Public Policies – Aspects regarding the Origins, Significance, Conceptual Approaches

Abstract:

Public policies are aimed at fulfilling some long-term goals, which are efficient responses to the needs of individuals (economic, social, political, cultural), such as: increasing competitiveness and ensuring the well-being of society, maintaining public security and environmental quality. Policy can be seen as a means of guiding the decisions of an organization or individuals, in order to achieve the proposed objectives, in a certain context. The meaning of the term is related to different aspects related to the objectives pursued.

Public policy guides the actions taken by the government, through using the existing legislative framework, being a means used by decision makers in arguing the decision-making. State intervention in economy, through public policies aims to meet the requirements of society (economic, social, political, cultural). These are closely related to a number of issues: the historical, political and economic conjuncture, internally and externally, the currents of thought in a certain period, the country¢s level of development, the skills and capacity of action of political leaders.

The aim of the paper consist in description of some aspects regarding the emergence of public policicies, their significance, the review of some conceptual elements regarding the public policicies, in the specialized theoretical literature, as reflected in the views of different authors, grouped in relation to various issues signalized by them.

The final conclusions present, briefly, basic elements retained from the aspects pursued and presented in the paper, regarding the approached topic. The methodology used consisted in studying some theoretical elements from foreign and domestic literature, retaining the essential ideas needed to address the topic of subject, processing them and interpreting through the author's own conception.