Description

Public Policy Analysis: The Essential Readings presents a collection of 67 key classic and contemporary readings on public policy and public policy issues.

 

Spanning a wide range of topics and issues, this text aims to introduce readers to the underpinnings and current practices of the policymaking arena. Selected readings are viewed as “essential” by the authors, in that some of them are generally argued to be among the most influential in the field, or among the most frequently cited. Others highlight the link between theory and practice particularly well, making public policy intelligible and clear to all. Public Policy: The Essential Readings 2^nd Edition is divided into five parts which parallel both the majority of policy texts and the way many courses are designed. 

 

Features

• Each section begins with an introductory essay by the authors that introduces different aspects of the policy subfield while referring to the included readings. (ex. p. 123)
• A separate section of readings is devoted to theories on the policy process—preparing students for a future career in policy making. (ex. p. 123)
• A wide range of policy coverage allows this text to be used for both introductory and advanced classes in policy and public administration. (ex. p. ix)
• Readings from every major theorist within the policy subfield are included, giving students varying perspectives on public policy. (ex. p. ix)
• Modeled after policy textbooks on the market, this reader can be used as a standalone teaching tool, as it mirrors the typical policy course curriculum. (ex. p. ix)
• The text is an excellent reference handbook to the subfield of public policy that students can utilize throughout their academic study and into their careers in public policy. (ex. p. ix)
  

New to this Edition

• Five new introductory essays written by the authors have been added to the text to provide a balance of readings that reflect current policy issues and up-to-date research for students. (ex. p. xii)
• Since the previous edition, 35 new readings new have been added making this the most comprehensive Public Policy reader available. (ex. p. xii)
• The text has been completely reorganized to align with the current thinking of the policy subfield and to better adhere to the textbooks available on the market. Students are presented with readings in an order that would mirror the topics they’re learning in class. (ex. p. xii)
• An expanded section of suggested readings provides instructors with additional reading material to assign, and give students a place to turn for research papers and other assignments. (ex. p. 29)
• Updated pedagogical features, including revised as well as new figures give students an engaging, visual representation of some of the key concepts they read about. (ex. p. 128)
  

Table of Contents

PART ONE: THE NATURE AND STUDY OF THE WHAT, WHO, AND WHY OF PUBLIC POLICY

1. The Contemporary Language of Public Policy: Starting to Understand,
Stella Z. Theodoulou

2. Enduring Political Questions and Public Policy, James J. Gosling

3. Political Science and Public Policy, Paul A. Sabatier

4. Bounded Rationality and Rational Choice Theory, Bryan D. Jones, Graeme Boushey,
and Samuel Workman

5. Still Muddling, Not Yet Through, Charles E. Lindblom

6. Group Politics and Representative Democracy, David B. Truman

7. Neo Pluralism, Andrew S. McFarland

8. Imperfect Competition, Ralph Miliband

9. Issue Networks and the Executive Establishment, Hugh Heclo

10. Who Benefits, Who Governs, Who Wins, G. William Domhoff

PART TWO: RULES, STRATEGIES, RESOURCES, AND CULTURE

11. Rules, Strategies, Resources, and Culture, Matthew A. Cahn

12. The Federalist Papers: #1, #10, #15, #78, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison

13. The Anti-Federalist Papers

14. Capitalism and Freedom, Milton Friedman

15. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Mancur Olsen

16. Constructing the Political Spectacle, Murray Edelman

17. A Preface to Economic Democracy, Robert Dahl

18. The Semisovereign People, E. Schattschneider

19. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life, Robert N. Bellah, Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton

PART THREE: THEORIES ON THE POLICY PROCESS

20. In Search of a Framework to Understand the Policy Process, Stella Z. Theodoulou

21. Theories Of and In the Policy Process, David L. Weimer

22. The Stages Approach to the Policy Process, Peter DeLeon

23. Typologies of Public Policy, Peter J. Steinberger

24. Agendas and Instability, Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones

25. Why Some Issues Rise and Others are Negated, John Kingdon

26. Policy Entrepreneurship, Michael Mintrom and Phillipa Norman

27. Background on the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework, Elinor Ostrom

28. The Mechanism of Policy Diffusion, Charles R. Shipan and Craig Volden

29. Advocacy Coalition Framework, Social Construction and Policy Design and Emerging Trends, Matthew Nowlin

PART FOUR: INSTITUTIONAL AND NON INSTITUTIONAL ACTORS

30. Institutional and Noninstitutional Actors in the Policy Process, Matthew A. Cahn

31. Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment, Morris Fiorina

32. Congress: The Electoral Connection, David Mayhew

33. Presidential Power, Richard Neustadt

34. The Presidential Policy Stream, Paul Light

35. The Rise of the Bureaucratic State, James Q. Wilson

36. Regulation: Politics, Bureaucracy, and Economics, Kenneth J. Meier

37. Appellate Courts as Policy Makers, Lawrence Baum

38. The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? Gerald N. Rosenberg

39. Parties, the Government, and the Policy Process, Samuel J. Eldersveld.

40. The Advocacy Explosion, Jeffrey M. Berry.

41. The Consultant Corps, Larry Sabato.

42. News That Matters, Shanto Iyengar and Donald Kinder

43. Processing Politics: Learning from Television in the Internet Age, Doris Graber

PART FIVE: MAKING PUBLIC POLICY

44. The Structure and Context of Policy Making, Stella Z. Theodoulou

45. Causal Stories as Problem Definition, Deborah A. Stone

46. Issues and Agendas, Roger W. Cobb and Charles D. Elder

47. New Research on Agendas in the Policy Process, Barry Pump

48. Policy Analysis - A Multidisciplinary Framework, William N. Dunn

49. Synthesizing the Implementation Literature, Richard E. Matland

50. The Assessment of Executed Policy Solutions, Stella Z. Theodoulou and C. Kofinis

51. Policy Change and Termination, Stella Z. Theodoulou and C. Kofinis