For courses in Public Policy An introduction to public policy that helps students learn how to think critically about politics. Understanding Public Policy provides an introduction to the study of public policy, as well as an overview of the models that political scientists use to describe and explain political life. Offering students the tools needed to analyze public policy, author Thomas Dye highlights why governments pursue particular policies, and helps students understand the consequences of these policy choices. The fifteenth edition has been updated to reflect the key issues that have defined President Obama's second term, with plenty of examples drawn from the headlines to help students see how public policy affects their own lives.
1. Policy Analysis: What Governments Do, Why They Do It, and What Difference It Makes2. Models of Politics: Some Help in Thinking About Public Policy3. The Policymaking Process: Decision-Making Activities4. Policy Evaluation: Finding Out What Happens After a Law Is Passed5. Federalism and State Policies: Institutional Arrangements and Policy Variations6. Criminal Justice: Rationality and Irrationality in Public Policy7. Welfare: The Search for Rational Strategies8. Health Care: Attempting a Rational-Comprehensive Transformation9. Education: Group Struggles10. Economic Policy: Challenging Incrementalism11. Tax Policy: Battling the Special Interests12. International Trade and Immigration: Elite-Mass Conflict13. Energy and the Environment: Externalities and Interests14. Civil Rights: Elite and Mass Interaction15. Defense Policy: Strategies for Serious Games16. Homeland Security: Terrorism and Nondeterrable Threats
