The document discusses 9 approaches to policy analysis: 1. Process approach - Examines stages of the policy process. 2. Substantive approach - Focuses on a particular policy area like health, education. 3. Logical-positivist approach - Uses scientific methods, theories and data to examine causes and consequences of policy. 4. Econometric approach - Applies economic theories to understand behavior of politicians using rational choice theory. 5. Phenomenological approach - Analyzes events through intuitive understanding rather than rational processes. 6. Participatory approach - Examines role of multiple actors in policymaking including local communities. 7. Normative approach - Prescribes what policy

1. Chapter two:
Approaches to Policy Analysis /የፖሊሲ ትንተና አቀራረብ
 Process approach/ሂደታዊ
 Substantive approach/ተጨባጭ
 Logical-positivist approach/ሎጂካዊ-ፖዚቲቭ
 Econometric approach
 Phenomenological ( Postpositivist ) approach
 Participatory approach/አተሳታፊ
 Normative approach/መደበኛ
 Ideological approach/ርዕዮታዊ
 Historical approach/ታሪካዊ

2. Approaches to policy analysis
• Approaches to policy analysis refers to the various
ways analysts go about “doing” policy analysis.
• Are often based on one’s primary objective for
conducting policy analysis.
1. Process approach
- Aims at examining a part of the policy process.
- The policy process analysis is considered the most
commonly applied approach to identify the stages in
the policy process and to analyzing the
determinants/ጠቋሚዎች of each particular policy stage.

3. The policy process
Problem
identification
Agenda
Setting
Policy
formulation
Policy
adoption
Implementati
on
Evaluation
Policy
Termination
Policy Change

4. Cont…
• policy analysis is important at every stage in general
and critical at some of the stage
2. Substantive approach
• Focuses on specialization in a particular area. For
instance;
– Welfare policy analysts
– Social policy analysts
– Environmental policy analysts
– Defense policy analysts
– Economic policy analysts
– Foreign policy analysts
– National security policy analysts

5. • The individuals may stay within the context of
single substantive area for a much of their
professional careers;
• Or alternatively they may delve into policy in a
particular area for a short time and later move
onto another policy area
• Earlier studies concluded that health and natural
resources/energy/environmental policy studies
were the most studied areas of interest during
the period 1975-1984

6. • According to the present studies of (leading
journals of political science), the most often
studied areas from a substantive perspective
are:
– Economic policy (14.5%)
– Science/technology policy (14.1%) and
– Foreign policy (13.7%)
• However, the substantive areas that attract
the most interest may well change over time

7. Cont…
• Some policy scientists argue that expertise with in
“substantive” area is highly desirable and gives one
much more credibility than a “generic” policy analyst
and
health policy the other
– Do you think substantive knowledge is important?

8. 3. Logical Positivism Approach
• Also called Behavioral approach or Scientific
approach
• Advocates the use of theories/models, hypothesis
testing, hard data and statistical data for policy
analysis
• Its goal is:
– to replace all philosophical "knowledge" with
knowledge in the image of science or
– to examine the causes and consequences of policy
using scientifc methods

9. Cont…
- Began with the “behavioral revolution” in social
science after WWII and has been dominant
epistemological approach in political science for long
time (over 50 years).
• Logical positivism’s view of knowledge:
– the only real knowledge is scientific knowledge;
– by a process of logical analysis scientific
knowledge can be reduced to symbolic formulas
• Some criticize this approach for it considers the
policy process as a “rational project”

10. 4. Econometric Approach
• Also called Public Choice Approach or Political
Economy Approach
• It seeks to understand and predict the behavior of
politicians and bureaucrats in the polity by utilizing
analytical techniques developed from economics,
based on the postulate of rational choice.
• Rational choice theory focuses on what choice human
beings make in order to maximize utility.
• In this approach, self-centered individuals are taken
as the principal actors of the decision making.

11. Cont…
• The approach mainly emphasizes individual
preferences and it positions them in to a situation
known as “logroll”.
• Considers this as behavior of the majorities in order
to ride freely to command government actions.
• Criticized for being incomplete and narrow in its
assumptions about human nature and political power.
• That humans are also altruistic and are occasionally
motivated to serve the public interest.

12. 5. Postpositivist Approach
• Also called Phenomenological or naturalistic
approach
• Recent years have seen a growing disenchantment
with the utility of scientific methods including
(logical positivism and econometrics) in the study of
public policy
• It analyzes events through an intuitive process
(instinctive knowing / without the use of rational
process)
• The post-positivist believes that the goal of science is
to getting it right about reality

13. Cont…
• It recognizes that observations and measurements are
inherently imperfect and hence the need to measure
phenomena in many ways.
• The post-positivists also believe that all scientists
(and everyone else, for that matter) are inherently
biased by their cultural experiences, world views, and
so on.
• Most post-positivists are constructivists who believe
that we each construct our view of the world based on
our perceptions of it.

14. Contrasting positivist and Naturalistic Axioms
Axioms about Positivist Paradigm Naturalist Paradigm
The nature of reality Reality is single, tangible, and
fragmentable
Realities are multiple,
constructed and holistic
The relationship between the
knower to the known
Knower and known are
independent, a dualism
Knower and known are
interactive, inseparable
The possibility of
generalization
Time- and context-free
generalizations (nomothetic
statements) are possible
Only time- and context
bound working hypotheses
(idiographic statements) are
possible
The possibility of causal
linkages
There are real causes,
temporally precedent to or
simultaneous with their
effects
All entities are in a state of
mutual simultaneous
shaping, so that it is
impossible to distinguish
causes from effects
The role of values Inquiry is value-free Inquiry is value-bound

15. 6. Participatory Approach
• To examine the role of multiple actors in
policymaking.
• Stress the importance of taking local people’s
perspectives into account and giving them a greater
say in policy making process.
• Closer to what Harold Laswell called “the policy
sciences of democracy” in which an extended
population of affected citizens would be involved in
the formulation and implementation of public policy
through a series of discursive dialogues.

16. Cont…
• Multiple actors decide together how to measure
results and what actions should be taken
– Local people,
– community organizations,
– NGOs and
– other stakeholder agencies
• Critics of this approach, on the other hand, often
argue that increased citizen involvement will lead to
an increased in group dissensus then delays

17. 7. Normative Approach
• Also known as Prescriptive Approach
• seeks to identify what action should be taken.
• It is an approach that incorporates subjectivity within
its analyses. Normative statements are opinion based,
so they cannot be proved or disproved
• It is the study or presentation of "what ought to be"
rather than what actually is.

18. 8. Ideological Approach/ሃሳባዊ
• To analyze from a liberal or conservative point of
view
• There are two visions/ideological approaches:
– Constrained/conservative perspective:የተገደበ/ወግ
አጥባቂ እይታ; the primary constraints come from
within the individual rather than being imposed
from environment outside the individual; and
– Unconstrained/ liberal perspective: ያልተገደበ/ ሊበራል
እይታ;
– constraints are imposed by the environment
outside of the individual. Human nature is no
constraint.

19. 9. Historical Approach
• To examine policy over time
• Why study history, if our goal is to design the future?
• “Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it”
• So, Historical approach entails interpretation and
understanding of various historical events, documents
and processes.

20. “Summary” Focus area for Exam
Type of Approach Primary Objective
1. Process approach/process of each Stage/
2. Substantive approach
3. Logical-positivist approach
4. Econometric approach
5. Phenomenological ( Postpositivist )
approach
6. Participatory approach
7. Normative approach የተለምዶ
8. Ideological approach
9. Historical approach
1. To examine a part of the policy process
2. To examine a substantive area/ ተጨባጭ አካባቢ
3. To examine the causes and consequences
of policy using scientifc methods
4. To test economic theories
5. To analyze events through an intuitive
process/ በሚታወቅ ሂደት በኩል ክስተቶችን ለመተንተን
6. To examine the role of multiple actors in
policymaking
7. To prescribe policy to decisons makers or
others
8. To analyze from a liberal or conservative
point of view
9. To examine policy over time

21. Dubnick and Bardes’ approaches to policy analysis
Type of policy
analyst
Public policy
problem
Motivation Approach Relevant training
Scientist Theoretic Search for
theory,
regularities,
“truth”
Scientific
method,
objectivity, pure
analytics
Basic research
methods, canons
of social science
research
Professional Design Improvement of
policy and
policymaking
Utilization of
knowledge,
strategic
Strategic,
benefit- cost
analysis, queuing
simulation,
decision analysis
Political Value
maximization
Advocacy of
policy positions
Rhetoric Gathering
“useful”
evidence,
“effective”
presentation

22. Administrative Application Effective and
efficient policy
implementatio
n
Strategic,
managerial
Strategic, same as
professional with
stress on those
talents useful in
implementation
Personal Contention Concern for
policy impacts
on life
Mixed Use of many
models and
techniques from
other approaches,
less sophisticated

23. To be a better policy analyst…
1. Gain historical and comparative perspectives.
To the view of the political scientist, Yehezkel Dror
(1984), “Present and emerging realities cannot be
understood and handled within slices of time-space”
(pp.13-22).
2. Know the policymaking realities better
3. Study one’s society in depth
4. Take up grand policy issues and work on diverse
issues

24. Cont..
5. Move into meta policymaking (improving
policymaking rather than explaining policymaking)
6. Build an appropriate philosophy of knowledge and
action
7. Broaden one’s methodology and experience
8. Multiplying one’s disciplinary bases and
9. Being careful about professional ethics

25. Reflective exercises
1. From the discussed approaches, which one(s) do you
find the most compelling as your preferred approach to
policy analysis? በጣም አሳማኝን
2. One of the current debates with in the policy studies is
over the merits of a positivist approach versus a
naturalistic approach. What are the implications of
each approach for the utilization of policy analysis by
decision makers?
3. Considering process policy analysis approach, explain
its unique advantage in view of opting for a new policy
or the one that has undergone implementation?
4. We have seen what the Kingdon’s metaphor/ዘይቤ
streams model is about. Which approach of policy
analysis do you think he has used.