Exam 1: Public Policy and Politics

The policy criterion of ______ refers to the assessment of how well a policy works relative to the cost of adopting that policy.

The popularity or relative power of a political party, pressure exerted by interest groups, and the influence of third parties (such as the Tea Party) are examples of the ______, affecting how decisions are made by government.

______ are organized groups of people following the logic of collective action.

A ______ is a law proposed by a state or locality for voters to approve or reject.

______ are goods that cannot be jointly consumed and for which exclusion is not feasible.

Government officials propose public policies in response to ______ or conditions that the public widely perceives to be unacceptable.

Which level of government is involved in developing public policies?

______ has been defined as "who gets what, when, and how" or the exercise of power in making decisions of public policy.

The ideology of individual members of Congress is an example of the ______ context that affects the development of public policy.

Discuss two reasons why it is beneficial for citizens to study public policy.

The United States is a ______ democracy.

What is a public good, and why does the government provide and/or protect public goods?

A ______ describes a situation in which a third party gains something from a market transaction but does not pay for it.

What are the three major reasons for government intervention into a particular problem? Select a substantive issue/problem (e.g., social Security, environmental policy, addressing the recession, etc.) and discuss why the government may intervene for each of the reasons identified. Discuss political, moral/ethical, and market failure reasons for government intervention and what these are. Select any issues (e.g., environmental) and discuss how one might interpret government intervention from each of these reasons.

A ______ refers to the results that occur when a policy is implemented.

Examine the four kinds of market failures that lead to government involvement in public policy. For each type of market failure, discuss the following: (a) the nature of the failure, that is, what it looks like and how it occurs; (b) an illustrative example; and (c) the way in which government may address the failure.

Federal subsidies that are only given to dairy farmers who own more than one hundred cows may raise concerns about the ______ of the policy.

Which statement describes the primary reason that U.S. policy making is characterized by conflict over which policies to adopt?

Policy making does not occur in a vacuum. Explain and provide an example of each of the various contexts that surround policy making and how that context can influence the policies that are enacted.

Cable television services are an example of a ______.