Final answer:
Public policy is a broad strategy government uses to address matters of public concern. It involves considerable debate, compromise, and refinement over time, and includes the decisions made by government to influence behavior and the outcomes created by those actions. Public policy is shaped by the interplay among various parties, and often involves compromises among interested parties.
Step-by-step explanation:
Public policy is the broad strategy government uses to do its job, the relatively stable set of purposive governmental behaviors that address matters of concern to some part of society. Policy outcomes are the result of considerable debate, compromise, and refinement that happen over years and are finalized after input from multiple institutions within government. For example, health care reform was developed after years of analysis, reflection on existing policy, and trial implementation at the state level.
Public policy includes all the decisions governments make to influence behavior, such as legislation, executive orders, or court rulings. It also covers issues of concern to larger segments of society or that affect society as a whole. Public policy is not limited to the actions of government alone; it also includes the behaviors or outcomes that government action creates. For example, the debate over gun safety policy in the United States has centered on the unwillingness of Congress to act, resulting in inaction on changing gun policy.
Public policy is a complex and many-layered process that involves the interplay of many parties, such as business, interest groups, and individuals, who compete and collaborate to influence policymakers. Most often, policy outcomes involve compromises among interested parties. The process of designing public policy is not a quick fix but rather a long-term strategy that evolves over time and is influenced by public opinion on the issue.