Chapter 9-Policy Instruments and Cost Effectiveness

1. Chapter 9-Policy Instruments and Cost Effectiveness Dr. Dan Bertrand LEEA 544

2. Lowi’s Techniques of Control • Distributive- bestow’s gifts in the form of goods, services or priveleges. • Subsidy-money for roads; contracts-privatization; non-regulatory licenses- hunting; distributive policies- F/R lunch • Regulatory- formalized rules applied to large groups of people. • Regularly licensing- meeting specific requirement to be able to legally practice; longer school year; • Redistributive- Shifts resources (economic & power) of power from one social group to another. • Most effective to introduce changes gradually and to avoid too many that effect the same people. • Social Security, desegregation, privatization, • Controversial and conflict usually involve large organizations.

3. McDonnell & Elmore’s Policy Instruments • Mandates-rules that govern actions • Inducements- a transfer of money with instruction on how it is to be used for production of goods or services. • Capacity Building- transferring money for investment purposes in material, intellectual or human resources. • System Changes- transfers official authority among individuals and groups.

4. Overlap of Lowi’s Categories • School lunch program is distributive but are also regulatory due to the rules of lunch content. • Free/Reduced lunch redistributes public money

5. Using Lowi’s Categories • Lowi’s basic policy types provide a way to anticipate the political environment that develops around a policy.

6. Examples 1) Requiring teachers to submit lesson plans to their principal. 2) Using a large reserve fund to repair buildings. 3) Adopting a uniform dress code for students. 4) Reducing class size to 15 in K-3. 5) Implementing a pay to play policy for sports. 6) Applying for a grant to support dropout prevention. 7) Applying for federal funds for a preschool program. 8) Providing a day of release time each yr. for teachers to attend a technology workshop. 9)Moving to an intradistrict open enrollment plan. 10) Requiring more frequent evaluations of teachers whose students have low state test scores. P. 246

7. Strategies • Distributive- little conflict, inform legislators of how the policy effects your district, suggest ways to amend it. • Regulatory- competitive but pragmatic political arena, identify competitors and their positions, develop coalitions, talk to your organizations lobbyist. • Redistributive- identify who may join you, form an ad hoc umbrella organization, requires long term persistence.

8. McDonnell & Elmore’s Policy Instruments • Four alternative policy mechanisms that translate into substantive policy goals into concrete actions. • Mandates, inducements, capacity building and system changing, horatory or persuasian. • Used when new behavior is needed but current staff and organization are unresponsive to demands and changes • Horatory or Persuasian- certain goals or actions are a high priority by government. • Recycling campaigns • NCLB

9. Table 9.1 –p. 250

10. Cost Analysis • Cost- anything you have to give up to obtain the benefit. • Tangible Cost – can be quantified • Higher test scores • Intangible Cost- can’t be quantified • Teacher burnout rate, low student morale • Cost Analysis Steps • Identify the true policy objective • Determine how effective the alternatives will be measured.

11. Conclusion • School leaders must reflect before acting. • Use one of the three types of analysis • Lowi’s Technique of Control • McDonnell & Elmore’s Policy Instrument • Analysis of Cost and Effectiveness