ARTICLE REVIEW - TYPOLOGIES OF PUBLIC POLICY

With increasing instances of corruption and mis governance, it is necessary to help the government
improve its strategies. At times, it becomes essential to motivate domestic productions through law, rules
and regulations or otherwise. All such activities require one to have a good deal of knowledge regarding
public policies.

What is Public Policy?

Public policy is a purposive guide to the course of actions taken by the administrative executives of the
state as per the law and other institutional customs and issues. This movement is made to use more
evidence to guide policy decisions.

Features of Public Policy

 The public policy stands on the significant foundations of constitutional laws of the nation and
regulations. The legislative wing of a country generally authorises other policies like judicial
interpretations.
 It is the policy that governments cater to for the purpose of improving their economic and social
systems. It is put forward to benefit the electorate through specific ways. Public policy is most
commonly embedded in legislative acts, constitutions and judicial decisions.
 Some scholars have also defined public policy as the system involves the courses of actions, law,
regulatory measures and funding necessities, concerning a governmental entity.
 Public policy is strengthened when it efficiently solves the various issues and problems prevalent
in the state. It is designed to support and serve governmental organizations and nations, and
policies. It encourages and active citizenship to all to develop the integrity and liberty of the
country.
 Public policy also emphasizes the decisions that boost the political system outputs, including
transport strategies, the administration and management of an institution. It is mainly concerned
about evaluating the decision-making power of public bureaucracies and governments.

Types of Public Policy

Public policies are the collective actions taken by the government, and it includes law, rules, regulations,
case studies, judgements, government programmes. Public policy can be categorized into three main
types.

1. Distributive

These policies render goods and services to the members of an institution or an organization, and also
distribute their costs among these members.

Distributive policies are concerned with certain segments of the society and benefits large groups. It is
associated with the public welfare, transfer of goods and services, public education, health services,
public safety, highways, and the like. In other words, distributive policies encompass all public welfare
and assistance programmes.
 2. Regulatory

The regulatory policies and practices involved with public policy strive to regulate and control multiple
economic sectors of the state or the concerned institution.

Regulatory policies are formulated to keep a check on the tendencies of the institution to divert from the
established plans and schemes as declared by the government. These policies are concerned with the
regulation of business, trade, safety measures, public utilities and others. Independent institutions or
organizations do it on behalf of the government.

Regulatory policies compel specific types of behaviour and limit the discretion of agencies or individuals.
The limitation of the highway speed limit is an excellent example of the regulatory policies implemented
by the government. These policies define and reward good behaviour and punish and condemn the bad
ones through fines or sanctions.

3. Redistributive

Policies are dynamic and ever-changing. There is nothing called static laws. So, one needs to create a
blueprint and implement them appropriately. However, one also needs to be prepared for some
unexpected results.

Social policies are subject to changes in either the initial stages of implementation or at the legislative or
decision-making stages. These are associated with the rearrangement of policies that is concerned with
bringing about specific changes in the economic and social status of the state or the institution.

The Public Policy Process

Public policy involves an interactive and dynamic process and is never a one-time event. In most of the
cases, public policy deals with the rules and directives associated. It comprises a sub-policy that include
the exact details about the policy, together with the concerned implementation techniques.
Considering the procedures followed in India, for examples to pass a particular bill, lengthy and
complicated steps are involved. The bill that has to be made into law has to go through two houses,
namely Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. After going through a series of authoritative leaders or executives,
the President asserts and approves the bill, and it becomes a law.
There are five main steps involved in the public policy process include the following:
- Identification of the Problem
- Formulation of Policy
- Adaption of Policy
- Implementation of Policy
- Evaluation of Policy
In a nutshell, formulating, implementing and following public policies helps to regulate and rectify the
operations of governance. Every institution needs to have its own set of rules and regulations , and laws to
hold everything in place.