This is part of a ten volume set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of political science. This work explores the business end of politics, where theory meets practice in the pursuit of public good.

All too often, public policy textbooks offer a basic grounding in the policy process without the benefit of integrating the use of policy analysis. Kraft and Furlong, since their first edition, take a different tack. They want students to understand how and why policy analysis is used to assess policy alternatives--not only to question the assumptions of policy analysts, but to recognize how analysis is used in support of political arguments. To encourage critical and creative thinking on issues ranging from the financial bailout to rising gas prices to natural disasters, the authors introduce and fully integrate an evaluative approach to policy. Public Policy starts with a concise review of institutions, policy actors, and major theoretical models. The authors then discuss the nature of policy analysis and its practice, and show students how to employ evaluative criteria in six substantive policy areas. Public Policy arms students with analytic tools they need to understand the motivations of policy actors--both within and outside of government--influence a complex, yet comprehensible, policy agenda. Enhancements to the 4th edition: - All chapters have been comprehensively updated to include recent events, issues, and policy debates including the conduct of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the use of private contractors for military support and operations, the rising cost of gasoline and disputes over energy policy and climate change, the controversy over immigration policy, requirements for financial regulation, heightened concerns over economic and social inequality, and the clash over reforming taxes and entitlement programs, as well as dealing with the federal deficit and national debt. - New and updated "working with sources" and "steps to analysis" features help students investigate sources of information and apply evaluative criteria. - New and updated end-of chapter discussion questions, suggested readings, and web sites.

This work concentrates on a variety of concepts and analytic models of politics which political scientists use to describe and explain such major public policy areas as civil rights, criminal justice, national defence, education, taxation and more.

Bringing the major current insights in implementation research and theory together, Public Policy, Implementation and Governance reviews the literature on public policy implementation, relating it to contemporary developments in thinking about governance. The text stresses the continuing importance of a focus upon implementation processes and explores its central relevance to the practice of public administration. In light of the changing nature of governance, Hill and Hupe suggest strategies for both future research on and management of public policy implementation. Their basic approach is two-fold: firstly, to understand the process of implementation and secondly, to address how one might control and affect this process. Re-exploring the state of the art of the study of implementation as a sub-discipline of political science and public administration, this book will be essential reading for students and researchers in public policy, social policy, public management, public adminstration and governance. `This is an excellent and much needed book. Hill and Hupe have provided a well written and highly accessible account of the development of implementation studies which will be immensely valuable to everyone concerned with understanding implementation in modern policy making.' - Professor Wayne Parsons, University of London

The study of public policy and the methods of policy analysis are among the most rapidly developing areas in the social sciences. Policy analysis has emerged to provide a better understanding of the policymaking process and to supply decision makers with reliable policy-relevant knowledge about pressing economic and social problems. Presenting a broad, comprehensive perspective, the Handbook of Public Policy Analysis: Theory, Politics, and Methods covers the historical development of policy analysis, its role in the policy process, and empirical methods. The handbook considers the theory generated by these methods and the normative and ethical issues surrounding their practice. Written by leading experts in the field, this book- Deals with the basic origins and evolution of public policy Examines the stages of the policy-making process Identifies political advocacy and expertise in the policy process Focuses on rationality in policy decision-making and the role of policy networks and learning Details argumentation, rhetoric, and narratives Explores the comparative, cultural, and ethical aspects of public policy Explains primary quantitative-oriented analytical methods employed in policy research Addresses the qualitative sides of policy analysis Discusses tools used to refine policy choices Traces the development of policy analysis in selected national contexts The Handbook of Public Policy Analysis: Theory, Politics, and Methods describes the theoretical debates that have recently defined the field, including the work of postpositivist, interpretivist, and social constructionist scholars. This book also explores the interplay between empirical and normative analysis, a crucial issue running through contemporary debates.

PUBLIC POLICY: AN EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH, 3e, examines how the substance and process of public policy and our understanding of that have evolved in America. After providing the reader with an analytic, historic and contextual framework for viewing public policy in the U.S., the authors offer a comprehensive look at the various elements of the governing process including agenda setting and problem definition, policy formation, implementation, program evaluation, and policy change and termination. In doing that the authors pay particular attention to the range of theories that have been offered to explain how, why, and with what effects governments act. The authors then look at three critical policy areas environment, education, and welfare to furher illustrate how governing proceeds in the U.S. Thoroughout the text the authors draw extensively on actual policy examples including recent efforts to reform education and welfare and the war in Iraq. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.