Ineffective Policies: Causes and Consequences of Bad Policy Choices

by Ian Roberge (Editor), Heather McKeen-Edwards (Editor), Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn (Editor)

Overview

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Bad policies have repercussions that can be felt for decades. But what makes a bad policy? And how can it be reversed or improved?

Bringing together scholars from Europe and North America, this book goes beyond traditional policy theory to study bad and ineffective policies across three fields:

• the environment;

• the financial services sector; and

• emerging technologies.

Using cutting-edge research and analysis, the editors and authors state the case for studying ineffective policies, demonstrate their harmful effects across policy fields and provide policy makers with the tools to reflect, identify, and act upon them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781447371571
Publisher:	Policy Press
Publication date:	04/29/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	242
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Ian Roberge is Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at York University

Heather McKeen-Edwards is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Bishop’s University.

Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn is Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy in the Department of International Relations and International Organization, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Groningen.

Ian Roberge is a Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at York University, Canada.
Heather McKeen-Edwards is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies, Bishop’s University, Canada.
Malcolm Campbell- Verduyn is Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy in the Department of International Relations and International Organization, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.

Table of Contents

1. 1. Ineffective policies: causes and consequences of bad policy decisions - Ian Roberge, Heather McKeen-Edwards and Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn

2. Giving serious thought to bad policy and the state of democracy - Mariëlle Wijermars and Ian Roberge

Part 1: Ineffective policies, contested goals

3. From good to bad? The contested desirability of economic growth - Matthias Kranke

4. What a bad policy idea! Exploring views on wind farms in Italy - Alberto Asquer

5. Satoshi meets the state: bad policy in Uncle Sam’s initial encounters with Bitcoin and distributed ledger technology - Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn

6. Toronto’s failed smart city: intellectual property, data, and bad governance - Natasha Tusikov

7. Letting the solution define the problem: Canada’s COVID Alert app as a case of failed policy - Blayne Haggart

Part 2: Ineffective policies, negative outcomes

8. Toxic growth in the circular economy: is the EU Plastics Strategy a bad policy? - Jacob Hasselbach

9. The environment, megacity growth and ineffective policy: housing policy reform in Ontario - Mark Winfield and Madison Stirling

10. Death by a thousand clarifications: how the Volcker Rule’s inevitable ambiguity makes it easy to erode and hard to defend while leaving the power of banks unchecked - Erin Lockwood

11. Borrowing money from the fringes: the problematic regulation of payday loans in Canada and the US - Heather McKeen-Edwards

Part 3: The bad impacts of ineffective policies

12. Bad policies and the erosion of trust in comparative perspective - David K. Jesuit and Thomas J. Greitens

13. The path forward: addressing bad policy for the sake of good policy - Ian Roberge

Editorial Reviews

Much public policy in Europe and North America can be described as ‘ineffective’. From plastic waste management to bitcoin regulation, governments design policies that don’t do the job they are intended for, with bad outcomes for society. This diverse group of scholars brings new conceptual depth and compelling empirical insight to ‘ineffective policy’. Their efforts give a fresh perspective on just how far we have to go in Europe and North America to develop genuinely ‘good’, effective policies.” Matthew Wood, University of Sheffield

From the Publisher