Editing Policy (section)

==Effects==

===Intended effects and policy-design===
The intended effects of a policy vary widely according to the organization and the context in which they are made. Broadly, policies are typically instituted to avoid some negative effect that has been noticed in the organization, or to seek some positive benefit.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} A way to extract the stated aims of a public policy is to analyze the goals embedded in the legislation that establishes it.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kotzampasakis |first1=Manolis |last2=Woerdman |first2=Edwin |date=July 2024 |title=The Legal Objectives of the EU Emissions Trading System: An Evaluation Framework |journal=Transnational Environmental Law |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=312–336 |doi=10.1017/S2047102524000153 |bibcode=2024TELaw..13..312K |issn=2047-1025|doi-access=free }}</ref> This approach helps clarify the explicit intentions behind a policy and provides a normative foundation for evaluating its effectiveness in practice.

A [[meta-analysis]] of [[policy studies]] concluded that [[international treaties]] that aim to foster [[Global governance|global cooperation]] have mostly failed to produce their [[goal|intended effects]] in addressing [[Global issue|global challenges]]<!--with the exception of included [[international trade]] and [[International finance|finance]] regulations-->, and sometimes may have led to unintended harmful or net negative effects. The study suggests [[Enforcement#Enforcement mechanisms|enforcement mechanisms]] are the "only modifiable treaty design choice" with the potential to improve the [[effectiveness]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Most international treaties are ineffective, Canadian study finds |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/most-international-treaties-are-ineffective-canadian-study-finds-1.6013086 |access-date=15 September 2022 |work=CTVNews |date=3 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hoffman |first1=Steven J. |last2=Baral |first2=Prativa |last3=Rogers Van Katwyk |first3=Susan |last4=Sritharan |first4=Lathika |last5=Hughsam |first5=Matthew |last6=Randhawa |first6=Harkanwal |last7=Lin |first7=Gigi |last8=Campbell |first8=Sophie |last9=Campus |first9=Brooke |last10=Dantas |first10=Maria |last11=Foroughian |first11=Neda |last12=Groux |first12=Gaëlle |last13=Gunn |first13=Elliot |last14=Guyatt |first14=Gordon |last15=Habibi |first15=Roojin |last16=Karabit |first16=Mina |last17=Karir |first17=Aneesh |last18=Kruja |first18=Krista |last19=Lavis |first19=John N. |authorlink19=John Lavis |last20=Lee |first20=Olivia |last21=Li |first21=Binxi |last22=Nagi |first22=Ranjana |last23=Naicker |first23=Kiyuri |last24=Røttingen |first24=John-Arne |last25=Sahar |first25=Nicola |last26=Srivastava |first26=Archita |last27=Tejpar |first27=Ali |last28=Tran |first28=Maxwell |last29=Zhang |first29=Yu-qing |last30=Zhou |first30=Qi |last31=Poirier |first31=Mathieu J. P. |title=International treaties have mostly failed to produce their intended effects |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=9 August 2022 |volume=119 |issue=32 |pages=e2122854119 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2122854119 |doi-access=free |pmid=35914153 |pmc=9372541 |bibcode=2022PNAS..11922854H |language=en |issn=0027-8424}}
* University press release: {{cite news |title=Do international treaties actually work? Study says they mostly don't |url=https://phys.org/news/2022-08-international-treaties-dont.html |access-date=15 September 2022 |work=[[York University]] |language=en}}</ref>

The State of [[California]] provides an example of benefit-seeking policy. In recent years, the numbers of [[hybrid cars]] in California has increased dramatically, in part because of policy changes in [[Federal law]] that provided USD $1,500 in tax credits (since phased out) and enabled the use of [[HOV|high-occupancy vehicle]] lanes to drivers of hybrid vehicles. In this case, the organization (state or federal government) created an effect (increased ownership and use of hybrid vehicles) through policy (tax breaks, highway lanes).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nesamani |first1=K.S. |last2=Lianyu |first2=C.H.U. |last3=Recker |first3=Will |title=Policy implications of incorporating hybrid vehicles into high-occupancy vehicle lanes |journal=Journal of Transportation Systems Engineering and Information Technology |date=2010 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=30–41 |doi=10.1016/S1570-6672(09)60031-3 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1570667209600313 |access-date=7 June 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Unintended===
Policies frequently have side effects or [[unintended consequences]]. Because the environments that policies seek to influence or manipulate are typically [[complex adaptive systems]] (e.g. governments, societies, large companies), making a policy change can have [[counterintuitive]] results. For example, a government may make a policy decision to raise taxes, in hopes of increasing overall tax revenue. Depending on the size of the tax increase, this may have the overall effect of reducing tax revenue by causing [[capital flight]] or by creating a rate so high that citizens are deterred from earning the money that is taxed.{{efn|For more information on the effect of tax policy on state revenues, see [[Laffer curve]].}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lai |first1=Yu-Bong |title=Capital Tax Competition in the Presence of Rent-Shifting Incentives |journal=經濟研究 (Taipei Economic Inquiry) |date=2006 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |url=https://econ.ntpu.edu.tw/storage/files/XDE6sAQiG79r9zqpMgAp4N2Zpi25egcnSHgXzyIR.pdf |access-date=7 June 2023}}</ref>

The policy formulation process theoretically includes an attempt to assess as many areas of potential policy impact as possible, to lessen the chances that a given policy will have unexpected or unintended consequences.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Deleon|first1=Peter|last2=Steelman|first2=Toddi A.|date=2001|title=Making public policy programs effective and relevant: The role of the policy sciences|journal=Journal of Policy Analysis and Management|volume=20|issue=1|pages=163–171|doi=10.1002/1520-6688(200124)20:1<163::aid-pam2011>3.0.co;2-w|issn=0276-8739}}</ref>