"As a matter of right": an analysis of policy design theory using the evolution of welfare policy
Date
2022
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Policy Design and Social Construction theory, advanced by Schneider and Ingram, first formalized in the 1990s, posits a positive relationship between the social construction of a population and the policies affecting them and myriad other political consequences. If the social construction of a target population is negative, the policies enacted will also be negative. Negative policies manifest themselves as punitive, burdensome, or ill-funded laws whose sparse resources are hard for people to access.Conversely, positive policies provide more money, benefits, and resources for an issue. An evaluation of welfare policies from the 1960s, 1990s, and 2000s proves that welfare policy is highly influenced by the social construction of the recipients, further substantiating Schneider and Ingram's original theory. Historical literature and data provide context for two seminal changes in welfare policy, the expansion of Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) to Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and the replacement of AFDC with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). An examination of the government's response to the COVID - 19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, showed that the policy decisions were effective and beneficial when the target population was positively socially constructed. This research explores the impact of a target group's social construction on the public policy affecting that group, using welfare policy and its recipients as a case study.
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Keywords
Policy design theory, Schneider & Ingram, Social construction, Welfare policy