Guest lecturer Paul Cairney, Stirling University - Why don't policy makers listen to evidence?

Guest lecturer Professor Paul Cairney

In this session, we will consider themes drawn from two new texts by Professor Cairney to answer the question – why don’t policy makers listen to evidence? We will consider questions such as: what is good evidence? How do people process evidence? Through comparing two forms of public policy, we will also consider why and on what basis policy success occurs (or does not). A case study will compare tobacco control - tax, regulation, cessation, which is relatively successful - with preventative strategies - health in all policies, ‘joined up’ services, holism-  as a relative failure.       In part 1, Cairney will ask his audience to identify how to gather 'good' evidence, what other forms of knowledge are relevant to policy, and how you might put them together to produce 'evidence-based policy'. He then uses these answers to help describe three main answers to the question: why do policymakers seem to ignore good evidence?  First, many policymakers have many different ideas about what counts as good evidence. Second, policymakers have to ignore almost all evidence and almost every decision taken in their name. Third, policymakers do not control the policy process (in the way that simple models like the policy cycle suggest). He then suggests that a greater understanding of policy processes can help us understand how to foster the use of evidence with reference to three very different models.        In part 2, Cairney uses this discussion to help explain more-or-less policy success. He compares the success story of UK tobacco control with more ambiguous agendas like 'prevention' and 'health in all policies', to explain how evidence might 'win the day'. Success requires three conditions to be met: policymakers pay attention to a particular way to frame the policy problem, they create a policymaking environment conducive to policy change, and they exploit many 'windows of opportunity' to make specific changes.

Speaker

Professor Paul Cairney

Hosted by

MacRobert Building Old Aberdeen, Room 613

Venue

MacRobert Building

Contact

No booking required - arranged for PG students but all welcome