Same Problem, Different Policies

Marietta Anne Barretti

doi:10.18060/22603

Same Problem, Different Policies

Advances in Social Work ◽

10.18060/22603 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 39-61

Author(s):

Marietta Anne Barretti

Keyword(s):

Policy Analysis ◽

Social Workers ◽

Policy Making ◽

Social Constructionist ◽

Policy Framework ◽

Context Sensitive ◽

Policy Practice ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Problem Frames ◽

Static Conditions

Educators teaching policy analysis can choose from many available frameworks, varying in purpose and approach. These frameworks typically advise students to view policies as transient and context-sensitive, but to view the problems activating the policies as objective and static conditions. How problems are variably framed in policy relative to how students are advised to analyze them has not captured the profession’s interest. This article presents 1) an overview of policy analysis frameworks; 2) a summary of findings from a recent study investigating how social policy texts advise students to analyze problems and; 3) a social constructionist framework (matrix) that provides an historical and contextual view of social problems and policy responses. This Problem-to-Policy framework corrects the omissions in most frameworks by including the forces that contributed to a problem’s discovery and construction, while also identifying periods of silence when the problem endured yet faded from view. The author argues that this framework bolsters policy practice by 1) emphasizing those problem frames and contexts that historically led to progressive policies and 2) underscores the urgency for social workers to engage with affected populations in the initial (re)claiming and (re)framing of problems, rather than during the later policy-making stages when constructions have already presaged policy responses.

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A modelling tool for policy analysis to support the design of efficient and effective policy responses for complex public health problems

Implementation Science ◽

10.1186/s13012-015-0221-5 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Jo-An Atkinson ◽

Andrew Page ◽

Robert Wells ◽

Andrew Milat ◽

Andrew Wilson

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Policy Analysis ◽

Health Problems ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Effective Policy

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‘Feels like I'm doing it on my own’: Examining the Synchronicity between Policy Responses and the Circumstances and Experiences of Mortgage Borrowers in Arrears

Social Policy and Society ◽

10.1017/s1474746411000467 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 117-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alison Wallace

Keyword(s):

Policy Framework ◽

State Support ◽

Safety Nets ◽

Mortgage Debt ◽

Policy Responses ◽

The Uk ◽

New Evidence

The previous administration introduced several measures to prevent mortgage possessions, some of which were modestly effective. However, these hastily introduced initiatives were insufficient to bridge the gap between a fragmented policy framework and borrowers’ circumstances and experiences of managing mortgage debt. The present restructuring of welfare and regulation represents a unique window to address these long-standing policy omissions in relation to sustainable homeownership in the UK. However, in the context of weakening state support, it is uncertain how or indeed whether, the opportunity to reform mortgage safety nets will be grasped. This article reflects upon the continuing misalignment of policy with borrowers’ circumstances and experiences of mortgage arrears using new evidence from this downturn.

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In search of better opportunities: transnational social workers in the UK navigating the maze of global and social mobility

Transnational Social Work ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447333364.003.0008 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Shereen Hussein

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Social Workers ◽

Essential Element ◽

Work Practice ◽

Western World ◽

International Mobility ◽

Context Sensitive ◽

Level Of Training ◽

International Identity ◽

The Uk

Social workers are increasingly becoming global professionals, both in utilising their professional qualifications as a means to achieve international mobility, and in the expectation of gaining an internationally transferable set of skills. However, there is a continued dilemma in defining such professional international identity due to contradictory processes of ‘indigenisation’, or the extent to which social work practice fits local contexts; ‘universalism’, finding commonalities across divergent contexts; and ‘imperialism’ where western world-views are privileged over local and Indigenous cultural perspectives (Gray, 2005). Many regard social work to be especially context-sensitive in that a good understanding of language and cultural clues is an essential element in the ability of workers to perform their work effectively. In that sense, while global professional mobility facilitates transnational social work (Hanna and Lyons, 2014), social work is not yet a global ‘common project’ and clear differences remain at the level of training, qualifications and practice (Weiss-Gal and Welbourne, 2008; Hussein, 2011, 2014).

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UK-wide health policy under the Coalition

Dismantling the NHS? ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447330226.003.0007 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

David Hughes

Keyword(s):

Health Policy ◽

Northern Ireland ◽

Health Services ◽

Policy Making ◽

Social Care ◽

The Other ◽

Executive Orders ◽

Health Reforms ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Health And Social Care

A volume on health reforms under the Coalition must necessarily expand its focus beyond Westminster to consider the larger UK policy context. Legislation enacted in 1998 established devolved assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with power to make law or issue executive orders in certain specified areas, including health services. This meant that an English NHS overseen by the Westminster Parliament now existed alongside separate NHS systems accountable to devolved governments in the other UK countries. Thus, the major Coalition health reforms heralded by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 applied in the main to England only. However, devolved administrations needed to formulate appropriate policy responses that either maintained differences or moved closer to the English policies. This chapter describes the divergent approaches between the four UK NHS systems, but also sheds light on the nature of coalition policy making.

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Policy analysis in state governments in Mexico

Policy Analysis in Mexico ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447329152.003.0008 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Juan C. Olmeda

Keyword(s):

Policy Analysis ◽

Mexico City ◽

Policy Making ◽

State Level ◽

Executive Branch ◽

State Governments ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Mexican State ◽

Policy Making Process ◽

Mexican Politics

State governments have acquired a central role in Mexican politics and policy making during the last decades as a result of both democratization and decentralization. Nowadays state governments not only concentrate a significant portion of prerogatives and responsibilities in terms of service delivery but also control a substantial share of public spending. However, no systematic studies have been developed in order to understand how state governments function. This chapter provides an overview on how policies are crafted at the subnational (state) level in Mexico, the main actors taking place in the process and the way in which professional knowledge and advice influence policy makers. As it argues, the central role in the policy making process is played by the executive branch, being the governors the ones who have the final word in most important decisions. In addition, secretaries also concentrate power in particular policy areas. As a result of the lack of a professional civil service, however, a significant portion of policy analysis is performed by non-governmental actors (universities, NGOs and private firms). The chapter applies this framework to analyze a particular Mexican state, namely Mexico City.

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Happiness and Utility in Economic Thought—Or: What Can We Learn from Happiness Research for Public Policy Analysis and Public Policy Making?

Social Indicators Research ◽

10.1007/s11205-014-0654-2 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 121 (3) ◽

pp. 647-674 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Norbert Hirschauer ◽

Mira Lehberger ◽

Oliver Musshoff

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Policy Analysis ◽

Policy Making ◽

Economic Thought ◽

Public Policy Making ◽

Happiness Research ◽

Public Policy Analysis

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Crisis in the Eye of the Beholder

Comparative Political Studies ◽

10.1177/0010414008317950 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 41 (9) ◽

pp. 1179-1211 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Grigore Pop-Eleches

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

Debt Crisis ◽

Partisan Politics ◽

Economic Crises ◽

Context Sensitive ◽

Policy Responses ◽

International Environment ◽

Cross Country ◽

International Monetary Fund Program

This article analyzes the interaction between economic crises and partisan politics during International Monetary Fund program initiation in Latin America in the 1980s and Eastern Europe in the 1990s. The author argues that economic crises are at least in part in the eye of the beholder, and therefore policy responses reflect the interaction between crisis intensity and the government's partisan interpretation of the crisis, which in turn depends on the nature of the economic crisis and its broader regional and international environment. Using cross-country statistical evidence from the two regions, the article shows that certain types of crises, such as liquidity shortfalls, elicit similar responses across the ideological spectrum and regional contexts. By contrast, debt repayment and domestic crises are more prone to divergent ideological interpretations, but the extent of partisan divergence is context sensitive in that it occurred during the Latin American debt crisis but not in the post-communist transition.

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Advancing Discussion of Federal Faith-based Social Service Policies through Overview and Application of Established Health Services Research Models

Advances in Social Work ◽

10.18060/1952 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 484-509

Author(s):

Michelle D. Garner

Keyword(s):

Policy Analysis ◽

Social Workers ◽

Social Services ◽

Analysis Model ◽

Services Research ◽

Federal Policies ◽

Faith Based ◽

Narrow Scope ◽

Equity Policy ◽

Service Policies

Since the 1990s, federal policies have allowed public funds to support social services provided through pervasively faith-based organizations (FBOs). Public and academic discourse on these policies tends to be marked by limited data, narrow scope, and the lack of an appropriate analytic framework to adequately consider and critique the merits of the policies, as social workers are compelled to do. The goals of this study are to identify, and preliminarily apply, an established policy analysis model appropriate for use with FBO policy in order to progress discussion. Health service researchers Aday, Begley, Lairson, and Balkrishnan (2004) provide a theoretically based policy analysis framework, which is appropriate for this task and for use by social workers. Their effectiveness, efficiency, and equity policy analysis model is presented along with data and analysis intended to help frame and progress productive discussions on FBO policies within and beyond the profession.

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