Definition for Public Policymaking
From Biology Forums Dictionary
Any policy is a decision on the part of government. Public policy is whatever a government decides to do, or not to do in response to a public issue. Public administration is inherently an instrument of policy. Public policymaking is hierarchical in nature. The broadest policy is made at the top, but officials at lower levels, also known as street-level bureaucrats, have discretion in interpreting policy and in the process of doing so may inadvertently and even making policy. In the United States the people are considered sovereign; through their elected representatives, they make public policy, and this concept is known as representative democracy. The legislative branch of government has the greatest number of enumerated powers and makes the law. The executive branch administers and enforces these laws, and the judicial branch interprets and enforces them. Each level of government – —federal, state, and local – involves these three distinct entities, or branches, of government.
