Iron Triangle: agency + committee + interest group — all benefit each other
Iron Triangle
Three actors who dominate policy in any given area
Congressional committee writes the law. Executive agency implements it. Interest group lobbies for it and provides expertise. Each benefits the others — a closed, self-reinforcing loop.
Legislative Process
How a bill becomes law: committee → chamber → conference → President
Legislative Process
The path from bill introduction to presidential signature
Introduced → committee → full chamber vote → other chamber repeats → conference committee if versions differ → President signs or vetoes → 2/3 override needed.
Administrative Agencies
Regulatory agencies are quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial, and executive all at once
Administrative Agencies
Federal agencies combine all three governmental powers
They make rules (legislative), enforce them (executive), and adjudicate disputes (judicial). Examples: EPA, SEC, FDA, FCC. Criticized for combining powers the Constitution separates.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-benefit analysis: weigh all costs and benefits to find the most efficient policy
Cost-Benefit Analysis
The standard tool for evaluating whether a policy is worth it
Add up all expected benefits (in dollar terms), subtract all expected costs. If benefits > costs → implement. Criticized for difficulty of monetizing non-market goods (human life, environment). Required for major federal regulations.
Agenda Setting
Agenda setting: media and interest groups determine what issues government addresses — first step of policy
Agenda Setting
How issues get onto the government's to-do list
Kingdon's streams model: problems stream (conditions become problems), policy stream (solutions exist), politics stream (political will) must converge to open a 'policy window.' Issue salience: media coverage → public attention → political pressure. Crises open windows: 9/11 → Homeland Security, financial crisis → Dodd-Frank.
Incrementalism
Incrementalism: policy changes happen in small steps, not revolutionary leaps — status quo has enormous power
Incrementalism
Why radical policy change is rare — even when desired
Lindblom: policymakers lack information and time for comprehensive analysis → make small adjustments to existing policy (muddling through). Status quo bias: existing programs have organized beneficiaries who defend them. Sunk costs: previous investments make change harder. Path dependence: early choices constrain later options.
Regulatory Capture
Regulatory capture: regulated industries gain control of the agencies that regulate them
Regulatory Capture
When the regulator starts serving the regulated
Stigler's capture theory: over time, regulated industries use resources and expertise to influence regulatory agencies. Revolving door: agency staff move to industry jobs and vice versa. Industry has more sustained interest in regulatory decisions than dispersed public. Result: regulations serve industry interests rather than public interest.
States as Policy Laboratories
Federalism and policy: states as laboratories of democracy — policy experiments spread nationally
States as Policy Laboratories
How federalism enables policy innovation
Brandeis called states 'laboratories of democracy.' Policy innovations often start in states before going national: Massachusetts healthcare → ACA, California auto emissions standards, state minimum wage experiments. Race to the bottom: states may cut regulations to attract business. Race to the top: states compete to attract talent with better services.
Public Goods
Public goods: non-excludable + non-rival. Free rider problem → government must provide them.
Public Goods
Why markets underprovide certain goods — requiring government intervention
Non-excludable: can't prevent people from using it (national defense, clean air). Non-rival: one person's use doesn't reduce availability for others. Free rider problem: if can't exclude, people won't pay voluntarily → market won't produce enough → government must provide and fund through taxes.
When markets fail to account for effects on third parties
Negative externality: cost borne by third parties not in the transaction. Market overproduces → Pigouvian tax, cap-and-trade, regulation to internalize cost. Positive externality: benefit flows to third parties. Market underproduces → subsidy, public provision. Education: benefits beyond the individual → subsidized.
Policy Implementation
Implementation gap: what policy says vs what actually happens on the ground — street-level bureaucrats
Policy Implementation
The gap between policy intent and policy reality
Lipsky's street-level bureaucrats: teachers, police, social workers exercise significant discretion implementing policy. Implementation failure: unclear mandates, inadequate resources, multiple veto points, principal-agent problems. Top-down model: central control. Bottom-up: local actors adapt policy to context.