Role of Public Policies

The president is a key player in forming U.S. public policies.

Public policy refers to the decisions, laws, programs and other actions governments take to address public problems. Public policies affect the economy, defense, national security, education, health and other areas.

Significance

Through public policy, government strives to advance the collective well-being--social, political and economic--of a society.

Types

The specific roles and functions of public policies vary by type. Three main classes of policy are distributive, regulatory and redistributive.

Function

Distributive policies allocate benefits to particular individuals or groups, while dividing the cost among the recipients. Government spending on highways and education falls into this category. Regulatory policies establish legal guidelines and limits on the actions of individuals, agencies, corporations and society as a whole. Regulatory policies affect how businesses, such as banking and insurance, conduct their business.

Effects

Redistributive policies shift the allocation of resources among members of a society. Examples include Social Security and Medicare. Deep political conflict often erupts over redistributive policies.

Considerations

Public policies are inherently political because they favor some individuals or groups over others to varying extents.

References

• Public Policymaking, James Anderson, 1994

Resources

• Policy Library: social, economic and foreign policy resources