Politics and Public Policy

Carl E. Van Horn, William T. Gormley, Donald C. Baumer

SAGE Publications, Feb 1, 2001 - Political Science - 337 pages

Break with convention - An original look at policymaking

Policymaking is a messy business. It entails more than the traditional policy cycle discussed in most textbooks. And it involves more than presidents and members of Congress.

Judges, bureaucrats, corporate leaders, journalists, and voters all influence and participate in the process, and at all levels of government. Each group practices a different kind of politics, which very often results in different policies and outcomes. By looking at six distinct, yet connected, policy domains, your students will see a more comprehensive and realistic view of policymaking:
Boardroom Politics - decisions by professional and business leaders
Bureaucratic Politics - rule-making and adjudication by administrators
Cloakroom Politics - lawmaking by legislators
Chief Executive Politics - decision making by presidents, governors, mayors, and their advisers
Courtroom Politics - rulings by judges
Living Room Politics - opinions expressed by and through the mass media, grassroots movements, political activists, and voters

Policymakers are faced with tough choices. With this text, students are better prepared to evaluate their leaders' performance given the book'ss unique framework linking how policies are chosen with what policy is chosen.

Thoroughly updated to reflect the issues of the early 21st century, this new edition also incorporates new and important scholarship.

Recommended for classes in: Public Policy and American Government

Contents

• American Politics and Public Policy: 1
• Political Culture the Economy and Public Policy: 27
• Boardroom Politics 57: 57

About the author

Carl E. Van Horn is professor of public policy and the director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. He is the author of No One Left Behind: Economic Change and the American Worker (Twentieth Century Fund, 1996) and the editor of The State of the States (CQ Press, 1989).

William T. Gormley Jr. is University Professor and professor of government and public policy at Georgetown University. He is the author of several books, including Organizational Report Cards, with David Weimer and Everybody’s Children: Child Care as a Public Problem.

Donald C. Baumer is professor of Government at Smith College. He is coauthor of The Politics of Unemployment (CQ Press, 1985) with Carl Van Horn, and has published several articles on employment policy and Democratic leadership in the Senate. He recently completed a three-year term as Dean for Academic Development at Smith College.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Politics and Public Policy
• Authors: Carl E. Van Horn, William T. Gormley, Donald C. Baumer
• Edition: revised
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, 2001
• Original from: Indiana University
• Digitized: May 7, 2010
• ISBN: 1568024835, 9781568024837
• Length: 337 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / General