TOOLS FOR POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
A number of tools are employed in implementing policy, and used in a
wide variety of combinations. A recent compendium, The Tools of Government,
has been published by Oxford University Press (2002) under the editorship
of Lester M. Salamon with the special assistance of Odus V. Elliott. The
purpose of the compendium, and its subtitle, is as "a guide to the new governance."
The "new governance" is a perspective being championed by Salamon and others
that says governance has entered a new era in which actions tend to be
partnerships between the public and private sectors rather than either
purely public or purely private. But the compendium is a helpful listing
of tools of implementation, whether or not Salamon's perspective is accepted
or to what extent it is accepted. The tools set forth in chapters 2 through
15, each with useful assessments of when and how to use the tools, are:
Direct Government. e.g. U.S. Army; city jails; state highway maintenance;
county libraries.
Government Corporations and Government-Sponsored Enterprises.
e.g. Ginnie Mae (Government National Mortgage Association providing
financing and a secondary market for home mortgages); Fannie Mae (Federal
National Mortgage Association providing financing and guarantees for the
secondary market for home mortgages); airport and turnpike authorities.
Economic Regulation. e.g. Interstate Commerce Commission; state
insurance commissions, city business licenses
Social Regulation. e.g. Clean air Act, Pure food and Drug
Act, health departments, Americans with Disabilities Act.
Government Insurance. e.g. Medicare, flood insurance.
Public Information. e.g. Smokey the Bear, Census, Truth-in-Lending
Act, Freedom of Information Act.
Corrective Taxes, Charges, and Tradable Permits. e.g. Charges
for air pollution emissions, fuel taxes.
Contracting. e.g. Public works, military equipment.
Purchase-of-Service contracting. e.g. Mental health, housing
assistance, migrant-worker health.
Grants. e.g. Highway construction, research, Medicaid
Loans and Loan Guarantees. e.g. FHA home mortgages, FDIC bank
deposits, student loans, disaster assistance.
Tax Expenditures. e.g. Employer provided health insurance, home
mortgage interest.
Vouchers. e.g. Housing assistance, GI Bill, food stamps.
Tort Liability. e.g. Medical malpractice, highway accidents.