Editing Public policy (section)

=== Responsibility of policymakers ===
Each system is influenced by different public problems and issues, and has different stakeholders; as such, each requires different public policy.<ref name="Public Policy: The 21st Century Perspective">{{cite journal|last=Thei|first=Geurts |title=Public Policy Making: The 21st Century Perspective|year=2010}}</ref>

In public policy making, numerous individuals, corporations, non-profit organizations and interest groups compete and collaborate to influence policymakers to act in a particular way.<ref name="Kilpatrick">Kilpatrick</ref> Therefore, "the failure [of public policies] is possibly not only the politician's fault because he/she is never the lone player in the field of decision making. There is a multitude of actors pursuing their goals, sometimes complementary, often competing or contradictory ones."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Potůček |first=Martin |title=Public policy: a comprehensive introduction |publisher=Karolinum Press |year=2018 |location=Prague |pages=83–84}}</ref> In this sense, public policies can be the result of actors involved, such as interest organization's, and not necessarily the will of the public.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Page |first1=Benjamin I. |last2=Shapiro |first2=Robert Y. |date=March 1983 |title=Effects of Public Opinion on Policy |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/effects-of-public-opinion-on-policy/856B172A7DC19A7EB72C569A7F6F2104 |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=175–190 |doi=10.2307/1956018 |jstor=1956018 |s2cid=143782308 |issn=0003-0554  |access-date=2022-12-21 |archive-date=2022-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221160736/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/effects-of-public-opinion-on-policy/856B172A7DC19A7EB72C569A7F6F2104 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burstein |first=Paul |date=2003 |title=The impact of public opinion on public policy: A review and an agenda |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290305600103 |journal=  Political Research Quarterly|volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=30|doi=10.1177/106591290305600103 |s2cid=154497611 }}</ref> Furthermore, public policy is also affected by social and economic conditions, prevailing political values, the publics mood and the structure of government<ref>Kraft, Michael E., and Scott R. Furlong. Public policy: Politics, analysis, and alternatives. Cq Press, 2019.</ref> which all play a role in the complexity of public policy making.

The large set of actors in the public policy process, such as politicians, civil servants, lobbyists, domain experts, and industry or sector representatives, use a variety of tactics and tools to advance their aims, including advocating their positions publicly, attempting to educate supporters and opponents, and mobilizing allies on a particular issue.<ref name="Dimensions of State Politics, Economics, and Public Policy"/> The use of effective tools and instruments determines the outcome of a policy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hupe |first1=Peter L |last2=Hill |first2=Michael J |date=April 2016 |title='And the rest is implementation.' Comparing approaches to what happens in policy processes beyond Great Expectations |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0952076715598828 |journal=Public Policy and Administration |language=en |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=103–121 |doi=10.1177/0952076715598828 |s2cid=153391005 |issn=0952-0767 |access-date=2022-12-21 |archive-date=2022-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221160741/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0952076715598828 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Many actors can be important in the public policy process, but government officials ultimately choose public policy in response to the public issue or problem at hand. In doing so, government officials are expected to meet [[public sector]] ethics and take the needs of all project stakeholders into account.<ref name="Public Policy: The 21st Century Perspective"/>

It is however worth noting that what public policy is put forward can be influenced by the political stance of the party in power. Following the 2008/2009 financial crisis, David Cameron's Conservative party looked to implement a policy of austerity in 2010 after winning the general election that year, to shore up the economy and diminish the UK's national debt.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stanley|first=Liam|date=2016-03-07|title=Legitimacy gaps, taxpayer conflict, and the politics of austerity in the UK|journal=The British Journal of Politics and International Relations|volume=18|issue=2|pages=389–406|doi=10.1177/1369148115615031|s2cid=156681378|issn=1369-1481|url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/88642/1/Stanley%20BJPIR%20article%20July%202015.pdf|access-date=2020-01-02|archive-date=2021-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129193220/https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/88642/1/Stanley%20BJPIR%20article%20July%202015.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Whilst the Conservatives saw reducing the national debt as an absolute priority, the Labour Party, since the effects of Conservative austerity became apparent, have slated the policy for its 'needless' pressure on the working classes and those reliant on welfare, their 2019 election manifesto stating "Tory cuts [have] pushed our public services to breaking point" and that "the Conservatives have starved our education system of funding".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/rebuild-our-public-services/|title=Rebuild our Public Services|website=The Labour Party|access-date=2019-12-31|archive-date=2020-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126120608/https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/rebuild-our-public-services/|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, in the US, Members of Congress have observed that partisan rancour, ideological disputes, and decreased willingness to compromise on policies have made policy making far more difficult than it was only a decade ago.<ref>Davidson, Roger H., Walter J. Oleszek, Frances E. Lee, and Eric Schickler. Congress and Its Members. 17th ed. CQ Press. 2020</ref> These are good examples of how varying political beliefs can impact what is perceived as paramount for the electorate.

Since societies have changed in the past decades, the public policy making system changed too. In the 2010s, public policy making is increasingly goal-oriented, aiming for measurable results and goals, and decision-centric, focusing on decisions that must be taken immediately.<ref name="Public Policy: The 21st Century Perspective"/>

Furthermore, mass communications and technological changes such as the widespread availability of the Internet have caused the public policy system to become more complex and interconnected.<ref name="The Process and Effects of mass communication">{{cite book|last=Schramm|first=Wilbur|title=The Process and Effects of mass communication|date=165|isbn=978-0-252-00197-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/processeffectso00wilb|publisher=Urbana, University of Illinois Press}}</ref> This is because there is a new level of scrutiny which the 'tabloid society' provides of the decisions made by politicians and policy makers, often concentrating on the 'people story' side of these decisions.<ref>Bovaird, Tony, and Elke Löffler. "The changing context of public policy." In Public management and governance, pp. 13-26. Routledge, 2003</ref> The changes pose new challenges to the current public policy systems and pressures leaders to evolve to remain effective and efficient.<ref name="Public Policy: The 21st Century Perspective"/>

Public policies come from all governmental entities and at all levels: legislatures, courts, bureaucratic agencies, and executive offices at national, local and state levels. On the federal level, public policies are laws enacted by Congress, executive orders issued by the president, decisions handed down by the US Supreme Court, and regulations issued by bureaucratic agencies.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Public Policy: Continuity and Change|last=Wilson|first=Carter|publisher=Waveland Press|year=2006|isbn=1-4786-3671-8|location=Illinois|pages=18}}</ref>

On the local, public policies include city ordinances, fire codes, and traffic regulations. They also take the form of written rules and regulations of city governmental departments: the police, fire departments, street repair, or building inspection. On the state level, public policies involve laws enacted by the state legislatures, decisions made by state courts, rules developed by state bureaucratic agencies, and decisions made by governors.<ref name=":1" />