What Works

Substantively weighted analytical techniques, or SWAT, is a concise methods text that represents a new approach for policy programme analysis. The authors combine statistics with normative concerns. They consider how things might be, and they focus on subsets of cases that differ from the norm. Their approach uses regression and methods in a qualitative, yet rigorous manner. In SWAT, the authors address questions such as the following: why do some agencies learn to perform missions faster than others? What factors influence this learning? In which states do criminal justice policies based on deterrence work? What do excellent school districts do differently from those that are simply better than average? Why do some firms comply with public policy quickly while others wait?