4 TYPES OF PUBLIC POLICY | Public-policy textbook

TYPES OF PUBLIC POLICY

Public policy is all around us, but the policies developed by lawmakers come in many different forms. Some policies distribute a good or service to everyone. Others seek to redistribute benefits and foster equality for certain groups. Finally, some intend to regulate behaviors and establish executive agencies. The term government actors is comprehensive and refers to any person acting on behalf of the government. This term will be used throughout the text when discussing government workers at the federal, state, and local levels. To that end, public policy can be made by government actors at all levels of government. Thomas Lowi argued that policy can be classified into four categories: distributive, redistributive, regulatory, and constituent policies (Lowi, 1964). Even today these classifications continue to adequately describe most government policies (Collie, 1988).   

1.5.1. Distributive Policies

Distributive policies allow government actors to provide beneficial goods and services to a majority of the population at the expense of all taxpayers. They are designed to improve the equitable distribution of goods and services by providing benefits to a large portion of the population rather than by taking from one group and giving to another (Peters et al., 1977). Two realities of distributive policies make them the least controversial form of government policy: everyone shares their benefits, and the general public pays their costs (Weingast, 1994).Distributive policies are easy to recognize and policy goals are typically easy to identify. The public encounters distributive policies every day. Examples include public roads and public education. Public highways are paid for by all taxpayers and built by  Figure 1.2: Highway funding is an example of distributive policy.Source: Wikimedia Commons Attribution: User “Bamsb900” License: CC BY-SA 4.0 

government agencies for the good of the whole population. Public transportation infrastructure, funded by taxpayers, serves to benefit all groups within society. The same can be said for public education. Public schools are paid for by all citizens (whether they have children or not) and provide society with a well-educated workforce that further benefits the overall economic growth of the nation. 

1.5.2.Redistributive Policies

Redistributive policies reallocate wealth, property, political or civil rights, or some other valuable item to the advantage of class-based groups (Hill and Leighley, 1992, Jongho and Berry, 2008). While these policies often involve economic decisions, they can also involve the redistribution of social status. For instance, redistributive economic policies redistribute income and wealth from the wealthiest population to the poorest. Civil rights policies are intended to provide social benefits to minorities and women so that they may obtain economic and social equality (Peters et al., 1977).

Redistributive policies are more controversial than distributive policies because they provide benefits to specific groups at the expense of others. Federal welfare programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)  and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), are controversial examples of redistributive public policy programs (Weingast, 1994). Supporters argue that SNAP and TANF provide benefits to Americans in need of economic assistance, while those who oppose these policies see them as taking taxpayer money from the working class and redistributing funds to those who are not working.Despite the ever-present controversy associated with redistributive policies they are frequently utilized when policymakers perceive that economic growth is not evenly distributed. Minimum wage laws have redistributive qualities and will continue to be debated at the state and federal government levels for years to come. Supporters argue that increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour will generate higher levels of equality in the distribution of earnings, leading to a reduction in poverty. Those opposed to minimum wage increases argue that such a law would actually increase poverty due to a reduction in hours worked and fewer employment opportunities (Bourguignon, 2018). One of the most important services provided by the government is the protection of individual rights which are necessary for the establishment of law and order in any civilization.

1.5.3.Regulatory Policies

Regulatory policies allow the government to compel certain beneficial behaviors from individuals or groups while discouraging other behaviors. Government regulatory policies involve the implementation of rules by government actors, rulesthat are backed by the law (Brown and Jackson, 1994). Regulatory policies place constraints on unacceptable individual and group behaviors (Peters et al., 1977).

The goal of regulatory policies, then, is to provide a safe atmosphere for all individuals without resulting in an excessive loss of rights or freedoms. Prohibitions on driving under the influence of alcohol and limitations on unfair business practices are two examples of regulatory public policies. Government policies limiting the price of electricity and water utilities are another example of regulatory actions. Government licensing requirements for specific professions, safety requirements for pharmaceuticals, limitations on toxic emissions and pollutants from factories, and minimum safety requirements for workers are all examples of regulatory policies. Anti-discrimination laws represent another form of regulatory policy intended to improve the lives of minorities and women. 

1.5.4.Constituent Policies

Finally, constituent policies involve the creation and regulation of government agencies and can also refer to policies that establish the way a government functions. Constituent policies are structural in that they include the creation of government agencies, usually under the executive branch, that work  to enforce statutory laws created by Congress. Constituent policies are the government’s reaction to external stimuli. For example, after the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush’s administration established the Department of Homeland Security to improve the ability of federal and state government agencies to combat domestic threats.Constituent policies also encompass law enforcement, fiscal policy development, and public sector bureaucratic regulation. These policies can be procedural in nature; for example, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s mission is to reduce drug use and aid Americans struggling with mental illness. In this case, the constituent policy was not the establishment of an agency but establishing the functions of that agency. The definition of constituent policy has expanded from what Lowi (1964) once envisioned to include citizen or interest group-initiated policies (Tolbert, 2002). Rather than constituent policies initiated by Congress or executive branch agencies, Tolbert argues that citizen directed democracy efforts have also created constituent polices.