American Public Policy: Promise and Performance

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. Table of Contents Part 1. The Nature of Public Policy 1. What Is Public Policy? Defining Public Policy The Instruments of Public Policy The Environment of Public Policy Summary 2. The Structure of Policymaking in American Government Federalism Separation of Powers Subgovernments Public and Private The Size and Shape of the Public Sector Summary Part 2. The Making of Public Policy 3. Agenda Setting and Public Policy Agenda Setting Kinds of Agendas Who Sets Agendas? From Problem to Issue: How to Get Problems on the Agenda Policy Formulation Decision Analysis Summary 4. Legitimating Policy Choices Legislative Legitimation Oversight Regulations and the Administrative Process Summary 5. Organizations and Implementation Dramatis Personae Implementation The Organizational Setting Summary 6. Budgeting: Allocation and Public Policy Characteristics of the Federal Budget The Budget Cycle Problems in the Budgetary Process Reforming Budgeting From Scalpels to Axes: Budget Reform in the 1980s and 1990s Is Budget Change Its Own Reward? 7. Evaluation and Policy Change Problems in Evaluating Public Programs Policy Change Summary Part 3. Substantive Policy Issues 8. Economic Policy The Goals of Economic Policy The Instruments of Economic Policy Summary 9. Tax Policy Public Opinion and Taxation Choices in Tax Policy The Politics of Tax Reform Summary 10. Health Care Policies Problems in Health Care Public Programs in Health Care Health Care Regulation The Pursuit of National Health Insurance Conclusion 11. Income Maintenance: Social Security and Welfare Social Insurance Means-Tested Programs The Persistence of Poverty in the United States Summary 12. Educational Policy Background The Federal Government’s Role in Education Issues of Educational Policy Summary 13. Energy and the Environment Energy: Problems and Policies Energy Sources Policy Options Environmental Policies Implementation of Environmental Controls 14. Protective Policies: Defense and Law Enforcement Defense Policy Problems of Defense Policy Law Enforcement Issues in Law Enforcement Policy Conclusion 15. Culture Wars in American Politics: Regulating Social Life Abortion and Reproductive Rights Gay Rights: Politics Comes Out of the Closet The Separation of Church and State: School Prayer and Other Issues Summary Part 4. Policy Analysis 16. Cost-Benefit Analysis Principles of Cost-Benefit Analysis Doing Cost-Benefit Analysis Criticism and Modification 17. Ethical Analysis of Public Policy Fundamental Value Premises Ethics and Public Policy: Alternatives to Utilitarianism Endnotes Index