Exam 2: Government Institutions and Policy Actors

______ is usually expressed as the aggregate sum of individual attitudes and opinions of the adult population.

Provide examples of activities that interest groups partake in in order to influence policy.

What are unfunded mandates?

What is policy capacity?

Compared to the past, the public is more accepting of business regulation such as the regulation of market failures. This acceptance has led to ______.

Discuss the Constitutional structure of the U.S. government and the advantages and disadvantages of this structure in terms of policy making.

______ refers to the ability to identify, assess, and respond to public problems.

Present several arguments for and against decentralization of policy authority to states.

Define cooperative federalism and policy capacity. Then discuss how cooperative federalism has led to a growing need for policy capacity at the state level.

Which statement summarizes the structure of the federal judiciary? It is made up of ______.

Because of greater decentralization of policy making to the states, it has become more important that states have strong ______ or the ability to make effective and efficient policies.

The trend of decentralization of government in the United States transfers policy authority from ______ to ______.

Formerly called iron triangles, ______ are comprised of interest groups, congressional subcommittees, and an executive agency that are less likely to be influenced by public opinion, since they typically work closely together out of the public eye.

When the U.S. government was formed, which three cabinet-level departments existed?

How can policy capacity be improved?

______ of the federal government are headed by a secretary appointed by the president and have many subsidiary agencies.

The ______ consists of White House staff and other offices such as the Office of Management and Budget that assist the president in implementing public policy.

How do informal policy actors participate in policy making?

What is federalism and how does it affect policymaking?

Agencies that fall under the domain of the executive branch of government include ______.