Politics 355

Governing Instruments

(98 - 3 )

 

Class Time: Thursday 1:30-5:20 ( Room TBA)

 

 

Dr. Michael Howlett

AQ 6043 291-3082

e-mail: howlett@sfu.ca

OFFICE HOURS: TBA

NOTE: This outline is also available through the Class WWW Site at URL: http://www.sfu.ca/~howlett/355983.html

 

Outline:

This course introduces students to the study of the instruments used by governments in carrying out their tasks and adapting to, and altering, their environments. An essential component of modern governance, substantive and procedural policy instruments together comprise the toolbox from which governments must choose in attempting to resolve policy problems. The course begins with the establishment of a framework for analyzing governing instruments and moves on to consider the merits, demerits and rationales for the use of specific organization, regulatory, financial and information-based instruments. Finally, the manner in which instrument change relates to overall policy change is assessed.

 

 

Required Texts

Christopher Hood, The Tools of Government Chatham: Chatham House, 1986

L.S. Salamon ed. Beyond Privatization: The Tools of Government Action, Washington D.C: Urban Institute, 1989.

W.J.M. Kickert, E-H. Klijn and J.F.M. Koppenjan eds., Managing Complex Networks: Strategies for the Public Sector (London: Sage, 1997)

 

Recommended Texts

 

Marie-Louise Bemelmans-Videc, Ray C. Rist and Evert Vedung eds., Carrots, Sticks and Sermons: Policy Instruments and Their Evaluation New Brunswick, N.J., Transaction Publishers, 1998

B. Guy Peters and F. K. M. Van Nispen, eds. Public Policy Instruments : Evaluating the Tools of Public Administration New York: Edward Elgar Pub. (August 1998)

 

 

 

 

 

Requirements and Marking:

1. There will be a final examination worth 30 percent of the course mark.

2. One 15-20 page paper is due at the end of term and is worth 40 percent of the class mark. Papers should be typed, double-spaced and properly formatted. Papers are due on the last day of class. LATE PAPERS WILL LOSE TEN PERCENT PER DAY LATE.

3. A 3-5 page outline of the paper is due (posted to the Class Maillist "pol359-d1@sfu.ca") in Week VII. The outline should set out the general argument to be made in the paper, the methodology to be followed, and include appropriate traditional and non-traditional (WWW) bibliographic references. The outline will be returned in Week VIII and will account for 10 percent of the paper grade. LATE OUTLINES WILL RECEIVE A ZERO GRADE.

 

4. Twenty percent of the course mark will be awarded on the basis of class participation. This includes the oral presentation of two cases of instrument choice to class in weeks III-VI and VIII-XI LATE PRESENTATIONS WILL RECEIVE A ZERO GRADE.

 

Presentation Topics

Topic #1: Choose a substantive policy instrument and examine an example of its use in Canada. How was the instrument defined? Why was it used?

Topic #2: Choose a procedural policy instrument and examine an example of its use in Canada. How was the instrument defined? Why was it used?

 

Paper Topics:

Choose a substantive policy instrument and a procedural one. Examine their use in a Canadian policy sector. What do these cases tell us about theories of policy instrument choice?

 

 

 

 

WEEKLY READING LIST

NOTE: All required readings have been placed on reserve in Bennett Library

WEEK I: INTRODUCTION: POLICY INSTRUMENTS AND THEIR ANALYSIS

Required Reading:

Salamon, Lester. "Rethinking Public Management: Third Party Government and the Changing Forms of Government Action." Public Policy 29, no. 3 (1981): 255-275

Woodside, K. "Policy Instruments and the Study of Public Policy." Canadian Journal of Political Science. 19, no. 4 (1986): 775-793.

Stephen H. Linder and B. Guy Peters, "The Study of Policy Instruments: Four Schools of Thought" in B. Guy Peters and F. K. M. Van Nispen, eds. Public Policy Instruments : Evaluating the Tools of Public Administration New York: Edward Elgar Pub (August 1998) pp. 33-45

Recommended Reading:

Baxter-Moore, Nicolas. "Policy Implementation and the Role of the State: A Revised Approach to the Study of Policy Instruments." In Contemporary Canadian Politics: Readings and Notes, edited by R. J. Jackson, D. Jackson and N. Baxter-Moore. Scarborough: Prentice-Hall, 1987.

Howlett, Michael. "Policy Instruments, Policy Styles, and Policy Implementation: National Approaches to Theories of Instrument Choice." Policy Studies Journal. 19 (2) 1991. pp. 1-21.

Linder, Stephen H. and B. Guy Peters. "Instruments of Government: Perceptions and Contexts"." Journal of Public Policy. 9, no. 1 (1989): 35-58.

 

WEEK II: POLICY INSTRUMENT THEORY (I): SUBSTANTIVE POLICY INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

Salamon, Lester M. and Michael S. Lund. "The Tools Approach: Basic Analytics." In Beyond Privatization: The Tools of Government Action, edited by L. S. Salamon. Washington D.C: Urban Institute, 1989. pp. 23-50

Christopher Hood, The Tools of Government Chatham: Chatham House, 1986 pp. 1-15 and chapters 2-5 (recommended)

Hans A. de Bruijn and Hans A.M. Hufen, "The Traditional Approach to Policy Instruments" in B. Guy Peters and F. K. M. Van Nispen, eds. Public Policy Instruments : Evaluating the Tools of Public Administration New York: Edward Elgar Pub (August 1998) pp. 11-32

 

Recommended Reading:

Michael Howlett and M. Ramesh, Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1995) Chapter 4.

Anne L. Schneider and Helen Ingram, "Behavioral Assumptions of Policy Tools," Journal of Politics, 52: 2, 1990

Anne Schneider and Helen Ingram, "Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy" in American Political Science Review 87 (2) 1993 pp. 334-347

 

WEEK III: SUBSTANTIVE POLICY INSTRUMENTS (I): ORGANIZATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

Hood, Christopher. "Using Bureaucracy Sparingly." Public Administration. 61, no. 2 (1983): 197-208.

Leman, Chistopher K. "The Forgotten Fundamental: Successes and Excesses of Direct Government." In Beyond Privatization: The Tools of Government Action, edited by L. M. Salamon. Washington D.C: Urban Institute, 1989. 53-92.

Musolf, Lloyd D. "The Government Corporation Tool: Permutations and Possibilities." In Beyond Privatization: The Tools of Government Action, edited by L. M. Salamon. Washington D.C: Urban Institute, 1989. 231-252.

 

Recommended Reading:

Blankart, Charles. "Market and Non-Market Alternatives in the Supply of Public Goods: General Issues." In Public Expenditure and Government Growth, edited by F. Forte and A. Peacock. London: Basil Blackwell, 1985.

Wolf Jr. , Charles. "Markets and Non-Market Failures: Comparison and Assessment." Journal of Public Policy 7, no. 1 (1987): 43-70

Howlett, M. and M. Ramesh. "Patterns of Policy Instrument Choice Policy Styles, Policy Learning and the Privatization Experience." Policy Studies Review. 12, no. 1 (1993)

 

WEEK IV: SUBSTANTIVE POLICY INSTRUMENTS (II): AUTHORITATIVE INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

Bardach, Eugene. "Social Regulation as a Generic Policy Instrument." In Beyond Privatization: The Tools of Government Action, edited by L. M. Salamon. Washington D.C: Urban Institute, 1989. 197-230.

Lemaire, Donald, "The Stick: Regulation as a Tool of Government" in Marie-Louise Bemelmans-Videc, Ray C. Rist and Evert Vedung eds., Carrots, Sticks and Sermons: Policy Instruments and Their Evaluation New Brunswick, N.J., Transaction Publishers, 1998 pp. 59-76

Wilson, James Q. "The Politics of Regulation." In Social Responsibility and the Business Predicament, edited by J. W. McKie. Washington: Brookings Institute, 1974.

 

Recommended Reading:

K. Hanf, "Regulatory Structures: Enforcement as Implementation" in European Journal of Political Research 2, 1982 pp. 159-172

Stigler, George. "The Theory of Economic Regulation" in The Citizen and the State. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975. pp. 114-141

Barry M. Mitnick, "The Concept of Regulation" in Bulletin of Business Research 53(5) 1978 pp. 1-20

Paul A. Sabatier, "Regulatory Policy-Making: Toward A Framework of Analysis" in Natural Resources Journal 17 (3) 1977 pp. 415-460

 

 

WEEK V: SUBSTANTIVE POLICY INSTRUMENTS (III): FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

Woodside, K. "The Political Economy of Policy Instruments: Tax Expenditures and Subsidies." In The Politics of Canadian Public Policy, edited by M. Atkinson and M. Chandler. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983. 173-197.

Frans L. Leeuw, "The Carrot: Subsidies as a Tool of Government" in Marie-Louise Bemelmans-Videc, Ray C. Rist and Evert Vedung eds., Carrots, Sticks and Sermons: Policy Instruments and Their Evaluation New Brunswick, N.J., Transaction Publishers, 1998 pp. 77-102

McDaniel, Paul R. "Tax Expenditures as Tools of Government Action." In Beyond Privatization: The Tools of Government Action, edited by L. M. Salamon. Washington D.C: Urban Institute, 1989. 167-196

 

 

Recommended Reading:

Haider, Donald. "Grants as a Tool of Public Policy." In Beyond Privatization: The Tools of Government Action, edited by L. M. Salamon. Washington D.C: Urban Institute, 1989. 93-124.

Lund, Michael S. "Between Welfare and the Market: Loan Guarantees as a Policy Tool." In Beyond Privatization: The Tools of Government Action, edited by L. M. Salamon. Washington D.C: Urban Institute, 1989. 125-166.

Barry M. Mitnick, The Political Economy of Regulation: Creating, Designing and Removing Regulatory Forms (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980) pp. 364-395

 

WEEK VI: SUBSTANTIVE POLICY INSTRUMENTS (IV): INFORMATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

 

Janet A. Weiss and Mary Tschirhart, "Public Information Campaigns as Policy Instruments" in Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 13(1) 1994 pp. 82-119

Evert Vedung and Frans C.J. van der Doelen, "The Sermon: Information Programs in the Public Policy Process - Choice, Effects and Evaluation" in Marie-Louise Bemelmans-Videc, Ray C. Rist and Evert Vedung eds., Carrots, Sticks and Sermons: Policy Instruments and Their Evaluation New Brunswick, N.J., Transaction Publishers, 1998 pp. 103-128

Adler, Robert S. and R. David Pittle. "Cajolry or Comand: Are Education Campaigns an Adequate Substitute for Regulation." Yale Journal on Regulation 1(1984): 159-193.

Recommended Reading:

 

Elmore, Richard F. "Organizational Models of Social Program Implementation." Public Policy. 26, no. 2 (1978): 185-228

Oscar H. Gandy, Beyond Agenda Setting: Information Subsidies and Public Policy (Norwood: Ablex, 1982) pp. 61-94

Murray Edelman, The Symbolic Uses of Politics (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1964) pp. 44-72

 

 

WEEK VII: POLICY INSTRUMENT THEORY (II): PROCEDURAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

Johan A. de Bruijn and Ernst F. ten Heuvelhof, "Policy Networks and Governance" in David L. Weimer ed., Institutional Design Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1995 pp. 161-179

Renate Mayntz, "Legitimacy and the Directive Capacity of the Political System" in Leon N. Lindberg et al eds. Stress and Contradiction in Modern Capitalism (Lexington: Lexington Books, 1975) pp. 261-274

Jan Kooiman, "Governance and Governability: Using Complexity, Dynamics and Diversity" in J. Kooiman ed. Modern Governance (London: Sage, 1993) pp. 35-50

Recommended Reading:

Jurgen Habermas, "What Does a Legitimation Crisis Mean Today? Legitimation Problems in Late Capitalism" in Social Research 40(4) 1973 pp. 643-667.

David Beetham, The Legitimation of Power (London: Macmillan, 1991) pp. 42-63

Hans Th.A. Bressers, "The Choice of Policy Instruments in Policy Networks" in B. Guy Peters and F. K. M. Van Nispen, eds. Public Policy Instruments : Evaluating the Tools of Public Administration New York: Edward Elgar Pub (August 1998) pp. 85-105

Kenneth B. Woodside, "The Acceptability and Visibility of Policy Instruments" in B. Guy Peters and F. K. M. Van Nispen, eds. Public Policy Instruments : Evaluating the Tools of Public Administration New York: Edward Elgar Pub (August 1998) pp. 162-184

 

 

** OUTLINES DUE

 

 

WEEK VIII: PROCEDURAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS (I): ORGANIZATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

Erik-Hans Klijn, "Analyzing and Managing Policy Processes in Complex Networks: A Theoretical Examination of the Concept Policy Network and Its Problems" in Administration and Society 28(1) 1996 pp. 90-119.

J.A. de Bruijn and A.B. Ringeling, "Normative Notes: Perspectives on Networks" in W.J.M. Kickert, E-H. Klijn and J.F.M. Koppenjan eds., Managing Complex Networks: Strategies for the Public Sector (London: Sage, 1997) pp. 152-165

Elmore, Richard F. "Instruments and Strategy in Public Policy." Policy Studies Review. 7, no. 1 (1987): 174-186.

 

Recommended Reading:

Lorraine M. McDonnell and Richard F. Elmore, Alternative Policy Instruments, Santa Monica: Center for Policy Research in Education, 1987

Sandra Burt, "Canadian Women's Groups in the 1980s: Organizational Development and Policy Influence" in Canadian Public Policy 16, 1990 pp. 17-28.

Scott R. Furlong, "Reinventing Regulatory Development at the Environmental Protection Agency" in Policy Studies Journal 23 (3) 1995 pp. 466-482

 

 

WEEK IX: PROCEDURAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS (II): AUTHORITATIVE INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

W.J.M. Kickert and J.F.M. Koppenjan, "Public Management and Network Management: An Overview" in W.J.M. Kickert, E-H. Klijn and J.F.M. Koppenjan eds., Managing Complex Networks: Strategies for the Public Sector (London: Sage, 1997) pp. 35-61

Charles W. Anderson, "Political Design and the Representation of Interests" in P.C. Schmitter and G. Lehmbruch eds., Trends Towards Corporatist Intermediation (London: Sage, 1979) pp. 271-297

Recommended Reading:

Peter J. May, "Mandate Design and Implementation: Enhancing Implementation Efforts and Shaping Regulatory Styles" in Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 12 (4) 1993 pp. 634-663

Peter J. May and Raymond J. Burby, "Coercive Versus Cooperative Policies: Comparing Intergovernmental mandate Performance" in Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 15 (2) 1996 pp. 171-201

Peter J. May and John W. Handmer, "Regulatory Policy Design: Co-operative Versus Deterrent Mandates" in Australian Journal of Public Administration 51 (1) 1992 pp. 45-53

WEEK X: PROCEDURAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS (III): FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

Anthony Nownes and Grant Neeley, "Toward an Explanation for Public Interest Group Formation and Proliferation: "Seed Money", Disturbances, Entrepreneurship, and Patronage" in Policy Studies Journal, 24(1) 1996 pp. 74-92.

Leslie A. Pal, Interests of State: The Politics of Language, Multiculturalism, and Feminism in Canada Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993 pp. 42-58 and 243-264

Recommended Reading:

Leslie A. Pal, Interests of State: The Politics of Language, Multiculturalism, and Feminism in Canada Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993 ] chapters 7-9

 

WEEK XI: THE POLICY CYCLE (V): PROCEDURAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS (IV): INFORMATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Required Reading:

Michael Saward, Co-Optive Politics and State Legitimacy (Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1992) pp. 5-32 and 149-176

James A. Riedel, ‘Citizen Participation: Myths and Realities" in Public Administration Review, May/June 1972 pp. 211-220

C.J.A.M. Termeer and J.F.M Koppenjan, "Managing Perceptions in Networks" in W.J.M. Kickert, E-H. Klijn and J.F.M. Koppenjan eds., Managing Complex Networks: Strategies for the Public Sector (London: Sage, 1997) pp. 79-97

Recommended Reading:

Charles Salmon ed. Information Campaigns: Managing the Process of Social Change (Newberry Park: Sage, 1989)

Liora Salter, "The Two Contradiction in Public Inquiries" in A. Paul Pross, Innis Christie and John A. Yogis eds. Commissions of Inquiry Toronto: Carswell, 1990 pp. 175-195.

Bryan Schwartz, "Public Inquiries" in Canadian Public Administration 40 (1) 1997 pp. 72-85

WEEK XII: POLICY INSTRUMENT THEORY (III): POLICY INSTRUMENTS AND POLICY CHANGE

Required Reading:

Hall, Peter A. "Policy Paradigms, Social Learning and the State: The Case of Economic Policy-Making in Britain." Comparative Politics 25:3(1993): 275-96.

B. Guy Peters, John C. Doughtie and M. Kathleen McCullough, "Do Public Policies Vary in Different Types of Democratic System?" in Paul G. Lewis, David C. Potter and Francis G. Castles eds., The Practice of Comparative Politics" A Reader (London: Longman/Open University, 1978) pp. 70-100

Roeland J. in't Veld. "The Dynamics of Instruments" in B. Guy Peters and F. K. M. Van Nispen, eds. Public Policy Instruments : Evaluating the Tools of Public Administration New York: Edward Elgar Pub (August 1998) pp. 153-162

Recommended Reading:

Richardson, Jeremy, Gunnel Gustafsson, and Grant Jordan. "The Concept of Policy Style." In Policy Styles in Western Europe, edited by J. J. Richardson. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1982. 1-16.

W.J.M. Kickert, E.-H. Klijn and J.F.M. Koppenjan, "Managing Networks in the Public Sector: Findings and Reflections" in W.J.M. Kickert, E-H. Klijn and J.F.M. Koppenjan eds., Managing Complex Networks: Strategies for the Public Sector (London: Sage, 1997) pp. 166-191

Frans K.M. van Nispen and Arthur B. Ringeling "On Instruments and Instrumentality: A Critical Assessment" in B. Guy Peters and F. K. M. Van Nispen, eds. Public Policy Instruments : Evaluating the Tools of Public Administration New York: Edward Elgar Pub (August 1998) pp. 204-217

 

WEEK XIII: CONCLUSION

 

** PAPERS DUE