Theory and Practice in Policy Analysis

Theory and Practice in Policy Analysis PDF

Author: M. Granger Morgan

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-10-12

Total Pages: 608

ISBN-13: 1316886999

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Many books instruct readers on how to use the tools of policy analysis. This book is different. Its primary focus is on helping readers to look critically at the strengths, limitations, and the underlying assumptions analysts make when they use standard tools or problem framings. Using examples, many of which involve issues in science and technology, the book exposes readers to some of the critical issues of taste, professional responsibility, ethics, and values that are associated with policy analysis and research. Topics covered include policy problems formulated in terms of utility maximization such as benefit-cost, decision, and multi-attribute analysis, issues in the valuation of intangibles, uncertainty in policy analysis, selected topics in risk analysis and communication, limitations and alternatives to the paradigm of utility maximization, issues in behavioral decision theory, issues related to organizations and multiple agents, and selected topics in policy advice and policy analysis for government.

Handbook of Public Policy Analysis

Handbook of Public Policy Analysis PDF

Author: Frank Fischer

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-25

Total Pages: 608

ISBN-13: 1351564366

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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.

Policy Analysis Methods

Policy Analysis Methods PDF

Author: Stuart S. Nagel

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13:

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Policy Studies courses are being increasingly offered in public policy schools, political science departments, public administration programmes, and elsewhere. There seems to be a consensus that a basic core of policy courses should deal with policy methods, the policy process, and policy substance. Each can be a course in itself for a term apiece or longer, or as parts of a larger course. This book is designed to deal with the basic theoretical issues in public policy analysis. Those basic issues can be divided into conceptual theory, theory of knowing, casual theory and normative theory.

Theoretical Issues in Policy Analysis

Theoretical Issues in Policy Analysis PDF

Author: M. E. Hawkesworth

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1988-01-01

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 9780887068409

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What is the relation between policy analysis and political decision-making? Is the policy analyst a handmaiden of democracy or an agent of technocracy? Do recent debates in the policy literature illuminate or obfuscate these issues? What analytic techniques are available to resolve such questions? This study considers the nature of policy inquiry in detail and explores norms and theoretical assumptions seldom subjected to scrutiny. The author demonstrates how conceptual presuppositions and methodological commitments have constricted our understanding of political problems and so hindered prescriptions for viable policy options. Proposed here is an alternative framework for policy inquiry that is both pragmatic and sophisticated. Hawkesworth considers the implications of this alternative model in a series of case studies that addresses important foreign and domestic policy issues. The epistemic and practical criticisms presented in this study provide new direction for the field of policy studies.

Narrative Policy Analysis

Narrative Policy Analysis PDF

Author: Emery Roe

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 1994-11-04

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9780822315131

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Narrative Policy Analysis presents a powerful and original application of contemporary literary theory and policy analysis to many of today’s most urgent public policy issues. Emery Roe demonstrates across a wide array of case studies that structuralist and poststructuralist theories of narrative are exceptionally useful in evaluating difficult policy problems, understanding their implications, and in making effective policy recommendations. Assuming no prior knowledge of literary theory, Roe introduces the theoretical concepts and terminology from literary analysis through an examination of the budget crises of national governments. With a focus on several particularly intractable issues in the areas of the environment, science, and technology, he then develops the methodology of narrative policy analysis by showing how conflicting policy "stories" often tell a more policy-relevant meta-narrative. He shows the advantage of this approach to reading and analyzing stories by examining the ways in which the views of participants unfold and are told in representative case studies involving the California Medfly crisis, toxic irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley, global warming, animal rights, the controversy over the burial remains of Native Americans, and Third World development strategies. Presenting a bold innovation in the interdisciplinary methodology of the policy sciences, Narrative Policy Analysis brings the social sciences and humanities together to better address real-world problems of public policy—particularly those issues characterized by extreme uncertainty, complexity, and polarization—which, if not more effectively managed now, will plague us well into the next century.

Public Policy Analysis

Public Policy Analysis PDF

Author: Peter Knoepfel

Publisher: Policy Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 1847429041

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This is an English version of a text on public policy analysis originally written for practitioners in Switzerland and France. It presents a model for the analysis of public policy and includes examples of its application in everyday situations. This English version introduces supplementary illustrations and examples from the United Kingdom.

Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning

Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning PDF

Author: Carl Patton

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-08-26

Total Pages: 481

ISBN-13: 1317350006

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Updated in its 3rd edition, Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning presents quickly applied methods for analyzing and resolving planning and policy issues at state, regional, and urban levels. Divided into two parts, Methods which presents quick methods in nine chapters and is organized around the steps in the policy analysis process, and Cases which presents seven policy cases, ranging in degree of complexity, the text provides readers with the resources they need for effective policy planning and analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods are systematically combined to address policy dilemmas and urban planning problems. Readers and analysts utilizing this text gain comprehensive skills and background needed to impact public policy.

Does Policy Analysis Matter?

Does Policy Analysis Matter? PDF

Author: Lee S. Friedman

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2017-03-30

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 0520287398

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Just how well can democracy incorporate knowledge and expertise through public policy analysts? This book examines the evolution of policy analysis, its use in legislative and regulatory bodies, and its use within the federal executive branch to improve governmental services. As Friedman and his colleagues show, policy analysis is not a panacea, but it generates net social benefits. The essays consider whether policy analysis is only effective when it complements democratic decision-making and whether it improves policy outcomes by fostering better use of evidence in considering alternatives.

Critical Approaches to Education Policy Analysis

Critical Approaches to Education Policy Analysis PDF

Author: Michelle D. Young

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-11-18

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 3319396439

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This volume informs the growing number of educational policy scholars on the use of critical theoretical frameworks in their analyses. It offers insights on which theories are appropriate within the area of critical educational policy research and how theory and method interact and are applied in critical policy analyses. Highlighting how different critical theoretical frameworks are used in educational policy research to reshape and redefine the way scholars approach the field, the volume offers work by emerging and senior scholars in the field of educational policy who apply critical frameworks to their research. The chapters examine a wide range of current educational policy topics through different critical theoretical lenses, including critical race theory, critical discourse analysis, postmodernism, feminist poststructuralism, critical theories related to LGBTQ issues, and advocacy approaches.

Public Policy Analysis

Public Policy Analysis PDF

Author: William N. Dunn

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-07-22

Total Pages: 817

ISBN-13: 1317344839

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Public Policy Analysis, the most widely cited book on the subject, provides readers with a comprehensive methodology of public policy analysis. Starting from the premise that policy analysis is an applied social science discipline designed for solving practical problems facing public and nonprofit organizations, the book bridges the gap between theory and practice. It provides practical skills for conducting policy analysis and communicating findings through memos, position papers, and other forms of structured analytical writing. The book asks readers to critically anazlye the arguments of policy practitioners as well as political scientists, economists, and political philosophers.