Public Policy
Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives
5th Edition
Published on 18. December 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
568 pages
978-1-4833-4578-9 (ISBN)
Description
With the right information we can develop public policies that work better.
All too often, public policy textbooks offer a basic grounding in the policy process without the benefit of integrating the use of policy analysis. Since the first edition of Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives, Michael Kraft and Scott Furlong have taken 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 also to recognize how analysis is used in support of political arguments. To encourage critical and creative thinking on issues ranging from the federal deficit to health care reform to climate change, the authors introduce and fully integrate an evaluative approach to policy.
The authors begin the fifth edition of Public Policy with a concise review of institutions, policy actors, and major theoretical models. Then, they discuss the nature of policy analysis and its practice and show students how to employ evaluative criteria in six substantive policy areas. The text arms students with the analytic tools they need to understand the motivations of policy actors-both within and outside of government-and to influence a complex, yet comprehensible, policy agenda.
All too often, public policy textbooks offer a basic grounding in the policy process without the benefit of integrating the use of policy analysis. Since the first edition of Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives, Michael Kraft and Scott Furlong have taken 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 also to recognize how analysis is used in support of political arguments. To encourage critical and creative thinking on issues ranging from the federal deficit to health care reform to climate change, the authors introduce and fully integrate an evaluative approach to policy.
The authors begin the fifth edition of Public Policy with a concise review of institutions, policy actors, and major theoretical models. Then, they discuss the nature of policy analysis and its practice and show students how to employ evaluative criteria in six substantive policy areas. The text arms students with the analytic tools they need to understand the motivations of policy actors-both within and outside of government-and to influence a complex, yet comprehensible, policy agenda.
Reviews / Votes
"I have used other books, but Kraft and Furlong's Public Policy is appealing because it's broad enough to satisfy students' curiosities in different policy areas, yet specific enough to home on key issues, controversies, and topics." -- Marcus D. MauldinMore details
Edition
5th Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Thousand Oaks
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 191 mm
Weight
766 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4833-4578-9 (9781483345789)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
07/2017
6th Edition
CQ Press
€142.62
Article is exhausted; no reprint
Previous edition
Book
09/2012
4th Edition
CQ Press
€99.23
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Michael E. Kraft is professor emeritus of political science
and public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green
Bay. He is the author of, among other works, Environmental
Policy and Politics, 8th ed. (2022), and coauthor of
Coming Clean: Information Disclosure and Environmental
Performance (2011), with Mark Stephan and Troy D. Abel.
In addition, he is the coeditor of Environmental Policy:
New Directions in the 21st Century, 12th ed. (2025), with
Barry G. Rabe and Norman J. Vig; Toward Sustainable
Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy, 2nd ed. (2009), with
Daniel A. Mazmanian; and Business and Environmental Policy: Corporate Interests in the
American Political System (2007) and The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Environmental Policy (2013),
with Sheldon Kamieniecki. For over forty years, he taught courses in environmental policy and
politics, American government, Congress, and public policy analysis.
Scott R. Furlong is provost/vice president for academic
affairs at the State University of New York at Oswego as
of July 2017, after serving ten years as dean of the College
of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and professor
of political science and public affairs at the University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay. His areas of expertise are regulatory
policy and interest group participation in the executive
branch, and he has taught public policy for over twenty
years. He is the author or coauthor of many book chapters
and coauthor of Rulemaking: How Government Agencies
Write Laws and Make Policy, 5th ed. (2019), with Cornelius
M. Kerwin. His articles have appeared in such journals as Public Administration Review, Journal
of Public Administration Research and Theory, Administration and Society, American Review of
Public Administration, and Policy Studies Journal.
and public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green
Bay. He is the author of, among other works, Environmental
Policy and Politics, 8th ed. (2022), and coauthor of
Coming Clean: Information Disclosure and Environmental
Performance (2011), with Mark Stephan and Troy D. Abel.
In addition, he is the coeditor of Environmental Policy:
New Directions in the 21st Century, 12th ed. (2025), with
Barry G. Rabe and Norman J. Vig; Toward Sustainable
Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy, 2nd ed. (2009), with
Daniel A. Mazmanian; and Business and Environmental Policy: Corporate Interests in the
American Political System (2007) and The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Environmental Policy (2013),
with Sheldon Kamieniecki. For over forty years, he taught courses in environmental policy and
politics, American government, Congress, and public policy analysis.
Scott R. Furlong is provost/vice president for academic
affairs at the State University of New York at Oswego as
of July 2017, after serving ten years as dean of the College
of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and professor
of political science and public affairs at the University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay. His areas of expertise are regulatory
policy and interest group participation in the executive
branch, and he has taught public policy for over twenty
years. He is the author or coauthor of many book chapters
and coauthor of Rulemaking: How Government Agencies
Write Laws and Make Policy, 5th ed. (2019), with Cornelius
M. Kerwin. His articles have appeared in such journals as Public Administration Review, Journal
of Public Administration Research and Theory, Administration and Society, American Review of
Public Administration, and Policy Studies Journal.
Content
PART I: THE STUDY OF PUBLIC POLICY
Chapter 1: PUBLIC POLICY AND POLITICS
What Is Public Policy?
Defining Basic Concepts
Why Study Public Policy?
The Contexts of Public Policy
The Reasons for Government Involvement
The Practice of Policy Analysis
Chapter 2: GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS AND POLICY ACTORS
Growth of Government
Government Institutions and Policy Capacity
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Informal Policy Actors and Policy Capacity
Improving Policy Capacity
Chapter 3: UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC POLICYMAKING
Theories of Politics and Public Policy
The Policy Process Model
Instruments of Public Policy
Policy Typologies
Part II: ANALYZING PUBLIC POLICY
Chapter 4: POLICY ANALYSIS: AN INTRODUCTION
The Nature of Policy Analysis
Steps in the Policy Analysis Process
Types of Policy Analysis
What Kind of Analysis Is Needed?
Chapter 5: PUBLIC PROBLEMS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Problem Analysis
How to Find Information
Constructing Alternatives
Thinking Creatively about Policy Action
Chapter 6: ASSESSING POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Evaluative Criteria for Judging Policy Proposals
Using the Methods of Policy Analysis
Economic Approaches
Decision Making and Impacts
Political and Institutional Approaches
Ethical Analysis
PART III: ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES IN PUBLIC POLICY
Chapter 7: ECONOMIC AND BUDGETARY POLICY
Background
Goals of Economic Policy
Tools of Economic Policy
The Budget Process and Its Effect on Economic Policy
Economic Policy: Successes and Failures
Economic Issues and Challenges
Focused Discussion: How to Address the Budgetary Shortfall
Chapter 8: HEALTH CARE POLICY
Background
Major Government Health Care Programs
Other Health Care Policy Issues
Rising Health Care Costs
Managed Care Organizations
Reducing Health Care Costs
Quality of Care
Focused Discussion: Should There Be Greater Emphasis on Preventive Health Care?
Chapter 9: WELFARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY POLICY
Background
Social Security
Welfare
Chapter 10: EDUCATION POLICY
Background
Problems Facing Education
Education Policy Reforms
Higher Education Issues
Focused Discussion: Higher Education Affordability, Cost, and Value
Chapter 11: ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY POLICY
Background
The Evolution of Environmental and Energy Policy
From Consensus to Conflict in Environmental Policy
Major Federal Environmental Policies
Energy Policy
Focused Discussion: Climate Change and Energy Policy Alternatives
Chapter 12: FOREIGN POLICY AND HOMELAND SECURITY
Background and Policy Evolution
Selected Issues in Homeland Security
Focused Discussion: Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism
PART IV: CONCLUSIONS
Chapter 13: POLITICS, ANALYSIS, AND POLICY CHOICE
Policy Analysis, Citizen Participation, and Change
Public Policies and Their Impacts
Policy Analysis and Policy Choices
Citizen Participation in Decision Making
Chapter 1: PUBLIC POLICY AND POLITICS
What Is Public Policy?
Defining Basic Concepts
Why Study Public Policy?
The Contexts of Public Policy
The Reasons for Government Involvement
The Practice of Policy Analysis
Chapter 2: GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS AND POLICY ACTORS
Growth of Government
Government Institutions and Policy Capacity
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Informal Policy Actors and Policy Capacity
Improving Policy Capacity
Chapter 3: UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC POLICYMAKING
Theories of Politics and Public Policy
The Policy Process Model
Instruments of Public Policy
Policy Typologies
Part II: ANALYZING PUBLIC POLICY
Chapter 4: POLICY ANALYSIS: AN INTRODUCTION
The Nature of Policy Analysis
Steps in the Policy Analysis Process
Types of Policy Analysis
What Kind of Analysis Is Needed?
Chapter 5: PUBLIC PROBLEMS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Problem Analysis
How to Find Information
Constructing Alternatives
Thinking Creatively about Policy Action
Chapter 6: ASSESSING POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Evaluative Criteria for Judging Policy Proposals
Using the Methods of Policy Analysis
Economic Approaches
Decision Making and Impacts
Political and Institutional Approaches
Ethical Analysis
PART III: ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES IN PUBLIC POLICY
Chapter 7: ECONOMIC AND BUDGETARY POLICY
Background
Goals of Economic Policy
Tools of Economic Policy
The Budget Process and Its Effect on Economic Policy
Economic Policy: Successes and Failures
Economic Issues and Challenges
Focused Discussion: How to Address the Budgetary Shortfall
Chapter 8: HEALTH CARE POLICY
Background
Major Government Health Care Programs
Other Health Care Policy Issues
Rising Health Care Costs
Managed Care Organizations
Reducing Health Care Costs
Quality of Care
Focused Discussion: Should There Be Greater Emphasis on Preventive Health Care?
Chapter 9: WELFARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY POLICY
Background
Social Security
Welfare
Chapter 10: EDUCATION POLICY
Background
Problems Facing Education
Education Policy Reforms
Higher Education Issues
Focused Discussion: Higher Education Affordability, Cost, and Value
Chapter 11: ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY POLICY
Background
The Evolution of Environmental and Energy Policy
From Consensus to Conflict in Environmental Policy
Major Federal Environmental Policies
Energy Policy
Focused Discussion: Climate Change and Energy Policy Alternatives
Chapter 12: FOREIGN POLICY AND HOMELAND SECURITY
Background and Policy Evolution
Selected Issues in Homeland Security
Focused Discussion: Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism
PART IV: CONCLUSIONS
Chapter 13: POLITICS, ANALYSIS, AND POLICY CHOICE
Policy Analysis, Citizen Participation, and Change
Public Policies and Their Impacts
Policy Analysis and Policy Choices
Citizen Participation in Decision Making