Description
The goal of Birkland (public policy and political science, State U. of New York at Albany) in presenting this introductory text on public policy was to offer greater treatment of theory than is typical in other discussions of the topic and to make more explicit the link between theory and practice. He offers nine chapters on the study and practice of public policy; the historical and structural context of public policy making; official actors and their roles in public policy; unofficial actors and their roles in public policy; agenda setting, power, and interest groups; policies and policy types; policy implementation and policy failure; and models of the policy process. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Now redesigned for increased user friendliness, this readable and practical introduction to the public policy process is intended for students in either traditional academic or professional programs at the undergraduate or graduate level. The author's direct writing style and extensive use of examples will also appeal to practitioners. The book offers an extensive overview of the best current thinking on the policy process, with an emphasis on accessibility and synthesis rather than novelty and abstraction. It has many features that make it equally useful as a ready reference, including myriad definitions throughout each chapter; an annotated bibliography; an introduction to web-based research, with a guide to the most important and reliable public policy research sites; and additional reading suggestions. New for this edition are chapter-at-a-glance introductions; new case studies for major chapters; new Questions-for-Discussion; and sidebars for definitions.
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