Page 31 - Proceeding 2015

POPESCU Luminiţa Gabriela FAMP
PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA AND RESPONSIVENESS GOVERNANCE CCASP

does indeed represent a public policy problem and there have been created many programs that seek to
reduce the damaging effects of these natural phenomena (Wildavschy, 1975, pp.134-140).

What are those characteristics that tell a public problem from a private one? Generally, the public
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11 TH ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
problems are thought to be the ones that affect the lives of a substantially large number of people, while
their consequences are also felt by people who aren’t directly involved in those issues.Suppose a citizen
is dissatisfied by the amount that was taxed under a certain fiscal law. As long as that citizen acts in his

own behalf, trying to find derogation from the fiscal institutions in his favor, then, we are talking about a
personal problem. But if that citizen, along with other people directly or indirectly affected by the same

problem, try to modify the legislation, than the personal problem turns into a public matter.

The fact that a situation or a condition is perceived as a problem doesn’t mean that it depends only on its
objective dimension but also, to a large degree, on how people relate to that situation. If a person has a

certain social standard, it’s not a real problem for him to find a job, as he is not threatened by the increasing
unemployment rate, he might even consider this as a necessary step in lowering inflation. But for a worker,
30 th – 31 st October 2015 ”Strategic Management for Local Communities” Bucharest experiences, values and situations that involve him/her. There isn’t a single or valid way of defining the
unemployment is a threat and he will negatively react to it. A person’s perception is influenced by its own

problem, even though many people have opinions and preferences when it comes to a certain
situation.There are frequent cases when various ways of describing a problem converge, to get the

public’s vote. We decide if a certain situation can or cannot be considered a public problem if we take a
look at the terms that was used to define that problem and accept the proposed definition. More than that,
the terms that were used to define it and the causes that generate it determine the emergence of certain

solutions that are considered to be adequate. The research conducted in October-November 2009 was,
it primarily, aimed at identifying the perceptions and opinions of the Romanian citizens regarding the main

directions of government activity in 2010. When asked the question: “In which areas has the government
taken the most measures in, according to you own expectations?’’ you can see the answers in the chart
below.

The16 themes proposed by the questionnaire are grouped into three main groups of the topics:

? Quality of life - issues relating to employment, housing, prices, pensions, financial crisis, and
healthcare;

? Functioning of the public institutions – functioning of central and local institutions and education;

? Corruption and justice – crime, justice and corruption.

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