Deck 13: Public Policywhat Government Does

Question 1

Policies that favor private,nongovernmental solutions to problems are often referred to as

A)social policies.
B)liberal policies.
C)conservative policies.
D)pluralist policies.
E)agenda policies.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Social Security benefits for retired persons are an example of

A)regulatory policy.
B)distributive policy.
C)redistributive policy.
D)substantive policy.
E)foreign policy.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A rally of 40,000 people in Washington,D.C.,in an effort to draw attention to the need for tougher child support laws,illustrates the __________ stage of the policymaking process.

A)issue identification
B)policy formulation
C)policy implementation
D)policy evaluation
E)policy coherence

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Within the context of policymaking,public opinion is an example of

A)past policies.
B)environmental factors.
C)ideological conflict.
D)budgetary conflict.
E)foreign policy.

Question 5

What is the correct sequence in the stages of the policymaking process?

A)Agenda setting,policy formulation,policy adoption,policy implementation,issue identification,policy evaluation
B)Issue identification,agenda setting,policy formulation,policy implementation,policy evaluation,policy adoption
C)Issue identification,agenda setting,policy formulation,policy adoption,policy implementation,policy evaluation
D)Policy formulation,agenda setting,issue identification,policy implementation,policy adoption,policy evaluation
E)Policy formulation,agenda setting,issue identification,policy adoption

Question 6

Which of the following best describes Social Security reform?

A)Social Security has been reformed by cutting benefits several times.
B)George W.Bush successfully reformed Social Security by partially privatizing the program.
C)Social Security reform was the hallmark legislation passed during Obama's first two years.
D)A major reform of Social Security was enacted in the 1980s in order to ensure financial solvency for the next century.
E)Reform efforts have been few and generally unsuccessful.

Question 7

The __________ agenda covers all issues that are generally recognized as deserving of public attention and are within the legitimate jurisdiction of government.

A)substantive
B)systematic
C)institutional
D)issue
E)political

Question 8

Which public policy model believes policies are made by a relatively small group of highly influential leaders who share common outlooks and goals?

A)Group theory
B)Elite theory
C)Corporatism
D)Subgovernments
E)Rational choice

Question 9

If the government were to announce that increased tax revenues will be used to provide more welfare benefits for the poor,this would be an example of a(n)

A)regulatory policy.
B)distributive policy.
C)redistributive policy.
D)procedural policy.
E)implementation policy.

Question 10

Societies made up of large numbers of social,ethnic,religious,and economic groups that put pressure on government to make policies that favor their interests illustrate

A)corporatism.
B)group theory.
C)elite theory.
D)subgovernments.
E)iron triangles.

Question 11

Public policy is a product of competition among groups.This is an example of

A)corporatism.
B)rational choice.
C)elite theory.
D)subgovernments.
E)group theory.

Question 12

The __________ agenda covers only those issues that are being seriously considered by policymakers,such as a bill before Congress.

A)policy
B)issue
C)systematic
D)institutional
E)nongovernmental

Question 13

Between 1993 and 1997,the nation's annual budget deficits

A)increased at first,then declined.
B)declined at first,then increased.
C)steadily increased.
D)steadily declined.
E)remained stable.

Question 14

The institution charged with implementing monetary policy through managing the nation's money supply is the

A)Federal Reserve.
B)Department of Treasury.
C)Office of Management and Budget.
D)Internal Revenue Service.
E)Comptroller of the Currency.

Question 15

In 2011,the House of Representatives passed a bill that reaffirmed "In God We Trust" as the national motto,despite the fact that Congress had already made it the national motto in 1956.Barack Obama complained that this bill was a distraction from more pressing economic issues.This bill illustrates __________.

A)distributive policy.
B)redistributive policy.
C)material policy.
D)symbolic policy.
E)substantive policy.

Question 16

Professional organizations of physicians and lawyers establish licensing standards for their fields,a power that is delegated to these groups by state government.This is an example of

A)elite theory.
B)group theory.
C)corporatism.
D)subgovernments.
E)rational choice.

Question 17

In the policy formulation stage of the policymaking process,

A)consequences of the policy are measured.
B)policy is converted into a public program.
C)proposals are developed for dealing with the issue.
D)efforts are made to gain enough public support.
E)implementation occurs.

Question 18

Which part of the policymaking process starts after a decision has been made and ends when the goals of the policy have been achieved?

A)Agenda setting
B)Policy adoption
C)Policy implementation
D)Policy formulation
E)Policy representation

Question 19

A congressional hearing to study the effectiveness of food inspection laws illustrates the __________ stage of the policymaking process.

A)issue identification
B)agenda setting
C)policy adoption
D)policy evaluation
E)policy implementation

Question 20

The Securities and Exchange Commission,which attempts to protect the investing public from deception and fraud,engages in which policy?

A)Distributive
B)Material
C)Substantive
D)Symbolic
E)Regulatory

Question 21

What operates mainly through the raising and lowering of tax rates and levels of public expenditure?

A)Fiscal policy
B)Monetary policy
C)Supply-side economics
D)Economic regulatory policy
E)Political economic policy

Question 22

Presidents Reagan,George H.W.Bush,Clinton,and George W.Bush have all supported what policy?

A)Increasing taxes
B)Raising interest rates
C)Increasing trade tariffs
D)Increasing free trade policies
E)Lowering interest rates

Question 23

Which one of the following correctly describes trends in welfare enrollment since the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996?

A)The number of people on welfare rolls has steadily increased.
B)The number of people on welfare rolls has steadily decreased.
C)The number of people on welfare rolls was essentially unchanged,despite the new law.
D)The number of people on welfare rolls initially increased but decreased after the law was modified in 2003 during the George W.Bush administration
E)The number of people on welfare rolls initially decreased but then increased starting in 2007 with the advent of the economic recession.

Question 24

Policymaking that is best described as minor tinkering with an existing policy in an attempt to fix problems that have arisen is known as

A)rational-choice policy.
B)de novo policy.
C)incrementalism.
D)implementation.
E)substantive policy.

Question 25

Subgovernments,or iron triangles,are coalitions of political parties,the federal bureaucracy,and interest groups.

Question 26

Policy implementation occurs before a law is enacted.

Question 27

The Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement of federal clean air and water laws is an example of redistributive policy.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT generally considered to be social-welfare policy?

A)Education
B)Health care
C)Foreign aid
D)Retirement insurance
E)Assistance to the poor

Question 29

Why are public pensions in Europe in even greater trouble than Social Security in the United States?

A)The size of the European "baby boom" is much greater than in the United States.
B)European nations spend considerably more on their pension programs than does the United States.
C)Europeans like to retire at an even later age than do Americans.
D)European countries typically provide health care to retirees while the United States does not.
E)All of the above

Question 30

What are the two broad sets of tools for managing the economy?

A)Fiscal policy and monetary policy
B)Economic development policy and economic regulatory policy
C)Monetary policy and economic development policy
D)Fiscal policy and economic regulatory policy
E)Foreign policy and domestic policy

Question 31

The economic policy of the Reagan administration can be described as

A)reducing taxes and encouraging spending,thereby increasing employment, productivity,and tax revenues.
B)reducing the budget deficit through significant long-term resolutions in federal government spending.
C)increasing consumer spending,thereby increasing inflation,which is controlled by increasing tax rates.
D)using the government's taxing and spending powers to increase inflation.
E)raising taxes,declaring war,and increasing consumer spending,thus reducing unemployment.

Question 32

What area of public policy stresses the importance of controlling inflation through control of the money supply?

A)Fiscal policy
B)Monetary policy
C)Economic development policy
D)Economic regulatory policy
E)Trade and tariff policy

Question 33

Which of the following is a provision of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act?

A)The welfare benefits of legal immigrants are limited.
B)Single mothers are encouraged to stay at home with their children.
C)Unmarried teenage parents cannot receive benefits if they still live with their parents.
D)Welfare policies are the primary responsibility of the federal government.
E)A family may collect welfare benefits as long as their children are under eighteen years old.

Question 34

Keynesian economics states that during times of economic depression or recession,the government should intentionally

A)spend more.
B)spend less.
C)decrease its deficit.
D)lower taxes.
E)do nothing.

Question 35

Pluralism believes that policy is shaped by a minority with great political and economic power.

Question 36

Fiscal policy is most closely associated with

A)Milton Friedman.
B)F.A.Hayek.
C)Ronald Reagan.
D)Herbert Hoover.
E)John Maynard Keynes.

Question 37

What approach to social-welfare policy attempts to help those who are already poor?

A)Curative
B)Punitive
C)Alleviative
D)Incomes
E)Revision

Question 38

In 2005,Congress passed a law that partially privatized Social Security.

Question 39

Which of the following presidents focused the most attention on deregulation of the American economy?

A)Bill Clinton
B)Ronald Reagan
C)John F.Kennedy
D)Barack Obama
E)Franklin Roosevelt

Question 40

According to Keynesian economic theory,the government should spend money

A)to pay down the national debt.
B)during an economic depression.
C)in order to balance the budget.
D)only if it is willing to raise taxes.
E)on the military instead of on domestic issues.

Question 41

Redistributive policy provides tangible benefits to individuals and groups in a noncompetitive manner.

Question 42

Supply-side economics strongly influenced decision making in the Reagan administration.

Question 43

Keynes believed that during times of economic depression or recession the government should intentionally spend more and accept an increase in its budget deficit.

Question 44

The United States suffered a serious economic downturn from the mid-1990s until 2000.

Question 45

The money supply is the amount of money that is circulating in the economy at any time.

Question 46

The 1996 welfare reform law limits how long people can receive benefits.

Question 47

The preventive approach to social-welfare policies that benefit the poor is based on the assumption that individuals are poor because of their own moral and character defects.

Question 48

The rational-choice model of policymaking means problems are approached in a
well-ordered sequence.

Question 49

The United States has more generous social-welfare policies than do most other advanced industrialized democracies.

Question 50

Economist Milton Friedman believed that in times of economic recession,the government should intentionally spend more and accept an increase in its budget deficit.

Question 51

Ideological conflict between liberals and conservatives over the nature of governmental action is an environmental factor in the context of policymaking.

Question 52

One fundamental problem with Social Security is that the program pays out more in benefits than it collects in taxes.

Question 53

The George W.Bush and Barack Obama administrations relied on Keynesian economic policy to combat the effects of the recession that started in 2007.

Question 54

The government may use symbolic policies to divert public attention from more important issues or to satisfy the public's demands without actually providing any substantive benefits.

Question 55

Supply-side economics is based on the idea that reducing taxes has the effect of benefiting society as a whole.