Essays on Policy Analysis

After a short abstract, authors put a short introduction on the topic to be described in the paper. Next, authors described in larger details the workshop that was organized by Cameron Thies – one of the authors of the article – and mentioned about the importance and scientific novelty of application role theory in studying international relations. Following this, authors dwelled on history of the notion of role theory analysis in studying foreign affairs. This is divided into two sections – 1) First wave of role theory analysis and 2) Second wave of role theory analysis. Lastly, the article ends with the ...

Book Review

The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving Book Review on a Practical Guide on Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving by Eugene Bardach The handbook serves as a guide to concepts and methods applied in the analysis of policy for practicing policy analysts and students alike, economizing and uplifting. Approaching the issue complexly, it strives to lead to reasonable efficiency of problem solving, and with a minimum of anxious confusion during the process. The role of policy analysis has widened ever since: according to Bardach, today’s policy analysts “help in planning, budgeting, program ...

Introduction

The changes occurring in the health sector has been one of the main concerns of health professionals and researchers. Due to the changes of the demographics and health status of patients along with the current technological advances, it has been assumed that the old strategies used could no longer suffice for the current global health concerns. Thus, it is necessary to consider revisions and improvements when it comes to the advancements of medical technology along with the other issues related to the implementation of certain interventions and promotion of the fundamental goals of health development (United Nations Development Program, ...

Healthcare policy analysis, one of the scopes of healthcare policy, is mainly involved in the development and evaluation of the different interventions that have been implemented to help in the improvement of the healthcare delivery system. Policy analysis in the healthcare system is mainly associated with the regulation and finance of different healthcare services. Other activities involved in the process of healthcare policy analysis include developing and analyzing data to serve as support for different policies, assessing new initiatives in the field of healthcare by utilizing different techniques which include cost-benefit analysis, evaluation of programs, analysis of implementations, and ...

The government has three branches, namely the executive, legislative and judiciary, each with distinct powers and authority. Each of these branches are independent from one another but the principle of check and balance allows each branch to intrude within the sphere of authority of another branch. The legislative branch of the government is mainly responsible for the allocation of budget and mainly framing governmental policies, laws and regulations. This is one of the authorities and powers that are mainly lodged within the legislative body of the government. While the law making power of the government is within the exclusive ...

Introduction

The process of making public policy is based on some collected information that is used to represent the views of the public on some issues. Such information is not collected from every citizen, but a sample determined by the data collector. The policy so formulated affects every citizen irrespective of whether they have contributed any information or not (Guess & Farnham, 2011 pp. 23). Some of the policies are formulated with objectives of protecting and serving the interest of some individuals who are perceived to have more power and influence than others. The communication and presentation of the analysis of ...

Introduction – Immigration Crisis and Socio-Economic Development in Netherlands

Being part of the European Union, it was natural for The Netherlands to be impacted by the immigration crisis which had hit almost entire Europe. On one hand the administration of the country had to develop and implement strategies aimed at addressing the immigration crisis . Initially, the country had resorted to sealing the borders to prevent the influx of refugees . However, with international attention on the crisis - especially highlighted by the capsizing of boats carrying refugees in the Mediterranean Sea the nation had to resort to finally accepting immigrants into the nation. Needless to state that this move ...

Policy-making in the United States is based on a wide variety of forces, which are from polls to election results to formal and informal institutions as well as interest groups. The participation of ‘the people’ in the policy-making process is important as it an aspect of democracy. However, the extent of involvement in the policy making process should be minimized but not completely ignored. The policy making process requires rational policy decisions that are best created using the policy analysis process with experts. It should be in the hands of a few policy analysis experts and have minimal participation ...

Introductory Remarks

The USA has always prided itself on being a byword for the land of opportunities any person can enjoy. Such optimism may end where the issue of the minimum wage starts, as employees find themselves constrained by a salary ceiling. Forced into low-income groups of earners, there is nothing they can do except resort to aid or social programs to meet their individual or family needs. The situation round the use of aid has come to reach an alarming point judging by the scope of the issue. Employees representing fast food, home care, childcare, and part-time college faculty sectors ...

Abstract

Rural residents have different health care needs compared to urban populations. There are economic, social and cultural as well as educational aspects that impacts the manner by which health care is delivered in rural areas. As a means to address the different health care needs of urban residents, legislators worked towards the development and implementation of policies that are perceived to improve the health and well being of the urban population. Included in these programs is the adoption of better payment plans, the promotion of wider and more affordable health insurance, and the alteration in the health care delivery ...

Health policy analysis

Introduction Unquestionably, health is an essential part of life without which human existence is under threat of extinction. According to McLaughlin & McLaughlin (2007), maintenance of mental wellness is fundamental to achieving mental sobriety among the members of the society. Unfortunately, the number of people with mental disorders is growing almost in every society (Walt et al., 2008). In America, adult population with mental illness is over 60 million, the majority of who are Africans Americans. The main barrier to access proper mental health care is the soaring costs and people’s perceptions of mental health (America’s Health, 2016). ...

Problem

This article considers the fact that water is a scarce natural resource and that designing institutions that will maximize its use in a beneficial way is of the utmost importance. The concern of the authors in this article is to understand the ways water is assessed for its economic value. The authors of this article consider what are the most important factors when deriving estimates for water use. They are concerned primarily with establishing common baseline denominators for water values concerning quality, time, location and quantity, as well as identifying the proper point of view from which the values ...

Many public institutions of learning continue practicing the traditional way of determining the pay of a teacher based on the years of service and their level of education. However, many public schools are now practicing the system which ties the salaries and bonuses on the performance and success of the teachers. The practice is in a bid to make teachers work hard to ensure performance of their pupils. If students do not excel in their examinations, it is assumed that the teacher is not putting much effort. Teachers who put a lot of effort in educating their students are ...

The federal government's Bureaucracy is made up of the following organizations; presidential commissions, cabinet departments, government corporations, independent regulatory agencies and independent executive agencies. It is large since it is made up of about 2.6 million employees in the United States. All these departments work together for one common good, which is administering the law. The executive branch of the government has more power than the judiciary and the legislative branches of the United States federal government. The executive branch comes up with programs which are then implemented through the chain in the executive branch. It is the responsibility ...

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the role of ethics in policy analysis and decision making. What is the real role of a policy analyst? There are situations where there is a conflict in interest between different stakeholders, what should the policy analyst do? Decision making can be a really tough call to do sometimes. Should the analyst go with the easier solution? In the upcoming case studies, we will reveal the importance of ethics in policy analysis in different fields. Let`s take a closer look on some of the key issues that we are going ...