3 Review(s)

This book conveys the best current thinking on the policy process, with an emphasis on accessibility and synthesis rather than novelty or abstraction. In the third edition it has been updated and reorganized to enhance student-friendliness. Throughout the book, case studies and real-world examples link theory to the current experience of practitioners. Generous use is made of learning aids including chapter outlines, definitions, tables and charts, cartoons, provocative review questions and research suggestions, and annotated lists of selected classic and recent works in policy studies. A newly added chapter surveys the policy-making system and the social, economic, and demographic trends that are transforming the policy environment in the United States. “In a concise, readable manner, Birkland’s Introduction to the Policy Process conveys the essential who, what, when, where, why, and how of public policy making. As both a policy practitioner and a teacher, I appreciate the book’s discussion of real-world examples within the framework of important concepts from the policy literature. Even better, my students like it, too.” John W. Hardin University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Chief Policy Analyst, North Carolina Board of Science and Technology Table Of Contents Preface to the Third Edition 1. Introducing the Policy Process 2. Elements of the Policy-Making System 3. The Historical and Structural Contexts of Public Policy Making 4. Official Actors and Their Roles in Public Policy 5. Unofficial Actors and Their Roles in Public Policy 6. Agenda Setting, Power, and Interest Groups 7. Policies and Policy Types 8. Policy Design, Policy Tools, and Decisions 9. Policy Implementation, Failure, and Learning 10. Science and Theory in the Study of Public Policy References Index