Deck 16: Public Policy and Public Administration

Question 1

According to the pluralist perspective, public ________.

A) policies reflect the unequal power relations in a society
B) servants are devoted to serving the public interest
C) decision makers try to develop policies that satisfy a wide variety of groups
D) servants act so as to enhance their own position, privileges, and power

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Who developed the term bureaucracy?

A) Baron de Grimm
B) Baron von Gaugh
C) Max Weber
D) John Watkins

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to state-centered theory ________.

A) public policies reflect the unequal power relations in a society
B) politicians try to develop policies that satisfy a wide variety of groups
C) public servants act to enhance their own position, privileges, and power
D) public servants are important because of their expertise and permanence

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Keynesianism involves government ____________.

A) keeping a balanced budget
B) reducing regulation of the economy
C) increasing spending during downturns
D) reducing inflation

Question 5

Income inequality has grown in Canada and the United States to the point that in 2012 the average CEO of the largest US corporations received earnings that were _______ times the earnings of an average employee.

A) 20
B) 104
C) 354
D) 798

Question 6

Which of the following statements about income inequality in recent decades is NOT correct?

A) the United States has one of the highest poverty rates among developed countries
B) The bottom two-fifths of the population in some countries have seen their real income decline
C) income inequality in Canada has decreased in the past two decades
D) African countries lose $14 billion a year in tax revenue as a result of the transfer of money to tax havens

Question 7

In 2016, the ___________ revealed the systemic use of offshore tax havens and implicated some world leaders including the prime minister of Iceland.

A) Panama Papers
B) Subprime Loan Crisis
C) Wikileaks
D) Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

Question 8

The Affordable Care Act, 2010 is an attempt to move toward universal access to medical care in the United States that is to be funded by _________.

A) tax-based financing
B) single-payer public system
C) two-tier healthcare
D) both public and private plans

Question 9

Which influential American economist argued that government should have a balanced budget?

A) Adam Smith
B) Milton Friedman
C) John Maynard Keynes
D) George W. Bush

Question 10

What action did the US government take following the financial crisis of 2008?

A) renegotiated global trade agreements
B) raised taxes and financial fees
C) raised interest rates to control inflation
D) bailed out banks and financial institutions

Question 11

Critics of the foreign investment and protection agreement between Canada and China claim that it threatens Canadian laws concerning all of the following areas EXCEPT:

A) environmental protection and conservation
B) corporate espionage
C) labour rights
D) Aboriginal treaties

Question 12

What theorist argued for a social contract in which people agreed to establish government with the purpose of protecting life, liberty, and property?

A) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) Thomas Hobbes
D) John Locke

Question 13

According to neo-Marxist theory, ________.

A) public policies reflect the unequal power relations in a society
B) politicians try to develop policies that satisfy a wide variety of groups
C) public servants act to enhance their own position, privileges, and power
D) public servants are important because of their expertise and permanence

Question 14

According to public choice theory, public servants ________.

A) act on what they perceive to be the common good
B) are devoted to serving the public interest
C) are more dynamic and efficient that private sector employees
D) act to enhance their own position, privileges, and power

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT typically associated with the welfare state?

A) Education
B) Availability of reasonable levels of housing
C) Income assistance
D) Private charities

Question 16

Which of the following reasons is correct in explaining why governments are slow or unwilling to create determined and effective policies combatting climate change?

A) Often costly to achieve
B) Science is not compelling on the subject
C) Technology does not exist to replace fossil fuels
D) Governments waiting for public to voluntarily reduce their environmental impact

Question 17

Which world leader argued in favour of establishing loans to governments in economic trouble to prevent currency collapse in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 financial crisis?

A) Silvio Berlusconi
B) Barack Obama
C) David Cameron
D) Angela Merkel

Question 18

The US government granted BP a license to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico without the environmental assessment required under the National Environmental Policy Act by issuing a _________.

A) categorical exemption
B) waiver of liability
C) legislated oversight
D) grant in aid

Question 19

Who developed the idea that government could smooth out the ups and downs of the free-market economy?

A) John Maynard Keynes
B) David Riccado
C) Milton Friedman
D) Adam Smith

Question 20

In Canada, the fight for free, public medical care insurance was led by ________.

A) Pierre Trudeau
B) Jean Chretien
C) John Diefenbaker
D) Tommy Douglas

Question 21

Public choice theory is based on the assumption that individuals always pursue their own self-interest.

Question 22

Germany has been able to largely replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources for electricity generation.

Question 23

What are four general theories for the analysis of public perspective?

Question 24

Public servants are expected to give partisan advice to Cabinet ministers based on their political ideology.

Question 25

What term describes the use of new methods to administer government programs that might include either contracting out government activities to private business or establishing partnerships with businesses or voluntary organizations?

A) rationalization
B) alternative service delivery
C) corporatism
D) rational bureaucracy

Question 26

Explain the role of a deputy minister.

Question 27

Bureaucratic organization is often viewed as fast moving, flexible, and highly efficient.

Question 28

Brazil established a basic income for all citizens on the condition that they send children to school and have them vaccinated.

Question 29

A study conducted by the International Monetary Fund concluded that income inequality provides an important incentive for individuals to pursue education, work hard, and to save and invest.

Question 30

Max Weber was concerned with powerful bureaucratic organizations controlled by senior officials that would dominate the governments.

Question 31

What are the main criticisms of government bureaucracy?

Question 32

In Canada, who is responsible for the day-to-day running of a ministerial department?

A) the prime minister
B) the cabinet secretary
C) the deputy minister
D) a member of parliament

Question 33

After a law has been passed by the Canadian Parliament, who is typically most involved in recommending how implementation is going to be conducted?

A) public servants within a department
B) Cabinet minister
C) Privy Council Office
D) Senate

Question 34

In New Zealand, administrative costs increased and coordination of public services became more difficult after the adoption of new public management.

Question 35

Why are free trade agreements often subject to controversy?

Question 36

John Maynard Keynes did not advocate "balanced budgets" for government

Question 37

Briefly explain the difference between Hobbes and Locke on the reasons to establish government.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of new public management as applied to government administration?

A) Desire to reduce size of public service
B) Decentralized structures with greater managerial autonomy
C) Advocating a greater role for the public service in providing policy advice to government
D) More competition to provide public services between private and public organizations

Question 39

The use of affirmative action policies to create a civil service that includes a proportionate number of women and disadvantaged minority groups is described as a(n) _________.

A) agenda setting
B) excess of political correctness
C) representative bureaucracy
D) political patronage

Question 40

BP, a major petroleum company, has made requests to the Canadian government to reduce the environmental regulations for Arctic drilling.

Question 41

Briefly describe the increasing degree of economic inequality in the world and explain some of the causes.

Question 42

What are some criticisms of the welfare state?

Question 43

Explain new public management. What are some of the problems with its application to government?