Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives

by Michael E. Kraft, Scott R. Furlong

Overview

Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives, Eighth Edition by Michael E. Kraft and Scott R. Furlong helps readers understand how and why policy analysis is used to assess policy alternatives. The text encourages them to not only question the assumptions of policy analysts, but also recognize how various strategies are used in support of political arguments.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071858394
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	01/30/2024
Edition description:	Eighth Edition
Pages:	568
Product dimensions:	7.38(w) x 9.12(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael E. Kraft is professor emeritus of political science

and public affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Green

Bay. He is the author of, among other works, Environmental

Policy and Politics, 8th ed. (2022), and coauthor of

Coming Clean: Information Disclosure and Environmental

Performance (2011), with Mark Stephan and Troy D. Abel.

In addition, he is the coeditor of Environmental Policy:

New Directions in the 21st Century, 12th ed. (2025), with

Barry G. Rabe and Norman J. Vig; Toward Sustainable

Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy, 2nd ed. (2009), with

Daniel A. Mazmanian; and Business and Environmental Policy: Corporate Interests in the

American Political System (2007) and The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Environmental Policy (2013),

with Sheldon Kamieniecki. For over forty years, he taught courses in environmental policy and

politics, American government, Congress, and public policy analysis.

Scott R. Furlong is provost/vice president for academic

affairs at the State University of New York at Oswego as

of July 2017, after serving ten years as dean of the College

of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and professor

of political science and public affairs at the University of

Wisconsin–Green Bay. His areas of expertise are regulatory

policy and interest group participation in the executive

branch, and he has taught public policy for over twenty

years. He is the author or coauthor of many book chapters

and coauthor of Rulemaking: How Government Agencies

Write Laws and Make Policy, 5th ed. (2019), with Cornelius

M. Kerwin. His articles have appeared in such journals as Public Administration Review, Journal

of Public Administration Research and Theory, Administration and Society, American Review of

Public Administration, and Policy Studies Journal.

Table of Contents

Boxes, Figures, and Tables
Preface
About the Authors
PART I THE STUDY OF PUBLIC POLICY
1 Public Policy and Politics
What Is Public Policy?
Defining Basic Concepts
Why Study Public Policy?
The Contexts of Public Policy
The Reasons for Government Involvement
The Practice of Policy Analysis
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
2 Government Institutions and Policy Actors
Growth of Government
Government Institutions and Policy Capacity
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Informal Policy Actors and Policy Capacity
Improving Policy Capacity
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
3 Understanding Public Policymaking
Theories of Politics and Public Policy
The Policy Process Model
Instruments of Public Policy
Policy Typologies
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
PART II ANALYZING PUBLIC POLICY
4 Policy Analysis: An Introduction
The Nature of Policy Analysis
Steps in the Policy Analysis Process
Types of Policy Analysis
What Kind of Analysis Is Needed?
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Leading General Journals of Public Policy
Major Professional Newsweeklies with Policy Coverage
Notes
5 Public Problems and Policy Alternatives
Problem Analysis
How to Find Information
Constructing Alternatives
Thinking Creatively about Policy Action
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
6 Assessing Policy Alternatives
Evaluative Criteria for Judging Policy Proposals
Using the Methods of Policy Analysis
Economic Approaches
Decision Making and Impacts
Political and Institutional Approaches
Ethical Analysis
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
PART III ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES IN PUBLIC POLICY
7 Economic and Budgetary Policy
Background
Goals of Economic Policy
Tools of Economic Policy
The Budget Process and Its Effect on Economic Policy
Economic Policy: Successes and Failures
Economic Issues and Challenges
Focused Discussion: How to Address the Budgetary Shortfall
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Major Legislation
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
8 Health Care Policy
Background
Major Government Health Care Programs
Other Health Care Policy Issues
Rising Health Care Costs
Managed Care Organizations
Reducing Health Care Costs
Quality of Care
Focused Discussion: Should There Be Greater Emphasis on Preventive Health Care?
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Major Legislation
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
9 Welfare and Social Security Policy
Background
Social Security
Welfare
Focused Discussion: Can We Do Better? Addressing Poverty
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Major Legislation
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
10 Education Policy
Background
Problems Facing Education
Education Policy Reforms
Higher Education Issues
Focused Discussion: Higher Education Affordability, Cost, and Value
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Major Legislation
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
11 Environmental and Energy Policy
Background
The Evolution of Environmental and Energy Policy
From Consensus to Conflict in Environmental Policy
Major Federal Environmental Policies
Energy Policy
Focused Discussion: Climate Change and Energy Policy Alternatives
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Major Legislation
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
12 Foreign Policy and Homeland Security
Background and Policy Evolution
Selected Issues in Homeland Security
Focused Discussion: Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Major Legislation
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
PART IV CONCLUSIONS
13 Politics, Analysis, and Policy Choice
Policy Analysis, Citizen Participation, and Policy Change
Public Policies and Their Impacts
Policy Analysis and Policy Choices
Citizen Participation in Decision Making
Conclusions
Discussion Questions
Keywords
Major Legislation
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
Glossary
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This text provides a succinct and logically streamlined survey of introductory public policy material, equipping students with a knowledge base of the policymaking and policy analysis process."

Review - Benjamin Melusky

Kraft and Furlong’s Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives is the core text in my introductory public policy course. It is written in language that is cogent and concise, and helps to establish a common universe of discourse among students with varied backgrounds in policy. One of its major strengths is the emphasis on critical thinking; the list of web sites in each chapter gives students sources for current and reliable information

Cheryl Leggon

Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives provides the most comprehensive coverage of the field of American public policy, including not just policy analysis, but also in-depth chapters on a variety of policy areas. It is very readable, and the terms are explained quite well.

Philip Nicholas

Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives is a great intro to public policy book that has a heavy focus on environmental policy and does an excellent job covering market failures and reasons for government intervention. The thematic approach is great for an academic class that stresses objective research into public problems and their possible solutions. There is considerable emphasis on critically thinking about sources and the policy actors involved in the process. This book does a good job of taking some of the controversy out of politics by being very fact based and evidence driven while also encouraging analysis.

Katrina Taylor

Kraft and Furlong’s Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives is an all-in-one, comprehensive approach to introducing public policy and analysis to undergraduate students with varying levels of interest and engagement. The text provides substantial breadth and depth between its covers in an accessible format for beginners, while providing guidance to additional resources for extensive study of specific topics. I’ve used the text as a student and instructor for 12 years and highly recommend its use for undergraduate students.”

Benjaman R. Schmidt

Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives does a nice job of laying out the different competing models of public policy and then goes on and tackles topics in public policy one-by-one using whatever tools work best to make sense of the topic. The writing in this book is better than in most textbooks my students have, and students like to use this book.

Steven Maloney

I have used other books, but Kraft and Furlong’s Public Policy is appealing because it’s broad enough to satisfy students’ curiosities in different policy areas, yet specific enough to home on key issues, controversies, and topics.

Marcus D. Mauldin

Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives is a good introductory policy text that balances theory and issues, depth and breadth. I tried a number of other texts before landing on Kraft and Furlong. I wanted a text that balanced theory/process chapters and chapters on specific issues and that could be used by students with very little policy background. What I like best are the balance between theory and issues, and the accessible writing. The size and price are ideal for introductory students as well.

Bruce Nesmith

The text allows for students to understand and apply policy making to the most misunderstood programs—healthcare, education, and the criminal justice system.”

Tammy R. Greer

Kraft and Furlong provide students with a conceptual understanding of public issues and how the public policy process functions. This book also provides a forum for discussions of social, economic, and sustainable development issues; their characteristics; and impacts on human beings (citizens) as well as the environment. It will give students the needed tools to make informed economic and human development decisions that could lead to sustainable growth, human capacity building, and better lives.“

Robert Dibie

I have enjoyed using all editions of Kraft and Furlong’s Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives in my policy classes. It is by far the best textbook on the American public policy making process and on the history and politics of all the major domestic policies in the U.S. The authors combine academic knowledge about policy making with an impressive expertise about domestic policies. My students have found Kraft and Furlong's book to be engaging timely, and highly readable

James A. Thurber

The strength of Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives is that it is a very well organized book that covers many different aspects of public policy, the policy process and policy analysis. It takes a very rational approach to the policy process, which it might be argued is often very irrational. This is a good introduction which provides a solid foundation. It covers all aspects from policy process to policy analysis. The chapters on the policy areas provide to students both historical insight and an understanding of current challenges in public policy.

Ellen Rogers

Public Policy’s emphasis on policy analysis is unique and encourages students to begin thinking as analysts. In a subtle way, it shifts the burden of evaluation to students and encourages them to become more active in the course. I also found the accompanying web site very helpful, most notably the online exercises which require the students to get involved in the issues in ways that a standard lecture format do not allow

Robert Duffy

"Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives by Kraft and Furlong is a fresh and comprehensive text on American public policy. The text is concisely written and the content easily promotes engagement and student interest. Strong organizational structure which readily lends to a precise understanding of the dynamics and nature of public policy, analyses and assessment. The substantive analyses of public policies contained in the book contributes to the richness of the text. Excellent academic work which fuses theory and practice in American public policy."

Dr. Linda Trautman