Samuel Workman

Communications Frameworks and the Supply of Information in Policy Subsystems

In this chapter, we develop a new perspective on policy dynamics based on the generation and communication of information between the bureaucracy, Congress, and other relevant actors at the federal level in the United States. Our communications-based model of signaling emphasizes the importance of problem definition and the strategic manipulation of competition in the provision of information. In doing so, we draw a distinction between information supply in incentive-based systems versus competition-based systems. This distinction in the way information is supplied represents the emergence of a new paradigm for the study of policy dynamics with theoretical and practical importance.