The emergence of policy implementation analysis: The Wyatt v. Stickney decision

In recent years scholars have devoted substantial attention to the “implementation” phase of the policy-making process. Analytical efforts have focused on the identification of variable sets as they are associated with the outcomes of public policies and programs. This article will discuss these program implementation conceptualizations within the context of a landmark court decision. This court decision, Wyatt v. Stickney, impacted to a profound degree the lives of residents in institutions for the mentally retarded. Finally, based on the analysis of this case, the authors cite limitations and propose future directions for social policy implementation analysis as a scholarly emphasis.     

Politics and implementation of criminal justice policy among county justice agencies: an arizona case study

In this get-tough-on-crime era there is an emphasis on arresting, prosecuting, and sentencing people who engage in illegal behavior. But a large percent of those arrested are never brought to trial because they have not been served with warrants commanding them to appear for trial. This is a classic case of implementation failure. It is a structural rather than a bureaucratic problem that cannot be resolved because of the way American county government and politics are structured. This study describes the situation in Maricopa County, Arizona, discusses recommendations for alleviating it and the implications for implementation theory.     

County impact fee adoptions as policy innovations: a search for theory

This study documents the importance of employing an integrated model to explain innovative policy making among county governments in Florida. Specifically, it suggests that both internal determinants and regional diffusion factors influence the adoption of county impact fees. While rapid growth and impending county commission elections appear to be factors motivating adoption, the tendency to adopt can be offset by a substantial low-income population. Nevertheless, obstacles to adoption can be overcome where cities within the county have previously adopted an impact fee.     

Interagency implementation of government policy: Strategic management of maternal and child health care in texas

Focusing on a joint effort of the Texas Department of Health and the Texas Department of Human Services, this study examined the interagency implementation of maternal and infant health policy in the state. Thompson's typology of implementation⁽¹⁾ was integrated with the Montjoy and O’Toole⁽²⁾ model of overhead influence on intraorganizational factors in public policy implementation for analysis. The findings provide some support to the Montjoy and O’Toole model.⁽³⁾ The data suggested Type A Mandate Effects and Expected Activity for both departmental programs. Reciprocal Operating Interdependence existed between the two state departments.     

Hegemony,institutionalism and US foreign policy: theory and practice in comparative historical perspective

This paper explores the theoretical and policy implications of contemporary American hegemony. A key argument is that the development ofUS hegemony generally, and the distinctive turn in US foreign policy that has occurred in the wake of 11 September in particular, can best be understood by placing recent events in a comparative and historical framework. The immediate post-World War II order laid the foundations of a highly institutionalised multilateral system that provided key benefits for a number of countries while simultaneously constraining and enhancing US power. An historical reading of US hegemony suggests that its recent unilateralism is undermining the foundations of its power and influence.     

Turkish foreign policy in the post-Arab Spring era: from proactive to buffer state

Our globalising world is presently in a state of global turmoil. Risk, uncertainty, and insecurity are the terms that shape global/regional/national/local affairs and developments. The refugee crisis and the war against ISIL constitute the twin crises creating seismic impacts and consequences that in turn escalate risk and turmoil. Turkey is situated at the heart of these two crises, being very much affected by them and, therefore, perceived as a pivotal actor in the way in which the West is dealing with them. Yet, the West’s current instrumentalist and functionalist approach to Turkey as a buffer state designed to contain these two crises in the MENA does not offer an effective and sustainable solution to these crises, much less provide the stability and order that is direly needed in regional and global affairs.     

Exorcising the ghost of the politics-administration dichotomy: an institutional theory of administration policy making

This article takes implementation theory one critical step further. It argues that administrative policy making is a separate, distinguishable process, not a stage in or component of the legislative policy-making process. In addition, it argues that the institutional setting for policy making has a major influence on policy ideas, choices, and actions. Administrative agencies form a distinct institutional setting for policy politics, and setting influences policy outcomes. The implications of the institutional perspective for understanding policy making, policy analysis, and the legitimacy of public organizations are examined.

The ghost of the politics-administration dichotomy haunts implementation theory. Although numerous scholars have declared the dichotomy dead,⁽¹⁾ administrative policy making is still seen as a component or step in the policy process that is dominated by elected officials. For example, Kelman recently examined the different institutional settings of policy making.⁽²⁾ Elected officials, in his view, are and should remain the primary source of policy ideas and choices while administrators remain responsible for translating these ideas and choices into practice. Other scholars underscore the lack of effective control by legislators and elected executives. But even those who acknowledge administrative initiative and autonomy see administrators as servants, however weak their masters.

This article takes implementation theory one critical step farther. It argues that administrative policy making is a separate, distinguishable process—not merely a stage in or component of legislative policy making. Policies can and do originate in administrative agencies. These innovations gather supporters and critics, are tested and refined, and can become part of the routine with little, if any, involvement by elected officials or political appointees. Legislation and executive orders commonly ratify existing administrative policies rather than initiate administrative involvement.

In addition, the institutional setting for policy making has a major influence on policy ideas, choices, and actions. Administrative agencies form a distinct institutional setting for policy politics. The institutional setting, it is argued, influences policy outcomes. Administrative policy making is not, however, an entirely discrete process. It intersects with legislative policy making at important and predictable points. The two policy processes, legislative and administrative, are loosely and variably coupled.⁽³⁾ The central distinction is that administrative policy making is dominated by the ideas, norms, routines, and choices of nonelected public employees, whereas legislative policy making is dominated by the perspectives of elected officials. Administrative policy making can occur in the bureaucracies of the President or of Congress.

The argument that these two processes—legislative and administrative—are distinct does not, however, deny their essential overlap. The overlap between these two fundamentally different policy settings has fostered the delusion that there is only one policy setting with legislative and administrative components. Clearly elected officials influence administrative policy making, and, just as clearly, administrators influence legislative policy making.⁽⁴⁾ Nevertheless, their interaction remains obscure without a clearer perception of the profound differences between the two settings. As stated, the importance of administrative policy making seems obvious and uncontroversial, but its implications are strongly resisted.⁽⁵⁾

Public administration and implementation theories have not adequately recognized the importance of administrative policy making in modem welfare states.⁽⁶⁾ Before more fully developing these ideas, four examples of administrative policy making are briefly reviewed.     

Technology policy 2000: university to industry transfer

Utilizing the knowledge, know-how, technologies developed in universities to improve the competitiveness of U.S. industry is a super-optimum technology policy solution. Transferring technologies developed at universities to industry vastly expands the resource base by providing companies with no internal research and development effort with that capability and by augmenting the R&D of companies with some level of internal effort already in place. By taking advantage of university technology transfer, all companies and policy-makers can emphasize innovation as a goal to be included in a competitive business strategy. Having universities as participants in technology transfer activities maximizes the benefits and minimizes the costs to all by providing for shared equipment, personnel, and laboratory facilities. This last fact is particularly clear when pre-competitive research is undertaken at university-based centers or consortiums which draw their members from wide groups of industry participants. Drawing on data gathered as part study of university-industry research and development (R&D) interactions, this paper examines the factors that lead to successful collaborations.     

Institutions,interests, and policy support: Experimental evidence from China

Policy support matters for the success of public policies. It is still unclear how governments can garner support for policies with high costs. Using a conjoint experiment in China, we demonstrate that governments can encourage policy support by offering institutional services and material interests to policy targets. In particular, citizens become more willing to support policies when governments timely disclose policy information and respond to and incorporate their voices in the policy design. Government subsidies in both the short and long runs also increase citizens' policy support. In addition, government transparency and long-run subsidies are complementary to enhancing policy support; the role of institutions is strengthened when citizens are exposed to severe policy problems.     

Functional policy actions: Agency activities subsequent to budgeting

This study considers numerous non-budgetary measures of policy activity (called functional actions) that are conducted by agencies as they seek to implement their programs. Relationships found in earlier research among maturity, coalitions, and budgetary variables with the functional actions of agencies are extended here through a subsample test of the data and through the utilization of functional actions as independent as well as dependent variables. These functional actions are considered important because they directly affect the lives of citizens, seem manipulable by agencies, and represent a crucial first step in evaluating both the governmental and societal impact of agency programs. Data for eight federal agencies from fiscal years 1960 through 1971 were usedincorporating percentages and simple bivariate correlation coefficients. While the findings remain tentative,numerous implications are suggested for agency behavior and for the empirical study of public policy.