LIST OF PANELS

Much of the discussions, literature, and studies on public policymaking focus on the role of legislative bodies and policy implementation in the executive branch of the government. More often than not, the role of public agencies or the bureaucracy in public policymaking is glossed over. Yet, the scant literature about them points out their importance in the formulation of public policies. As policy implementors, and the ones involved in the monitoring and evaluation of the relevant programs or projects, the bureaucracy is in the position to speak clearly about the need to correct the implementation of the existing public policies, amend/modify or altogether, terminate them. A handful of studies have already raised issues about agencification (Bach, Niklasson and Painter, 2012), policy autonomy or independence from politicians (Berry and Gersen, 2017; Selin, 2015; Rose-Ackerman and Perroud, 2013; Bach, Niklasson and Painter, 2012), judicial/statutory interpretation or adjudication (Phillips, 2021; Stack, 2009; De Mesquita and Stephenson, 2007; Koch, 2005; Magillt, 2004), delegation to the bureaucracy of the regulatory policymaking function of the legislature (Wiseman, 2009; De Mesquita and Stephenson, 2007), public participation or mass public engagement (Judge-Lord, 2021; Mendelson, 2007), legislative oversight (Clinton et al., 2014; Feinstein, 2017), executive turnover’s influence on policy implementation (Bertelli and Lewis, 2013), multiple agency policymaking (Bils, 2020), etc. In spite of these, there is still a need to conduct more studies on the dynamics of internal policymaking in government bureaucracies and their contributions to (national) public policymaking. For this purpose, the following questions have to be satisfactorily answered: What is the role of agencies in public policymaking? What factors affect their participation in public policymaking? Are there areas for autonomous public policymaking reserved for agencies? Do they produce better policies that lead to effective public service? What factors could this be attributed to? What is the state of internal policymaking in agencies? Or, how well-developed is the internal policymaking in agencies? What are the dynamics involved?

References

Bach, T., Niklasson, B. and Painter, M. (2012) The role of agencies in policy-making. Policy and Society. [online]. 31 (3), Policy and Society Associates Ltd Partnership, pp.183–193. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polsoc.2012.07.001.

Berry, C.R. and Gersen, J.E. (2017) Agency design and political control. The Yale Law Journal. [online]. 126 (4), pp.1002–1049. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44863339.

Bertelli, A.M. and Lewis, D.E. (2013) Policy influence, agency-specific expertise, and exit in the federal service. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. [online]. 23 (2), pp.223–245. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24484815.

Bils, P. (2020) Policymaking with multiple agencies. American Journal of Political Science. [online]. 64 (3), pp.634–648. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/45295338.

Clinton, J.D., Lewis, D.E. and Selin, J.L. (2014) Influencing the bureaucracy: The irony of congressional oversight. American Journal of Political Science. [online].  58 (2), pp.387–401. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24363492.

Feinstein, B.D. (2017) Designing executive agencies for congressional influence. Administrative Law Review. [online].  Spring (2), pp.259–289. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44648616.

Judge-Lord, D. (2021) Public pressure campaigns and bureaucratic policymaking The University of Wisconsin-Madison. Koch, C.H. (2005) Policymaking by the administrative judiciary. Faculty Publications. [online]. 1278. Available from: https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1278.

Magillt, M.E. (2004) Agency choice of policymaking form. The University of Chicago Law Review. [online]. 71 (4), pp.1383–1447. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1600528.

Mendelson, N.A. (2007) Regulatory beneficiaries and informal agency policymaking. Cornell Law Review. [online]. 397, pp.397–452. Available from: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol92/iss3/1. 

(Note: Not all references could not be included due to space limitations.)

Format of the panel: Hybrid (onsite & online)

Agency Policymaking: Dynamics and Contributions to National Public Policies

The panel is calling for theoretical and empirical papers that tackle the nature of agency policymaking, the dynamics of agency internal policy development, and their contributions to the formulation of (national) public policies. The papers should be able to answer one or more of the following questions:

1. What is the role of agencies in public policymaking?

2. What factors affect their participation in public policymaking?

3. Are there areas for autonomous public policymaking reserved for agencies?

4. Do agencies produce better policies that lead to effective public service? What factors could this be attributed to?

5. What is the state of internal policymaking in agencies? Or, how well-developed is the internal policymaking in agencies? What are the dynamics involved?

“Agency” as utilized in this call, generally refers to executive government agencies at the national level, e.g., ministry/department, bureau, etc.