The sixth edition of this annual collection of the year's best work in policy studies. Contributions in this volume reflect the increased emphasis on budget conscious and carefully targeted social programmes. Exemplifying a range of analytic and methodological strategies, this edition features studies from Australia, the United States, West Germany, and Great Britain.

Every editor of the Policy Studies Review Annual brings a unique perspective to bear in selecting articles to be included. This perspective reflects varying methodological and disciplinary judgments, varying judgments on what the field of policy studies or policy analysis is and where it should be going, and varying judgments regarding the quality of articles which are or claim to be in the field. Because it is the objective to assemble a set of essays which are both interesting and topical, there will be varying perspectives on these matters as well. The volume clearly reflects the editors perspectives. They are explicit about these judgments and perspectives, and then let the content of the volume speak for itself. First, we are both economists. As a result, the general topics selected and the articles chosen under each topic tend to emphasize economics more than the other disciplines involved in the field of policy studies—sociology, psychology, political science, law, and so on. This emphasis is clearly seen by comparing the contents of volume I (edited by Stuart Nagel, a political scientist) and volume II (edited by Howard Freeman, a sociologist) with that of this volume. Second, the editors have a particular view of what policy studies or policy analysis is. That view has several aspects. In the first place, they feel that the field of policy studies or policy analysis must define itself, and this definition will develop as researchers do just what the title of the field says—study or analyze policies. A corollary of this view is that we place a low weight on papers which discuss the policy process or reforms in policy-making, relative to papers which analyze a policy, a policy proposal, or a problem which leads to calls for policy action.

In the tradition of the Policy Studies Review Annual series, Volume Eight continues to offer the best of recent writing and analysis in a number of policy relevant area. Indeed, reflecting the shifting nature of policy debates and public attention, Volume Eight has introduced seven entirely new substantive areas, including such sensitive issues as the viability of the "safety net," information policy, work and labor policy, immigration policy, and environmental policy. The volume is also characterized by explicit attention to two critical aspects of the policy analysis craft--the strengths and weaknesses of various methodological approaches and the role noneconomic factors should play in economic policy analysis. Drawing from such public sector administrators as William Ruckelshaus and Eleanor Chelimsky, academic policy analysts such as Martin Feldstein and Irving Louis horowitz, and two congressional support agencies (CBO and GAO), the volume provides the most timely and relevant assessments of current policy issues. It also provides the reader with a framework within which to approach substantie areas as widely disparate as national security and health care. The volume is an indispensible tool for those who seek to sort through the confusions and contradictions of present policy statements in order to gain a cogent view of how these and other issues are framed and what viable policy options are available. , Contents (partial): METHODS FOR POLICY ANALYSIS--S. Rosen, S. Tolchin, D. McCaffrey, J. Hall, P. Dommel, S. Kelman; NONECONOMIC FACTORS IN ECONOMIC POLICY MAKING--A. Etzioni, A. Bhattacharya, J. Fel-dman, M. Fedstein; THE SAFETY NET AS PUBLIC POLICY--Congressional Budget Office, C. Murray, U.S. General Accounting Office, R. Struyk, R.K. Weaver; WORK AND LABOR POLICY--S. Levitan, D. Bresnik, L. Datta; HEALTH POLICY AND COST CONTAINMENT--V. Fuchs, B.B. Torrey, J. Lave; DEFENSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY--S. Deitchman, H. Brown, R. Art, D. Robertson, J. Steinbruner, I.L. Horowitz, C. Danopoulos; INFORMATION POLICY--E. Chelimsky, L. Perlman, R.J. Perlman, P. Lengyel; ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY--W. Ruckelshaus, M. Kraft, N. Vig, R.C. Kearney, J.J. Stucker, W.K. Viscusi; IMMIGRATION POLICY--R. Mines, P. Martin, E Bean, T. Sullivan, D.G. Papademetriou.

Rational Techniques in Policy Analysis covers the role of rational techniques in policy making process. This book is organized into two parts encompassing 12 chapters that consider the relationship of policy making and other approaches to rational analysis. Part I deals with the "disintegration" of rational policy analysis to find out what the pieces are, how they work, how the parts interact and how they relate to the wider policy making environment. Part II considers the types of rational analysis in more detail, and serves not only as a survey of rational techniques but as an introduction to the important literature in each field. This part specifically looks into the cost-utility techniques, social forecasting, and evaluation and social indicator research. This book is intended primarily for analysts, researchers, and students of the policy making process in university and government.

The United States health care system is unique among those of other developed economies--most significantly because health care is not a legal right in the United States. Instead, it is considered an employee benefit and a privilege, unless one is over age 65 or of low income. The United States is the only developed country without some form of universal health care. Contributors to this volume represent an interdisciplinary group of academics, practitioners, and service delivery providers. The volume begins with a general examination of the politics of health and social welfare in the United States. It then focuses on the importance and role of consumers in the U.S. economy, and dilemmas associated with promoting consumer choice. It explores policy issues and challenges in three specific areas: controlling health care costs and protecting choice with respect to health care, the major challenges to informed choice in health care, and barriers to effective health care service delivery. Contributors explore changes and reforms that have been introduced within public and privately financed systems over the past ten years. Consumer Choice examines in a timely and efficient manner critical social and health policy issues--nationally and internationally--and the major challenges that face informed choice in health care and social policy. Policymakers, health care officials, and medical personnel in the United States and other countries will find this volume highly informative.