Identify and fully discuss the institutional models used to explain the public policy process.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Institutional modes of policy process delve into the idea not just that institutions matter in the policy process, but why they matter. Institutions are crucial for understanding why the public-sector functions as it does. New institutionalism emphasizes the normative elements of institutions and the “logic of appropriateness” that guides actions to their members. Individuals learn to behave in certain ways in organizations because of organizational values, not for utilitarian consequences of policies selected. The logic of appropriateness tells us that organizational cultures shape the policies that the organizations advocate and implement. Political leaders can find it difficult to overcome these agency logics. Rather than a focus on the logic of appropriateness, historical institutional emphasizes the importance of path dependency and the persistence of policy decisions once they are made. Once initiated, policies tend to be path dependent. They tend to follow the status quo unless there is some sufficient shock that can disrupt the stability and create a new equilibrium in the policy. While historical institutionalism is useful for describing the policy process, it is less useful for explaining how choices are made and why change might occur. There is a need to understand and explain policy choices that move away from the status quo. Rational choice models of institutionalism assume that institutions are sets of incentives and rules that shape the rational actions of the individuals who operate within government. These models address classic problems in political science and policymaking--including the tragedy of the commons. Further, institutions can help to create equilibrium in situations in which cyclical majorities may make reaching a decision difficult. Rational choice models have examined the difficulties that institutional design may pose for making decisions (e.g., multiple institutions). Discursive models of institutions are founded primarily on the ideas and discourses that guide the institution. The institution is shaped by the discussions that members use to persuade one another and to persuade the outside world about the actions undertaken by the institution. This model, though, is not as stable as the normative approach found in the new institutionalism.