Success and Failure in Environment Policy: The Role of Policy Officials

This paper reports on interviews conducted between 2010 and 2013 with senior officials involved in Australian federal environmental policies over the past 30 years. It examines whether they have a prior sense of whether an environment policy is likely to succeed and their experience of the key factors driving environment policy success. Most interviewees claimed a strong prior sense of policy outcomes, but their expression of the key factors indicating success (consultation, clear objectives, a clear mandate, and a strong evidence base) varies from the usual emphases found in the public policy literature. The research illuminates the ways in which the policy officials at times exert a greater role than that suggested by the Westminster conventions or the policy theory literature. Not emphasised in the literature, yet pivotal for success in the vexed space of environmental policy, was the self‐directed yet at times skilful policy ‘agency’ exhibited by officials.     

The Privatisation of GIO Australia: Success or Failure?

The privatisation of GIO Australia took place amidst acrimonious public debate on the merits of selling this government trading enterprise. Yet the innovative methods employed in the privatisation process represented a landmark in contemporary Australian economic history, With the passage of time and the attendant flow of information, it is now possible to assess the outcome of the privatisation of GIO Australia. Without considering the wider philosophical dimensions of privatisation, we conclude that from a tripartite perspective that the privatisation of GIO Australia should be regarded as successful.
The article is subdivided into four main parts. Section 1 provides a brief synopsis of the historical evolution of GIO; Section 2 details the actual privatisation process. Section 3 analyses the impact of the privatisation in terms of its effects on the GIO, the wider insurance market in Australia, and the 'net worth' of the NSW government. The article ends with some brief concluding remarks in Section 4.     

The Failure of Success in Natural Resource Policy: Pacific Salmon Harvest Policy in New York State

Natural resource management policies like the Pacific salmon harvest policy developed by New York State often did not anticipate the extent of social, economic, and ethical concerns that would be generated, largely because the agency concentrated on biological considerations. The number of concerned stakeholders grew in proportion to both the success and failure of the initial policy. Had all participants been equally willing to recognize both the successes and the failures, development of a revised policy through group negotiations may have been possible, resulting in a cooperative mode of decision making. Instead, institutional mechanisms based on legislated process were ultimately the approach chosen for policy revision.     

States as Policy Laboratories: Emulating Success in the Children's Health Insurance Program

This article illustrates the use of the directed dyad-year event history analysis to study policy diffusion, with an application to policy changes in the Children's Health Insurance Program from 1998 to 2001. This analysis reveals strong evidence that states with successful policies are more likely to be emulated than are those with failing policies. Evidence of success is especially relevant for policy changes that lower program costs rather than those raising costs, and for changes made by legislatures rather than by administrative agencies. Moreover, this study reveals policy diffusion based on political, demographic, and budgetary similarities across states, rather than simply geographic proximity.     

公共决策“两化”的机制性障碍与突破

改革开放以来,我国公共决策的民主化科学化有了较大进步,但也存在着决策民主的规定还不够健全,有些决策制度尚不合理,监督和责任制尚未完全到位,利益协调有时乏力等机制性障碍。突破这些障碍,主要在于明确规定政府决策的任务权限,综合论证、反向论证与逆向否决并重,重大决策实行三次公示,加强内外部对公共决策的制衡监督,遵循现代决策的基本程序等。     

The Implementation of Welfare Reform Policy: The Role of Public Managers in Front-Line Practices

This study examines the extent to which staff in local welfare systems have embraced new welfare reform goals and, if so, the extent to which local management practices contribute to the alignment of staff priorities with policy objectives. It looks at agency structure and several aspects of public management from a microperspective that prior research has linked to agency performance including training, performance monitoring, staff resources, leadership characteristics, and personnel characteristics. The research indicates that front-line workers in welfare offices continue to believe that traditional eligibility determination concerns are the most important goals at their agencies. It also finds that management practices and the structuring of agency responsibilities matter: To the extent that public managers want to redirect local staff to focus their attention on the new goals associated with welfare reform, they can create the conditions under which staff have clear signals about what is expected and could provide them with the resources and incentives to realign their priorities.     

Attitude Change and Policy Decisions: The Case of Norwegian Alcohol Policy

In a democracy, political decisions ought to be based on public opinion. In practice, however, the mechanisms connecting voter preferences and public policy are complex, and it appears that public opinion may be partly policy-shaping and partly shaped by policy. In this article, some of these mechanisms are discussed. The article presents, first, three models of public reactions to policy decisions. These models are then applied in an analysis of the liberal trends in Norwegian alcohol policy as well as attitudes towards this policy. The results are consistent with a "consumer model", where citizens evaluate public policy according to their preferences, as well as a "support model", where they tend to follow and support decisions made by political leaders. A "discontent model", where implementation brings about less acceptance of a policy, is not supported by the data.     

Public Policy Failure or Historical Debacle? A Study of Eritrea's Relations With Ethiopia Since 1991

Public policy transcends the domain of domestic policies and encompasses or even determines the type of relations that countries build with each other. It is well known that policies are nothing but decisions of governments as formal authorization on the given issue at hand. In other words, policy is a sum total of decisions made by the authority and hence it involves what governments actually do and not what they intend to do. Public opinion is a powerful criterion especially in democracies. It is provided in the constitutions and the people's role in policymaking is confirmed through this. Political parties, mass media, newspapers, and such others claim to represent public opinion. Rationality is another criteria in policymaking in which the leadership takes supposedly rational decisions on different issues of concern particularly those relating to foreign affairs. The criteria on political and economic situation depends on the actions of politicians, the legacy of the past, the nature of government organizations/institutions, and the constraints posed by domestic economic situations and conditions. Although policymakers enjoy complete independence from external control, unfortunately Third World countries such as those in Africa are not free to make their policies due to various reasons such as interdependence, and the domestic political and economic situations, compelling them to take a cue from external factors or power centers. The many conceptual models of public policy offer a wide variety of understanding on how they can be applied to different countries and to different situations. In fact, most policies are a combination of rational planning, instrumentalism, interest group activity, elite preferences, systemic forces, game planning, public choice, political processes and institutional influences. However, at times we find not all of these may be applicable to all countries. It in effect depends on the rational calculations of the countries in question how they would make or have their policies consonant with their national interests. The case of Eritrea and Ethiopia is a classic example that fits into the above paradigm and in which to enquire how their policies varied in spite of being friendly neighbors but later turning into hostile foes. What went wrong and how? Was it a product of their policy failures or was it due to historical debacles? This article therefore is an attempt to explore the current state of relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia in the light of the above‐mentioned conceptual framework by showing how their mutual policies were not compatible enough to solidify their initial cordiality and friendliness. In order to do this a brief sketch of historical background is provided to help understand and analyze the impact it had on contemporary policies between them. The internal political dynamics and ideological doctrines of Eritrea are the focus of next discussion. The period of cordiality and later the period of hostility are discussed next. Finally, recent trends and future prospects are put forward.     

In Modernism's Wake: Public Administration and Policy in the 21st Century

Hugh T. Miller, Postmodern Public Policy
Goktug Morcol, A New Mind for Policy Analysis: Toward a Post-Newtonian and Postpositivist Epistemology and Methodology
Michael W. Spicer, Public Administration and the State: A Postmodern Perspective     

政策执行中的"一刀切"现象:一个制度主义的分析

政策执行中的"一刀切",本质是上级为了纠正下级执行偏离而采取的一种策略.与下级的执行偏离相对应",一刀切"主要包括明确标准、确定结果、新增标准和停止执行等四种做法.政策执行中的"一刀切"建立在那些能够揭示下级偏离行为的信号机制的基础上,其存留也取决于信号的去留.     

Perceptions of the Regulated Community in Environmental Policy: The View from Below

Discussions in environmental policy often focus on the highest levels of decision making and action while paying scant attention to those individuals on the front lines. Among those frequently overlooked are the individuals at regulated facilities who interact with government regulators on a frequent basis. Interviews with nearly two dozen facility personnel in Virginia yield findings that challenge common perceptions of the relationships between facility personnel and inspectors. In particular, 86 percent of facility personnel, representing a range of regulated facilities from prisons to landfills to dry cleaners, said their interactions with inspectors were positive. Approximately 70 percent of them said that they trust inspectors and provided evidence of trust in their stories. The ramifications of these findings for environmental policy could be potentially significant because facility personnel are presumed to be adversarial, if not outright hostile, and this assumption impacts the design and implementation of environmental regulations.     

纵向政府组织博弈视角下的公共政策执行失灵探究

公共政策执行失灵主要由上下级政府之间的利益冲突而引发，围绕利益的博弈互动难以避免。本文从博弈视角深入权力的微观运行之中，指出上下级政府之间的单向垂直委托代理博弈的客观存在性，并分析其危害与成因。尝试性地提出双向委托代理博弈的创建路径，期盼能有效地规避政策执行失灵，提高政策效能，促进社会和谐。     

Rural Policy Assumptions and Policy Failure: The Case of the Re-establishment Grant

For 30 years successive Commonwealth governments have offered grants to encourage marginal farmers to quit farming. The grants have increased in generosity over time but there has only ever been a limited uptake of the program. This paper considers the assumptions policy-makers have made about farmers' behaviour in formulating these programs and compares these with sociological evidence about farmers' incentive structures. This case study provides an example of how the failure to take account of a sufficiently broad range of values when formulating policy can undermine policy objectives from the outset.     

西方的"政府失灵"理论及对我国政府管理的启示

公共选择理论作为当代西方一种新公共经济理论 ,其核心主题是政府失灵说。它以“经济人”假设为分析前提 ,较深刻地剖析了当代西方代议制民主政府行为的动机以及政府失灵的种种表现和原因 ,并提出矫治“政府失灵”的对策。研究这一理论 ,对于有效发挥我国政府管理的作用 ,具有重要的启发意义。     

The Cult of Collaboration in Public Policy

A 'cult of collaboration' is emerging in Australian public policy circles. In this article I argue this reflects a misunderstanding of the concept and its distinctive characteristics. Here I reintroduce collaboration vis-à-vis other forms of 'working together' and question whether we have taken a collaborative turn in public policy. In doing so I hope to contribute to a debate on the relevance of collaboration for public policy.     

Policy Change,Policy Feedback,and Interest Mobilization: The Politics of Nuclear Waste Management

Many of the leading theories of the policy process are aimed at providing insights into the factors that make policy change more (or less) likely. In general, policy change is seen as a result of shifting dynamics within policy subsystems. However, building on theories of policy feedback and interest mobilization, this article examines whether policy change, apart from being an effect of subsystem dynamics, can be a cause of shifting dynamics as latent actors are motivated to participate in the subsystem as a result of policy change. Two hypotheses regarding post‐policy change mobilization are developed and tested using data on participation in congressional hearings concerning the management of nuclear waste. The findings suggest that policy change can activate latent policy actors, specifically those actors that view themselves as “losing” as a result of the policy change. These results point to the need for scholars to examine the potential impacts of post‐policy change dynamics on policy development.     

The Home Insulation Program: An Example of Australian Government Failure

The public concern surrounding the Australian Government Home Insulation Program (HIP) continues despite the abrupt termination of the program in the light of its deleterious safety consequences and fiscally wasteful management. This enduring unease has been reflected in a variety of official inquiries and reports including the Hawke Review (2010) , an inquiry by the Senate Environment, Communications and the Arts References Committee (2010), a performance audit by the Commonwealth Auditor‐General (2010) and two Departmental annual reports (DCCEE 2010; DEWHA 2010). Taking into account this body of evidence, we argue that the HIP represents an example of government failure, which, in turn, led to a range of unintended ‘human costs’ including the tragic deaths of four young installation workers. Moreover it is also argued that, in future, programs like the HIP are best administered by state/territory and local governments which are often best placed to deliver ‘on the ground’ services.