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 165 (3-4) ◽

Author(s):

Elisabeth A. Lloyd ◽

Naomi Oreskes ◽

Sonia I. Seneviratne ◽

Edward J. Larson

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Public Communication ◽

Central Question ◽

Level Of Evidence ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Standard Of Proof ◽

Policy Context ◽

Standards Of Proof

AbstractStandards of proof for attributing real world events/damage to global warming should be the same as in clinical or environmental lawsuits, argue Lloyd et al. The central question that we raise is effective communication. How can climate scientists best and effectively communicate their findings to crucial non-expert audiences, including public policy makers and civil society? To address this question, we look at the mismatch between what courts require and what climate scientists are setting as a bar of proof. Our first point is that scientists typically demand too much of themselves in terms of evidence, in comparison with the level of evidence required in a legal, regulatory, or public policy context. Our second point is to recommend that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommend more prominently the use of the category “more likely than not” as a level of proof in their reports, as this corresponds to the standard of proof most frequently required in civil court rooms. This has also implications for public policy and the public communication of climate evidence.

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Review of Making Data Talk: Communicating Public Health Data to the Public, Policy Makers, and the Press

World Medical & Health Policy ◽

10.2202/1948-4682.1107 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 142-145

Author(s):

Arnauld Nicogossian

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Public Policy ◽

Health Data ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Public Health Data ◽

The Press

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Public Policies

The Oxford Handbook of Spanish Politics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198826934.013.31 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 509-525

Author(s):

Joan Subirats ◽

Ricard Gomà

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Decision Making ◽

European Union ◽

The European Union ◽

Policy System ◽

The Public ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Policy Style ◽

Over Time ◽

Operational Aspects

The objective of this chapter is to trace and present the main characteristics of the public policy system in Spain, incorporating policy change over time, as well as the policy style that has characterized its different stages. The transition between Francoism and democracy generated significant continuities and discontinuities both in the decision-making processes and in the actors’ system. The full incorporation into the European Union also involved significant changes in content, processes and networks. Finally, the impacts of the 2007 crisis and the effects of globalization and technological change also generated significant disruptions that will also be incorporated. The chapter will distinguish the conceptual, substantive, and operational aspects of the public policy system in Spain, as well as the main elements of the multilevel government. This aspect is especially complex in the Spanish case, given the combination of Europeanization of policies and the very remarkable regional decentralization generated by 1980.

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Decision Making at the State and Local Level: Does Science Matter?

Political Science and Politics ◽

10.1017/s1049096515001183 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 49 (01) ◽

pp. 21-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Susan G. Mason

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Decision Making ◽

Local Level ◽

Policy Decision ◽

The State ◽

Public Officials ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

State And Local

ABSTRACTScience is believed to be an important part of public policy decision making because of its inherent characteristics of measurability, rigor, objectivity, replication, and peer review. The purpose of this research was to explore the linkage of science to public policy decision making. The research explores what state and local public officials know about science and how much they actually use science in their decision making. Interview results with public officials in the State of Idaho demonstrate that policy makers ultimately see science as only one element in the mix. Findings suggest that equal attention and debate should be given to how science interacts with all of the other factors that affect the public policy making process.

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Evaluating Public Policy Support for Agricultural Cooperatives

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11143769 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (14) ◽

pp. 3769

Author(s):

Erika Ribašauskienė ◽

Diana Šumylė ◽

Artiom Volkov ◽

Tomas Baležentis ◽

Dalia Streimikiene ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Public Support ◽

Policy Support ◽

Agricultural Cooperatives ◽

The European Union ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Support Measures ◽

Major Stakeholder

Creation of a sustainable agricultural sector involves boosting the cooperation activities as these contribute to the societal and economic development of the farms, farmers and rural societies. This paper contributes to the literature on the analysis of the drivers and obstacles of cooperation development in agriculture. The case of Lithuania is considered as the cooperation activities are lagging behind the European Union (EU) practice here. Specifically, analysis of the public support measures and the expert survey are carried out to analyse the effectiveness of the public policy measures as represented in the relevant legal acts. The experts involve policy makers, farmers’ organisations and academia, which are the major stakeholder groups in Lithuania. The results indicate the effectiveness of the measures linked to capacity building (in the sense of human capital) requires improvement, whereas those related to financial support and promotion of the farmers’ organisations are much better perceived. Thus, public support measures are available to promote cooperation in agriculture, yet the legal system of Lithuania still requires improvement in accommodating effective agricultural cooperatives.

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Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life: General Issues

Canadian Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1155/1997/271269 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 123-130 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Gordon H Guyatt

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

High Ratio ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

Policy Decisions ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

Over Time

Clinicians and policy makers recognize the importance of measuring health-related quality of life (HRQL) to make informed patient management and policy decisions. Self- or interviewer-administered questionnaires can be used to measure cross-sectional differences in quality of life among patients at a point in time (discriminative instruments) or longitudinal changes in HRQL within patients over time (evaluative instruments). Both discriminative and evaluative instruments must be valid (ie, measure what they are supposed to measure) and have a high ratio of signal to noise (reliability and responsiveness for the two instruments, respectively). Reliable discriminative instruments are able to differentiate reproducibly among persons. Responsive evaluative measures are able to detect important changes in HRQL over time, even if those changes are small. HRQL should also be interpretable B that is, clinicians and policy makers must be able to identify differences in scores that correspond to trivial, small, moderate and large differences.There are two basic approaches to quality of life measurement: generic instruments that attempt to provide a summary of HRQL and specific instruments that focus on problems associated with individual disease states, patient groups or areas of function. Generic instruments include health profiles and instruments that generate health utilities. The approaches are not mutually exclusive. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses and may be suitable under different circumstances. Investigations of HRQL have led to the development of instruments suitable for detecting minimally important effects in clinical trials, for measuring the health of populations and for providing information for policy decisions.

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Public Opinion and Public Policy

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.74 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Christopher Wlezien ◽

Stuart N. Soroka

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Public Opinion ◽

Policy Change ◽

Political Institutions ◽

Political Representation ◽

Empirical Literature ◽

Public Preferences ◽

The Public ◽

Basic Model ◽

Policy Representation

The link between the public opinion and public policy is fundamental to political representation. The current empirical literature tests a general model in which policy is considered to be a function of public preferences. The mechanics by which preferences are converted to policy are considered along with extensions of the basic model - extensions through which the magnitude of opinion representation varies systematically acorss issues and political institutions. Thus, public opinion is an independent variable - an important driver of public policy change. With the consideration of 12/1 opinion as a dependent variable, specifically, its responsiveness to policy change - the ongoing existence of both policy representation and public responsiveness is critical to the functioning of representative democracy.

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A purple patch for evidence-based health policy?

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah21016 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 74

Author(s):

Mark Cormack ◽

Anne-marie Boxall ◽

Carolyn Hullick ◽

Mark Booth ◽

Russell L. Gruen

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Research Policy ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Policy Action ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Political Actors ◽

The Public ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Nation States ◽

Public Policy Process

The global focus on nation states’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic has rightly highlighted the importance of science and evidence as the basis for policy action. Those with a lifelong passion for evidence-based policy (EBP) have lauded Australia’s and other nations’ policy responses to COVID-19 as a breakthrough moment for the cause. This article reflects on the complexity of the public policy process, the perspectives of its various actors, and draws on Alford’s work on the Blue, Red and Purple zones to propose a more nuanced approach to advocacy for EBP in health. We contend that the pathway for translation of research evidence into routine clinical practice is relatively linear, in contrast to the more complex course for translation of evidence to public policy – much to the frustration of health researchers and EBP advocates. Cairney’s description of the characteristics of successful policy entrepreneurs offers useful guidance to advance EBP and we conclude with proposing some practical mechanisms to support it. Finally, we recommend that researchers and policy makers spend more time in the Purple zone to enable a deeper understanding of, and mutual respect for, the unique contributions made by research, policy and political actors to sound public policy.

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