Public Administration and Public Policy MCQs 2026

Public policy is best defined as

1. Agovernment course of action to address public problems✓
2. Bprivate firm marketing plan only✓
3. Cpersonal hobby choices✓
4. Dunwritten social gossip only✓

Rational comprehensive model of policy making assumes

1. Afull information and optimization of means to ends✓
2. Bunlimited time and zero conflict✓
3. Cpure random choice✓
4. Dno government involvement✓

Red tape originally referred to

1. Aefficient streamlined service always✓
2. Bmerit exams only✓
3. Cdigital automation only✓
4. Dexcessive bureaucratic rules and procedures delaying action✓

Incrementalism in policy (Lindblom) suggests

1. Arevolutionary overnight total replanning always✓
2. Bpolicymakers make small adjustments to existing policies✓
3. Cignore all past policies✓
4. Dban all compromise✓

Public administration is primarily concerned with

1. Aonly private sector profit maximization✓
2. Bonly academic philosophy without government✓
3. Conly electoral campaigning only✓
4. Dimplementing government policy and managing public programmes✓

POSDCORB stands for

1. APolicy, Operations, Strategy, Defence, Commerce, Organization, Research, Banking✓
2. BPlanning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting✓
3. CPublic, Official, Social, Diplomatic, Corporate, Organizational, Regulatory, Budget✓
4. DPlanning, Oversight, Security, Development, Control, Operations, Revenue, Banking✓

Max Weber's ideal bureaucracy emphasizes

1. Apatronage and personal favours only✓
2. Barbitrary rule without records✓
3. Chierarchy, written rules, impersonality, merit and specialization✓
4. Dhereditary office purchase✓

Weber distinguished legal-rational authority from

1. Aonly military authority✓
2. Bonly corporate branding✓
3. Ctraditional and charismatic authority✓
4. Donly religious miracles without organization✓

The policy cycle typically includes stages such as

1. Aonly election rallies✓
2. Bonly military coups✓
3. Conly judicial sentencing without policy✓
4. Dagenda setting, formulation, adoption, implementation and evaluation✓

Agenda setting in policy process determines

1. Aonly budget printing✓
2. Bonly embassy design✓
3. Conly private shopping lists✓
4. Dwhich issues receive government attention✓

Policy implementation gap refers to

1. Aperfect execution always✓
2. Bdifference between intended policy and actual results on the ground✓
3. Cabsence of any bureaucracy✓
4. Dunlimited resources always available✓

Good governance principles include

1. Asecrecy and impunity✓
2. Btransparency, accountability, participation, rule of law and effectiveness✓
3. Ccorruption as efficiency✓
4. Dexclusion of citizens from decisions✓

New Public Management (NPM) emphasizes

1. Acomplete abolition of all public services✓
2. Bhereditary civil service posts✓
3. Cmarket mechanisms, performance measurement and customer orientation in government✓
4. Dzero accountability to citizens✓

The spoils system in public administration means

1. Aappointing supporters to government jobs after electoral victory✓
2. Bstrict merit exams only✓
3. Clifetime tenure without politics✓
4. DWeberian impersonality only✓

Merit-based civil service recruitment aims to

1. Aselect officials by competence rather than patronage✓
2. Bguarantee jobs for campaign donors only✓
3. Cabolish all training✓
4. Dend all promotion✓

Delegated legislation (rules and regulations) allows

1. Aexecutive agencies to fill in details of statutes✓
2. Bcourts to rewrite the constitution freely✓
3. Ccitizens to veto parliament always✓
4. Dmilitary to replace parliament✓

Accountability in public administration means

1. Ano oversight is ever required✓
2. Bsecrecy in all spending✓
3. Cofficials answer for their decisions and use of public resources✓
4. Dimmunity for all actions always✓

Transparency requires government to

1. Ahide all budgets✓
2. Bdisclose information and decision processes to the public✓
3. Cban media entirely✓
4. Davoid all records✓

Participatory governance involves

1. Aexcluding all NGOs always✓
2. Bone-person rule without consultation✓
3. Csecret decisions only✓
4. Dcitizens and stakeholders in policy design and oversight✓

The iron triangle in policy analysis refers to

1. Amilitary, judiciary and media only✓
2. Bthree political parties always✓
3. CUN, IMF and WB only✓
4. Dstable alliances among congressional committees, agencies and interest groups (US context)✓

Policy evaluation assesses

1. Aonly election slogans✓
2. Bwhether programmes achieved objectives efficiently and equitably✓
3. Conly diplomatic immunity✓
4. Donly corporate logos✓

Street-level bureaucrats are

1. Afrontline workers who directly interact with citizens (teachers, police, social workers)✓
2. Bonly cabinet ministers✓
3. Conly foreign ambassadors✓
4. Donly central bank governors✓

Centralization in administration concentrates

1. Aall power in local villages only✓
2. Bdecision-making authority at the top of the hierarchy✓
3. Cno hierarchy at all✓
4. Dcomplete abolition of ministries✓

Devolution transfers

1. Aall power to foreign NGOs✓
2. Bzero local input✓
3. Cmilitary command only✓
4. Dsignificant authority and resources to subnational elected bodies✓

The ombudsman institution typically

1. Acommands military operations✓
2. Binvestigates citizen complaints against administrative maladministration✓
3. Cwrites all statutes alone✓
4. Dappoints foreign ambassadors only✓

Policy instruments include

1. Aregulation, taxation, subsidies, information and public ownership✓
2. Bonly military invasion domestically✓
3. Conly poetry contests✓
4. Donly diplomatic asylum✓

The principal-agent problem in bureaucracy arises when

1. Aperfect alignment always exists✓
2. Bno delegation ever occurs✓
3. Cagents (officials) may pursue interests diverging from principals (citizens/politicians)✓
4. Dagents always know less than principals✓

Collaborative governance involves

1. Agovernment acting alone always✓
2. Bzero civic involvement✓
3. Cnetworks of government, private and nonprofit actors co-producing public value✓
4. Dban on all partnerships✓

Zero-based budgeting requires

1. Aautomatic 10% increase always✓
2. Bno budget documents✓
3. Cjustifying all expenditures from zero each cycle rather than incremental baselines✓
4. Dunlimited spending without review✓

Administrative federalism in Pakistan divides responsibilities among

1. Aonly the military✓
2. Bonly foreign embassies✓
3. Conly private clubs✓
4. Dfederal, provincial and local tiers after the 18th Amendment✓

The rule of law in public administration means

1. Aarbitrary executive decrees without legal basis✓
2. Bexemption of officials from all rules✓
3. Csecret law unavailable to citizens✓
4. Dgovernment action is bound by law and equal application✓

Capacity building in public administration focuses on

1. Areducing all training permanently✓
2. Beliminating all records✓
3. Cskills, institutions and resources for effective governance✓
4. Dbanning all hiring✓

Policy diffusion occurs when

1. Ajurisdictions adopt innovations learned from others✓
2. Bno state ever copies another✓
3. Call policies remain unique forever✓
4. Donly war spreads ideas✓

Sunset clauses in legislation

1. Aextend all agencies forever without review✓
2. Bban all evaluation✓
3. Ccreate permanent secrecy✓
4. Dautomatically terminate a law or agency unless reauthorized✓

The politics-administration dichotomy (Wilson-Goodnow) argued

1. Apolitics sets policy while administration executes neutrally✓
2. Badministrators should make all partisan decisions✓
3. Cpoliticians must manage daily clerical tasks only✓
4. Dno separation exists in any system✓

Stakeholder analysis in policy identifies

1. Aonly foreign tourists✓
2. Bonly historical figures✓
3. Conly fictional characters✓
4. Dgroups affected by or influencing a policy decision✓

Audit institutions (e.g., Auditor General) ensure

1. Aindependent scrutiny of public financial management✓
2. Bpartisan campaign funding only✓
3. Csecret unreviewed spending✓
4. Ddiplomatic immunity for all spending✓

Citizen charter initiatives commit agencies to

1. Aunlimited delays without complaint channels✓
2. Bservice standards and grievance redress timelines✓
3. Cno measurable standards✓
4. Dbanning citizen feedback✓

Wicked problems in policy are characterized by

1. Ano definitive formulation, interdependence and no stopping rule✓
2. Bsimple linear solutions always✓
3. Ccomplete consensus always✓
4. Dabsence of any stakeholders✓

Public-private partnership (PPP) in administration

1. Atransfers all sovereignty to firms✓
2. Bshares risks and resources between government and private sector for infrastructure/services✓
3. Cbans all government role✓
4. Deliminates all regulation automatically✓

Ethics in public administration demands

1. Amaximizing personal bribes✓
2. Bnepotism as standard practice✓
3. Cintegrity, impartiality and public interest over private gain✓
4. D concealment of all conflicts of interest✓

Results-Based Management (RBM) links

1. Aactivity without any indicators✓
2. Bsecrecy in all results✓
3. Czero evaluation cycles✓
4. Dplanning, monitoring and reporting to defined outcomes✓

Administrative discretion allows officials to

1. Aact entirely outside all law✓
2. Bignore all statutes always✓
3. Cexercise judgment within legal bounds when rules are incomplete✓
4. Daccept bribes as policy✓

The policy formulation stage involves

1. Aonly enforcing court sentences✓
2. Bdeveloping alternative proposals and selecting preferred options✓
3. Conly printing currency✓
4. Donly conducting elections without analysis✓

Garbage can model (Cohen, March, Olsen) portrays organizations as

1. Aperfectly rational optimizers always✓
2. Bchaotic arenas where problems, solutions and participants mismatch✓
3. Cempty of any participants✓
4. Dfree of any decisions✓

The principle of neutrality in civil service requires

1. Aimpartial implementation of laws regardless of political change✓
2. Bactive campaigning while on duty✓
3. Cpartisan favouritism in all cases✓
4. Drefusal to implement lawful policy✓

Performance budgeting links

1. Aspending without any targets✓
2. Bfunds to measurable outputs and outcomes✓
3. Csecret unlimited budgets✓
4. Donly ceremonial expenses✓

Regulatory agencies in public administration

1. Aonly conduct elections✓
2. Bonly manage embassies✓
3. Cimplement and enforce sector-specific rules (environment, telecom, etc.)✓
4. Donly train athletes✓

E-governance uses ICT to

1. Aimprove service delivery, transparency and citizen engagement✓
2. Beliminate all public records✓
3. Cban internet in government✓
4. Dreplace all laws with apps only✓

Whistleblower protection laws aim to

1. Apunish all internal critics automatically✓
2. Bban all audits✓
3. Cshield officials reporting corruption or misconduct✓
4. Dhide all wrongdoing✓