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Policy Analysis: An Examination of Recent Textbooks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2020

Douglas M. Fox
Douglas M. Fox*
Affiliation:
Western Connecticut State College
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Extract

Policy analysis is one of the most frequently used buzz terms in public administration and political science. A recent spate of textbooks indicates that a substantial segment of the MPA curriculum is devoted to the study of policy analysis. In this essay, we will examine the concept and practice of policy analysis as defined by its various proponents.

How do the authors whose work we scrutinize define the term? For Duncan MacRae and James Wilde, “policy analysis is the use of reason and evidence to choose the best policy among a number of alternatives.” This definition closely resembles that of Edith Stokey and Richard Zeckhauser, who are concerned with “The advantages and disadvantages of each course of action.”

Type
Research Article
Information
News for Teachers of Political Science , Volume 36 , Winter 1983 , pp. 1 - 7
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1983

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References

Public Management and Policy Analysis. By Bozeman, Barry. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1979. Pp. 371. $13.95)Google Scholar
Program Analysis for State and Local Government. By Hatry, Harry. et. al.(Washington: The Urban Institute, 1976. Pp. 155. $8.95)Google Scholar
Doing Public Administration. By Henry, Nicholas (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1978. Pp. 318. $8.50)Google Scholar
Policy Analysis for Public Decision. By MacRae, Duncan Jr. and Wilde, James A.. (N. Scituate, MA: Duxbury Press, 1979. Pp. 325. $9.95)Google Scholar
Public Program Analysis. By Poister, Theodore H.. (Baltimore: University Park Press, 1978. Pp. 625. $19.95)Google Scholar
The Politics and Economics of Public Policy. By Grover Starling, . (Homewood, IL: The Dorsey Press, 1979. Pp. 727. $14.95)Google Scholar
A Primer for Policy Analysis. By Stokey, Edith and Richard Zehauser, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1978. Pp. 356. $8.95)Google Scholar
Managing Public Systems: Analytic Techniques for Public Administration. By White, Michael J. et. al. (N. Scituate, MA. Duxbury Press, 1980. Pp. 399. $15.95)Google Scholar
Speaking Truth to Power: The Art and Craft of Policy Analysis. By Wildavsky, Aaron. (Boston: Little, Brown, 1979). Pp. 431, $16.95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar