Public Policy

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Political scientist have developed different conceptual framework to study different types of politics (and the consequences for public policy) across different policy types. Discuss one of these conceptual frameworks with specific public policy examples.

There exists a different type of policy concepts from which public policy is designed and implemented into public law. This paper will discuss the distributive policies and highlight their consequences.

One type of policy is regulatory policy. As the name suggests, this is a policy made to regulate a certain process or activity. This kind of policy takes a long time in the drafting stage because more parties are involved in making the policy (Kagda & Koh 2009). These policies are created to bring a sense of control through creation of regulatory bodies and institutions. An example of regulatory policies is the policies that govern different professions. Through the creation of professional bodies, the code of conduct for all professionals in the particular field is set. All professionals, individuals practicing a particular profession are required to adhere to the code of conduct.

Regulatory policy could be in the form of competitive regulatory policy or protective regulatory policy (Kagda & Koh 2009). Competitive regulatory policy is designed to set limits to a process or activity. For example a policy set to limit the supply of particular goods and services. When the provision of certain goods and services has a limit, the field is regulated and all players must adhere to this. Such policies are not well known by members of the public since not all people are involved in the supply chain. The policies are only known to the business stakeholders involved.

A protective regulatory policy on the other hand is designed to protect a society group from receiving unworthy goods or services or being harmed during the business transaction. These include policies that protect consumers of certain products (Kagda & Koh 2009). The policies are designed and implemented by oversight bodies like consumer organizations. The policy ensures that the consumer is protected and that no business organization takes advantage of the consumer. Such policies also exist to protect the environment from being harmed by business organizations.

The formulation of such policies involves two stakeholders, the regulatory agent on behalf of the government or the consumers and the organization. The process of coming up with these regulations is a long one and it involves negotiations between both stakeholders (Kagda & Koh 2009). The regulatory agency negotiates to bring fairness and equity in the field while the organization negotiates to have favorable conditions to practice business. Legislature may also at times intervene in the policy making process to ensure that the process is free from corruption and that the interests of the public are taken good care of.

A major characteristic of regulatory policy is that once the policy is created, there are penalties to those that are concerned but do not adhere to the conditions (Kagda & Koh 2009). Penalties could range from termination of a contract or suspension from practicing a particular profession. Regulatory policies are designed to bring out competition in that field and ensure that all practices are ethical and fair. Receiving a penalty for lack of adhering to the set code of conduct would tarnish the name of an organization or individual thus people follow regulations.

References

Kagda, F., & Koh, M. (2009). Hong Kong (2nd ed.). New York: Marshall Cavendish

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