Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives, 2nd Edition

Too many books leave policy analysis to a last and solitary chapter--or don't cover it at all. Kraft and Furlong answer to this need and integrate an evaluative approach to policy in their innovative text, encouraging critical and creative thinking on issues ranging from the benefits and costs of sustainable development to the advantages and drawbacks of U.S. efforts to fight the war on terrorism.

Public Policy starts with the basics and concisely describes government institutions, identifies primary policy actors, and reviews major theoretical models. The authors then discuss the nature of policy analysis and its practice, and show students how to employ evaluative criteria in six substantive policy areas. At its core, Public Policy guides students through policy alternatives, arming them with the analytic tools to understand how the interests and motivations of policy actors--both within and outside of government--impact a complex, yet comprehensible, policy agenda.

Improvements to Each Chapter

• Meticulous updating--all new chapter-opening vignettes, current tables and figures, and refreshed lists of suggested readings and websites.
• Strategic streamlining--restructured chapters early in the book ensure a more progressive and accessible introduction to the institutions, actors, and processes of public policy.
• Enhanced pedagogy--key terms focus only on the most important and relevant concepts while end-of-chapter discussion questions better facilitate student analysis.
• Working with Sources--these boxes help students investigate the reliability and comparative quality of sources of policy information through more extensive use of specific cases that call for active application.
• Steps to Analysis--this feature walks students through the steps of the evaluative process in a variety of actual cases, giving students even more opportunities to put their analytic skills to practice.

New Policy Coverage

• Homeland Security--analyzes the economic, political, and ethical dimensions of the United States' struggle with terrorism and disaster management. The authors examine the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the use of private contractors for military operations and homeland security initiatives, the Patriot Act's implications for civil liberties, as well as how the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina illustrates the limits of the government's capacity to respond to emergencies.
• Health Care--evaluates President Bush's reforms to Medicare, including efforts to provide prescription drug coverage for seniors in light of persistently rising health care costs.
• Welfare and Social Security--analyzes President Bush's stalled plan to privatize Social Security as well as alternative reforms under consideration.
• Education--focuses on whether the No Child Left Behind Act has created valuable and effective education reforms, and what amendments to this legislation might improve current testing standards and federal funding allocations.
• Energy and the Environment--looks at the debates over oil drilling in the Arctic and federal and state responses to escalating gasoline prices in light of the ongoing conflict between business interests and environmental quality.