Economic and Social Welfare Policy Lesson

Visual representation of the quotes listed below.

What is Public Policy?

Clarke E. Cochran, et al.: The term public policy always refers to the actions of the government and the intentions that determine those actions.
Clarke E. Cochran, et al.: Public policy is the outcome of the struggle in government over who gets what.
Thomas Dye: Whatever governments choose to do or not do.
Charles L. Cochran and Eloise F. Malone: Public Policy consists of political decisions for implementing programs to achieve societal goals.
B. Guy Peters: Stated most simply, public policy is the sum of government activities, whether acting directly or through agents, as it has an influence on the life of citizens.

If an American is in need of emergency medical care, the first place that most seek treatment is through the emergency room at their nearest hospital. Even if the person has no medical insurance, they can be sure they will receive treatment if they go to the emergency room rather than a doctor. The reason they can count on this service is because the men and women in Congress have spent countless hours crafting public policies around health care that outline how providers will serve their patients.

Public policy is the means by which a government maintains order or addresses the needs of its citizens through actions defined by its constitution. If this definition sounds vague or confusing, it's likely because a public policy is generally not a tangible thing but rather is a term used to describe a collection of laws, mandates, or regulations established through a political process.

In the United States, for example, there have been recent changes to the health care system that now requires every citizen to have health insurance. After a series of debates, evaluations, and analysis, the federal government arrived at the conclusion that this would be in the best interest of citizens and began crafting bills, insurance mandates, and other pieces of legislation to establish a system for how Americans receive health care treatment. Through this legal and political process, they have created a new public policy, which contains several different parts in order for it to serve its purpose.

Economic Systems Matching Activity

Please complete the following economic systems matching activity.

Public Policy Presentation and Review

It is now time to watch the Public Policy presentation. Take notes as you watch the video and reach out to your instructor with any questions.

Please complete the following Public Policy Review Activity.

Economic and Social Welfare Review

What determines the policies that are set relating to the economy of a given country? Countries are often concerned about the health, or problems within their own borders; however, most also participate in international imports and exports. The economic performance of a country determines what policies are made both domestically and abroad and each government has its own approach when making economic policies. The measurement of economic performance of a country can be measured in a number of ways, including Gross Domestic Product, Gross National Product, GNP per capita, and Purchasing Power Parity. The economic performance of a country can include policies that involve employment, inflation, and monetary policies, and income distribution.

Citizens' social welfare needs include health, employment, family assistance, and education. States provide different levels of support in each area, and they display many different attitudes toward government responsibility for social welfare. Some measures of social welfare are literacy rates, distribution of income, life expectancy, and education levels. Two commonly used measures of social welfare are The Gini Index and the Human Development Index.

Choose each of the items below to complete the Economic Definitions Activity.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

All the goods and services produced by a country's economy in a given year.

Gross National Product (GNP)

Like GDP, but also includes income citizens earned outside the country.

GNP Per Capita

Divides the Gross National Product by the population of the country.

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

A figure like GNP, except that it takes into consideration what people can buy using their income in the local economy.

Please complete the following Measuring Social Welfare Activity.

Takeaway & Sendoff

Questions to Consider:

In what ways is economic performance measured?
How do economic performance measures correlate to policy-making?
What indicators tell us the poverty level of a country?

Write down your answers to the above questions and keep them for study purposes.

Dig Deeper

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