JOOSSE PUBLIC POLICY EXAM QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS #4
Policy - correct answer a relatively stable, purposive course of action followed by an
actor or set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern
Public Policy - correct answer (usually) developed by government bodies and officials to
address a problem that affects (usually) large segments of society
3 Types of Public Policies - correct answer - Laws
- Unilateral Presidential Actions
- Administrative rules/regulations
What is the most used type of federal policies? - correct answer Administrative rules
and regulations
Why does the government interfere in the free market? - correct answer - Economic
Rationale
- Moral Rationale
Economic Rationale - correct answer Government will intervene if the market is not
functioning properly
3 Types of Market Failure - correct answer - Information Asymmetry
- Externalities
- Monopolies
Information Asymmetry - correct answer when either the buyer or seller knows more
about the true value of the product/service and does not share that info (car salesman:
he sells a car knowing something does not really work, but he does not convey that to
the seller who buys the car)
Externalities - correct answer when a benefit or cost is not accounted for in a market
price (e.g. Pollution - not accounted for in the market, but affects many people)
Monopolies - correct answer When an organization can control supply of goods/services
because it is the only viable choice
Moral Rationale - correct answer Government is a defender of the downtrodden and the
protector of equality
- root of many disagreements about the size of government
How do we study the public policymaking process? - correct answer We organize the
inquiry into a subject and use the "stages heuristic"
Stages Heuristic - correct answer Problem Identification -> Formulation -> Adoption ->
Implementation -> Evaluation
, Theories - correct answer Attempt to explain a particular phenomenon
Tell a story about how and why something happens
Predictive in nature
Multiple theories can fit in a framework
They do not explain everything all the time
Independent Variable - correct answer The thing(s) you are using to explain change in
the dependent variable
Dependent Variable - correct answer The thing you are trying to explain
Institutional Theory - correct answer Policy as a product of the formal structures and
rules of governance including
*Degree of access public has to decision making, availability of info from government
agencies, sharing of authority between national and state governments, gerrymandered
districts
Rational Choice Theory - correct answer Policy as a product of policy actors maximizing
their self-interests
*Economic model that considers a host of variables to predict behavior including info
available to actors, uncertainty, and rules/norms
Through unilateral presidential actions, there are 3 types of authority - correct answer
Power of the purchaser, power of the employer, and power of the payer
Power of the Purchaser - correct answer The president has direct control over
influencing policies and it is the economic side of things
Power of the Employer - correct answer The government is the largest employer in the
country - he has some control over wages and things like that for employees
Power of the Payer - correct answer Federal health payments (medicare medicaid)
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. V. Sawyer - correct answer Framework for judging
constitutionality of unilateral actions
Did prez act in accordance with implied or expressed authorization from Congress?
Gray Area: congressional silence and concurrent authority, and left over authority
3 Main Types of Unilateral Presidential Actions - correct answer eos, Memorandum,
Proclamations
Executive Orders - correct answer Formal orders issued by the president to direct action
by the federal bureaucracy - the president signs with the authority of law that is listed in
the Federal Register and directed mostly towards people within the government
Policy - correct answer a relatively stable, purposive course of action followed by an
actor or set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern
Public Policy - correct answer (usually) developed by government bodies and officials to
address a problem that affects (usually) large segments of society
3 Types of Public Policies - correct answer - Laws
- Unilateral Presidential Actions
- Administrative rules/regulations
What is the most used type of federal policies? - correct answer Administrative rules
and regulations
Why does the government interfere in the free market? - correct answer - Economic
Rationale
- Moral Rationale
Economic Rationale - correct answer Government will intervene if the market is not
functioning properly
3 Types of Market Failure - correct answer - Information Asymmetry
- Externalities
- Monopolies
Information Asymmetry - correct answer when either the buyer or seller knows more
about the true value of the product/service and does not share that info (car salesman:
he sells a car knowing something does not really work, but he does not convey that to
the seller who buys the car)
Externalities - correct answer when a benefit or cost is not accounted for in a market
price (e.g. Pollution - not accounted for in the market, but affects many people)
Monopolies - correct answer When an organization can control supply of goods/services
because it is the only viable choice
Moral Rationale - correct answer Government is a defender of the downtrodden and the
protector of equality
- root of many disagreements about the size of government
How do we study the public policymaking process? - correct answer We organize the
inquiry into a subject and use the "stages heuristic"
Stages Heuristic - correct answer Problem Identification -> Formulation -> Adoption ->
Implementation -> Evaluation
, Theories - correct answer Attempt to explain a particular phenomenon
Tell a story about how and why something happens
Predictive in nature
Multiple theories can fit in a framework
They do not explain everything all the time
Independent Variable - correct answer The thing(s) you are using to explain change in
the dependent variable
Dependent Variable - correct answer The thing you are trying to explain
Institutional Theory - correct answer Policy as a product of the formal structures and
rules of governance including
*Degree of access public has to decision making, availability of info from government
agencies, sharing of authority between national and state governments, gerrymandered
districts
Rational Choice Theory - correct answer Policy as a product of policy actors maximizing
their self-interests
*Economic model that considers a host of variables to predict behavior including info
available to actors, uncertainty, and rules/norms
Through unilateral presidential actions, there are 3 types of authority - correct answer
Power of the purchaser, power of the employer, and power of the payer
Power of the Purchaser - correct answer The president has direct control over
influencing policies and it is the economic side of things
Power of the Employer - correct answer The government is the largest employer in the
country - he has some control over wages and things like that for employees
Power of the Payer - correct answer Federal health payments (medicare medicaid)
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. V. Sawyer - correct answer Framework for judging
constitutionality of unilateral actions
Did prez act in accordance with implied or expressed authorization from Congress?
Gray Area: congressional silence and concurrent authority, and left over authority
3 Main Types of Unilateral Presidential Actions - correct answer eos, Memorandum,
Proclamations
Executive Orders - correct answer Formal orders issued by the president to direct action
by the federal bureaucracy - the president signs with the authority of law that is listed in
the Federal Register and directed mostly towards people within the government
