When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the Red Scare seized the American public. While President Eisenhower cautioned restraint, his hand was forced, and NASA’s budget had increased five thousand percent over its pre-Sputnik levels by the time President Kennedy proposed landing a man on the moon. Spending on the space race is in no way unique; Almost every policy area has its own Sputnik-type story, where waves of popular support for an idea (or disillusionment with a previous one) created new political priorities, resulting in dramatic changes to the budget or compelling agencies to respond quickly with little knowledge or preparation. Is this instability an inherent feature of the policy process, or is it possible for an agency to deal with problems in a way that insulates it from swings in public opinion and thus imposes some stability on the decision making process?

Derek A. Epp argues that some agencies can indeed do that and that instability is at least partially a function of poor institutional design. While it is inherently more challenging to maintain stability around complex problems like immigration or climate change, the deliberative process itself can affect the degree of stability around an issue. Epp looks at whether agencies follow a deliberative model for decision making, in which policies are developed by means of debate among a small group of policymakers, or a collective model, in which the opinions of many people are aggregated, as with the stock market. He argues that, in many instances, the collective model produces more informed and stable policy outcomes that can be adapted more readily to new information and changing public priorities.

About the Author:

Derek A. Epp is assistant professor of political science in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

The Saint Bookstore has a range of over 1 million titles available.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

SB ONLINE LTD
50 Devonshire Road, Southport, PR9 7BZ, United Kingdom

Terms of Sale:

Please order through the Abebooks checkout. We only take orders through Abebooks - We don't take direct orders by email or phone.

Refunds or Returns: A full refund of the purchase price will be given if returned within 30 days in undamaged condition.

As a seller on abebooks we adhere to the terms explained at http://www.abebooks.co.uk/docs/HelpCentral/buyerIndex.shtml - if you require further assistance please email us at orders@thesaintbookstore.co.uk

Shipping Terms:

Most orders usually ship within 1-3 business days, but some can take up to 7 days.

Payment Methods
accepted by seller

Add to Wants

Items related to The Structure of Policy Change

The Structure of Policy Change

Derek A. Epp

New - Soft cover

Seller's business information