Final answer:
Regulatory policies are designed to impose costs on certain groups to benefit the broader society, particularly in areas such as public health, safety, and environmental protection. They are part of the broader public policy framework that the government uses to address issues affecting larger segments of society.
Step-by-step explanation:
Regulatory policies are a type of public policy developed to control or protect public or common resources, ensuring public health, safety, and environmental protection. Unlike distributive policy that has diffuse costs and concentrated benefits, regulatory policy tends to impose concentrated costs on certain groups or individuals while the benefits are distributed widely across society. These policies place regulations on companies and organizations to prevent actions such as pollution or the selling of harmful products, which, while maximizing profits for a few, could be detrimental to the broader society.
Implementing these policies can be a complex process involving substantial debate and compromise. Governments use public policy as a broad strategy to address issues of concern to large segments of society, such as public safety, the economy, and societal welfare. The creation and refinement of these policies require inputs from various governmental institutions, interest groups, and the public to result in a legislative framework that serves the collective good over the long term.