American Public Policy: Promise and Performance - Softcover

Peters, Guy B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1566430240 ISBN 13: 9781566430241

Publisher: Seven Bridges Press,U.S., 1995

Synopsis

In this seventh edition of his classic introduction to the process and content of public policy in America, B. Guy Peters provides the background and context needed for any introductory course in the subject. Deftly handling such core topics as the governmental structures and procedures through which policy is designed and implemented, Peters also examines substantive policy areas including health care, education, social security and welfare, energy and the environment, and defense and law enforcement to give students a solid foundation as well as a real sense of the issues and tradeoffs facing today s policymakers. Students and instructors alike will appreciate the seventh edition s updated material on the George W. Bush administration along with cases and material drawn from recent events and scholarship. In addition to analysis of the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the continuing efforts to implement results-based legislation such as the No Child Left Behind policy, and an expanded discussion of the changing role of ideology, this revision also includes valuable new material on the defense budget, earmarking in the budgeting process, and the President s Tax Reform Commission. Showing students why such politically divisive issues as abortion, gay marriage, and school prayer are so unyielding to bargaining and compromise, Peters includes a unique and insightful chapter on social policy and the culture wars. Finally, updated graphics, tables, and charts throughout will ensure that students have access to the latest data in the field.

About this title

Synopsis

This revised edition begins by defining public policy and its environments, as well as identifying the governmental structures through which policy is designed and reshaped. Then it explains the procedure of policy making, from the agenda-setting stage to implementation through evaluation. The author analyzes the problems, goals, and important issues in various substantive policy areas, including economic, environmental, and defence policy. Part four is devoted to an explanation of policy analysis, in a cost-benefit and an ethical context.

About the Author

B. Guy Peters is Maurice Falk Professor of American Government at the University of Pittsburgh. He has written extensively in the areas of public administration and public policy, both for the United States and comparatively. Among his recent publications are the Handbook of Public Administration and The Quest for Control: Politicization of the Public Service.

Edition details

• Publisher: Seven Bridges Press,U.S.
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1566430240
• ISBN 13: 9781566430241
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 432