Deck 5: Public Problems and Policy Alternatives

Question 1

Which of the following illustrates an operational measure of school quality?

A) parental comments
B) the number of courses offered at the school
C) the taxes available for education
D) standardized test scores

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following states wanted to enact a law that would entail requiring proof of immigration status?

A) Alabama
B) California
C) Nebraska
D) Colorado

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When developing policy alternatives to address a problem, the policymaker should examine ______, which refer(s) to how well the policy has worked in a state, pilot test, or other smaller scale attempt to implement it.

A) real-world or parallel situations
B) literature reviews
C) forecasting
D) implementation

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The policy design tools that rely on the premise that most people will behave because they have been told to do so are known as ______.

A) learning tools
B) capacity-building tools
C) hortatory tools
D) authority tools

Question 5

Undocumented immigrants constitute only about ______ of Alabama's workforce.

A) 2%
B) 4%
C) 6%
D) 8%

Question 6

Policy analysts study the nature of the problem. Which statement below best defines what this refers to?

A) the extent, magnitude, and causes of the problem
B) the operational measures of the problem
C) primary data collection
D) the evaluative criteria that should be applied to the problem

Question 7

Which of the following statements regarding the politics of problem definition is true?

A) Defining and measuring problem is merely an exercise in analysis.
B) There are fixed goals in the policy process.
C) Policy actors work together to agree on one definition.
D) Problem definition is the strategic representation of situations.

Question 8

Which of the following presidential candidates campaigned for building a wall?

A) Clinton
B) Trump
C) Romney
D) Bush

Question 9

Examining books, journals, and Internet sites regarding a particular problem or solution represents the use of the ______ technique of collecting information.

A) brainstorming
B) literature review
C) parallel situations
D) quick surveys

Question 10

Which of the following information sources would provide an initial overview of a subject or problem and would be a good place to begin the process of policy analysis?

A) a specialized journal on the topic
B) The American Statistical Index
C) The New York Times
D) an interview with a key policymaker

Question 11

______ are observable ways, such as test scores, to define a problem.

A) Cost-benefit analyses
B) Operational measures
C) Pragmatic measures
D) Policy alternatives

Question 12

Which creative thinking tool begins with an analysis of the status quo as a baseline?

A) analogy
B) brainstorming
C) no-action analysis
D) quick surveys

Question 13

Indicators of sustainability refer to ______ data that attempt to measure a community's progress toward the goal of sustainability.

A) capacity
B) quantitative
C) interview
D) estimated

Question 14

In an attempt to change the behavior or attitudes of citizens, government leaders often use ______ tools, which refer to making public addresses or speeches to exhort citizens to do something.

A) authority
B) hortatory
C) inducement
D) sanction

Question 15

There are an estimated ______ million illegal immigrants residing in the United States.

A) five
B) seven
C) 11
D) 15

Question 16

The case of immigration reform illustrates the importance of ______.

A) the policy tool of sanctions
B) risk analysis
C) a strong problem analysis
D) the policy tool of regulation

Question 17

______ refers to the careful consideration, during the policy formulation state, of the role of government "agents" and the "target population."

A) Policy design
B) Problem analysis
C) Parallel situation analysis
D) Quantitative data

Question 18

Governments may invest in training programs for their own staff or for the public. This policy design tool is referred to as ______.

A) capacity-building tools
B) authority tools
C) creative thinking
D) inducements

Question 19

Which of the following illustrates an operational measure of the safety of a community?

A) index crime rates, such as violent and property crimes
B) automobile crashes per capita
C) how safe residents report that they feel on a survey
D) all of these

Question 20

______ involves finding solutions to a problem by spontaneously sharing ideas without criticizing or evaluating them.

A) Brainstorming
B) No-action analysis
C) Analogy and metaphor
D) Literature review

Question 21

In the early 1990s, the state of Wisconsin pilot tested a variety of welfare reform programs such as Workfare and Learnfare. These programs helped the federal government reform its major welfare program in 1996. This is an example of ______.

A) authority policy tools
B) taxing and spending
C) the politics of problem definition
D) use of real-world situations to develop policies

Question 22

The Obama health-care reforms were approved in ______.

A) 2008
B) 2009
C) 2010
D) 2011

Question 23

Statistical information can be displayed in which of the following ways?

A) pie charts
B) line figures
C) bar charts
D) all of these

Question 24

The poverty line for a family of four is higher in which of the following states?

A) Hawaii and Alaska
B) California and Hawaii
C) New York and Washington
D) Florida and California

Question 25

Toll roads require motorists to pay for the use of the roads. Local or state governments that have toll roads are using which policy tool?

A) privatizing
B) rationing
C) subsidizing
D) charging fees

Question 26

Many school districts hire out private businesses to maintain school buildings or provide school lunches. In this case, the districts are using which policy tool to meet their needs?

A) privatizing
B) rationing
C) subsidizing
D) charging fees

Question 27

Policy tools that are focused on either increasing the availability of a good or reducing the need for that good would be looking at a problem from which perspective?

A) effective or efficient
B) supply and demand
C) liberal or conservative
D) internal and external

Question 28

The National Park Service (NPS) issues a limited number of backpacking permits at some parks. What type of policy tool is this?

A) subsidizing
B) rationing
C) contracting out
D) providing market incentives

Question 29

In 2017, the U.S. government reported that ______ million Americans were poor.

A) 23.2
B) 37.6
C) 39.7
D) 51.9

Question 30

Explain the politics of problem definition.

Question 31

When the government encourages you to buy a home by allowing you to take an interest deduction, it is using which policy instrument?

A) regulating
B) educating
C) taxing and spending
D) charging fees

Question 32

The Affordable Care Act (Obama's health-care law) included funding for many pilot projects and special studies that will be used to select future policy options to use on a more widespread basis. The funding of these efforts is an example of the policy tools called ______.

A) ration
B) hortatory tools
C) conduct research
D) use of market incentives

Question 33

What does the beginning of a policy study involve?

Question 34

Why is contextual data considered essential?

Question 35

What are the advantages of looking at parallel situations?

Question 36

Cities that use "visioning" exercises to get citizens to think about what they desire for future development in their community are using ______ to compare policy alternatives.

A) a case study
B) a parallel situation
C) a literature review
D) an ideal situation

Question 37

A city that encourages citizens to serve on a community sustainability advisory panel so that they will develop greater awareness and engagement is using a ______ policy tool.

A) hortatory
B) regulatory
C) learning
D) capacity

Question 38

What are operational measures?

Question 39

Providing direct payments or benefits to individuals is an example of ______.

A) regulating
B) subsidizing
C) educating
D) taxing and spending

Question 40

Local governments often hire nonprofit organizations to provide some of the services government provides, such as treatment for drug addiction or maintenance of trails. These are examples of ______.

A) contracting out
B) subsidizing
C) regulating
D) educating

Question 41

What does the gross domestic product (GDP) measure?

Question 42

What are policy tools?

Question 43

Identify a particular public policy problem and give an example of an operational measure that reflects it. Explain why your measure is appropriate to that problem.

Question 44

Explain the process of conducting a quick survey.

Question 45

What are some of the risks of using quantitative data?

Question 46

Identify different policy design tools.

Question 47

What does a no-action analysis begin with?

Question 48

What is the purpose of a literature review?

Question 49

What is the first step in policymaking?

Question 50

Based on your study of policy tools in Chapter 5, choose an example policy issue to work with (such as illegal immigration, cell phone use while driving, reforming health care, reduction of carbon emissions, or your own). Discuss different policy tools available and how they could be applied to this problem, explaining what they are and how they work.

Question 51

What does the term policy design mean?

Question 52

How do policy analysts come up with policy proposals? Describe several methods or approaches that policymakers use to develop policy proposals.

Question 53

What is issue framing?

Question 54

Describe the steps and issues involved in analyzing a problem and why it is difficult.

Question 55

Why is defining the problem an essential step in the policymaking process?

Question 56

What are some examples of forecasting?

Question 57

What is involved in problem analysis? Explain how trying to define a simple problem is often political. Give your own example of analyzing a problem (such as illegal immigration).

Question 58

Identify and describe different policy instruments that rely on financial means to prompt action by citizens or corporations.

Question 59

Give an example of a policy tool that government uses or could use. Why might policymakers choose to use these tools to deal with a particular public problem?

Question 60

Provide an example of how an issue can be framed.

Question 61

How is the choice of policy tools determined?

Question 62

What are capacity-building tools?