Public Policy: Introduction To The Theory And Practice Of Pol

This textbook presents an up-to-date introduction to policy studies, and provides the theory and practice of public policy. Interdisciplinary and comparative in scope, it covers agenda formation and problem definition, policy making, implementation and evaluation. Table of Contents: Part 1 Meta analysis: 'public' and 'policy' as concepts; the development of the policy approach; kinds of policy analysts and policy analysis; varieties of analytical frameworks; philosophical frameworks; analysis and the policy process; models, maps and metaphors; paradigms lost and found - shifts in the focus and frameworks of policy analysis; stages and cycles - mapping the policy process. Part 2 Meso analysis: social problem approaches; public opinion and public policy; theories of agenda control; typologies of policy issues; pluralism, non-decision-making and the third dimension of power; neo-marxist and critical approaches; knowledge and the policy agenda; policies and problems as symbols; policy networks, streams, advocacy coalitions and punctuated equilibrium; analyzing the boundaries; globalization and policymaking - the international parameters. Part 3 Decision analysis: decision-making - frameworks and disciplinary contexts; power approaches to decision-making; rationality and decision-making; the public choice approach to decision-making; institutional approaches; personality, cognition and information processing in decision-making; policy analysis and public decisions; rational decision-making and the quest for knowledgeable governance; critiques of policy analysis. Part 4 Delivery analysis: the arrangement of part four; implementation; delivery systems; evaluation; change and continuity in policy-making; promise and performance - evaluating impact and outcomes; conclusions - beyond delivery and towards democratization.