Policy analysis in Canada brings together original contributions from many of the field’s leading scholars. Contributors chronicle the evolution of policy analysis in Canada over the past 50 years and reflect on its application in both governmental and non-governmental settings. As part of the International Library of Policy Analysis series, the book enables cross-national comparison of public policy analysis concepts and practice within national and sub-national governments, media, NGOs and other institutional settings. Informed by the latest scholarship on policy analysis, the volume is a valuable resource for academics and students of policy studies, public management, political science and comparative policy studies.

Policy Analysis in the Czech Republic is a vital addition to the International Library of Policy Analysis series. It is not only the first comprehensive overview of the historical development and current state of policy analysis in the Czech Republic, but also in the post-communist Central and Eastern European region. As such, it provides a unique picture of policy analysis that in many respects profoundly differs from 'Western' policy analysis textbooks. Written by leading experts in the field – including practitioners – it outlines the historical development of policy analysis, identifies its role in academic education and research, and examines its varying styles and methods. This unique book offers indispensable reading for researchers, policy makers and students.

Leading Irish academics and policy practitioners present a comprehensive study of policy analysis in Ireland. Contributors investigate the roles of the EU, the public, science, the media and gender expertise in policy analysis. This text examines policy analysis at different levels of government and identifies future challenges for policy analysis.

Policy Work in Canada is an in-depth study into the levels of analytical capacity found within the federal and provincial governments as well as the non-governmental sector. By focusing on the individuals who craft public policy in Canada, this collection of eighteen chapters broadens and deepens our understanding of policy development in Canada. The contributors to this volume empirically examine such topics as: the inherent characteristics of sophisticated policy analysis, the constraints that influence the outcome or style of analysis, the influence of policy analysis on democratic debate and lessons that can be learned from different jurisdictions within and outside of Canada. Policy Work in Canada provides a pathway for academics and public mangers alike to meet the challenges involved in crafting more nuanced and sophisticated public policy head-on.

Volume Three of the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis, contains chapters concerned with "Regional Comparisons and Policy Analysis" – one of the most prevailing approaches in comparative public policy. Through the prism of inter-jurisdiction comparisons of similarities and variations, they address comparisons in specific policy sectors, governance or institutional constructs, and political regimes. The foci are, nevertheless, on those comparisons between countries or regions, which help to lesson-draw by identifying and understanding the variation in policy analysis and policy making that exists within or across regions. One benefit of regional comparisons is that it often allows studies to hold constant many variables, ranging from colonial legacy to federal systems, or from language to specific traditions, and more effectively isolate dependent variables. Regional organizations like the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or European Union are also considered as catalysts for regional policy approaches and harmonization, and occupy a major role in this volume. The chapters address a broad and diverse number of countries and geographical areas: Latin America, North America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, the Baltic states, the Nordic states, Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Europe as a whole. "Regional Comparisons and Policy Analysis" will be of great interest to scholars and learners of public policy and social sciences, as well as to practitioners considering what can be learned or facilitated through methodologically and theoretically sound approaches. The chapters were originally published as articles in the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis which in the last two decades has pioneered the development of comparative public policy. The volume is part of a four-volume series, the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis including Theories and Methods, Institutions and Governance, Regional Comparisons, and Policy Sectors. Each volume showcases a different new chapter comparing domains of study interrelated with comparative public policy: political science, public administration, governance and policy design, authored by the JCPA co-editors Giliberto Capano, Iris Geva-May, Michael Howlett, Leslie A. Pal and B. Guy Peters.

Volume Two of the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis, contains chapters concerned with "Institutions and Governance in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies". They highlight that at the core of any policy making, the different institutions and modes of governance have a significant effect. Questions about the impact of governance have become more central to comparative policy analysis as scholars have given more attention to globalization, organizational cultural differences, policy learning, transfer, and diffusion. The chapters included in this volume tackle the nature of policies and policy analytic practices within and across organizations, actors and institutions as well as among governance modes. The chapters demonstrate the ways in which institutions and governance in the public and private sectors, shape policies, and conversely, how policy choices can shape the institutions associated with them. Other chapters focus on how the diffusion of knowledge and lesson drawing address challenges of policy making, cooperation and harmonization. "Institutions and Governance in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies" will be of great interest to scholars and learners of public policy and social sciences, as well as to practitioners considering what can be reliably contextualized, learned, facilitated or avoided given their own institutional or governance systems. The chapters were originally published as articles in the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis which in the last two decades has pioneered the development of comparative public policy. The volume is part of a four-volume series, the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis including Theories and Methods, Institutions and Governance, Regional Comparisons, and Policy Sectors. Each volume also showcases a new chapter comparing interrelated domains of study with comparative public policy: political science, public administration, governance and policy design, authored by JCPA co-editors Giliberto Capano, Iris Geva-May, Michael Howlett, Leslie Pal and B. Guy Peters.

Volume One of the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis, "Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies" includes chapters that apply or further theory and methodology in the comparative study of public policy, in general, and policy analysis, in particular. Throughout the volume the chapters engage in theory building by assessing the relevance of theoretical approaches drawn from the social sciences, as well as some which are distinctive to policy analysis. Other chapters focus on various comparative approaches based on developments and challenges in the methodology of policy analysis. Together, this collection provides a comprehensive scholastic foundation to comparative policy analysis and comparative policy studies. "Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies" will be of great interest to scholars and learners of public policy and social sciences, as well as to practitioners considering what can be learned or facilitated through methodologically and theoretically sound approaches. The chapters were originally published as articles in the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis which in the last two decades has pioneered the development of comparative public policy. The volume is part of a four-volume series, the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis including Theories and Methods, Institutions and Governance, Regional Comparisons, and Policy Sectors. Each volume showcases a different new chapter comparing domains of study interrelated with comparative public policy: political science, public administration, governance and policy design, authored by the JCPA co-editors Giliberto Capano, Iris Geva-May, Michael Howlett, Leslie A. Pal and B. Guy Peters.

Canada and the countries of Latin America are in the midst of major changes and choices in the area of labor markets and related social policy. These decisions are likely to have profound consequences for the quality of life of workers throughout the hemisphere. Labor Market Policies in Canada and Latin America: Challenges of the New Millennium reviews the evidence of Canada and Latin America on three major labor policy instruments - unemployment insurance, minimum wages and training - and on the effects of the payroll taxes which are the main means of funding the unemployment insurance system and other components of social expenditure. This is the first study attempting an in-depth comparison of these labor policy instruments between Canada and Latin America. The useful juxtaposition of Canadian and Latin American experiences comes at a time when the trend in Canada is to back away from the perhaps overly generous or ineffectively administered elements of the labor legislation/social security net and when Latin American countries have undertaken significant reforms of their past systems but require further changes to move toward the sorts of legislation and support systems that characterize developed countries. The experiences of Canada and Latin America are mutually relevant since all are small economies forced to adjust to events at the world or hemispheric level and most are inclined to approach policy in an intermediate fashion which falls between the more market-oriented American and the more interventionist European models. Together with its comparative aspect, this volume attempts a more balanced and in-depth assessment in each of the policy areas than has hitherto been available. The gradually increasing base of available empirical data on the period after the reforms has been used in the studies, which provide thorough syntheses of the available research for Canada and Latin America.