Understanding public policy

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 Makes 2. Models of Politics: Some Help in Thinking About Public Policy 3. The Policymaking Process: Decision-Making Activities 4. Policy Evaluation: Finding Out What Happens After a Law Is Passed 5. Federalism and State Policies: Institutional Arrangements and Policy Variations 6. Criminal Justice: Rationality and Irrationality in Public Policy 7. Welfare: The Search for Rational Strategies 8. Health Care: Attempting a Rational-Comprehensive Transformation 9. Education: Group Struggles 10. Economic Policy: Challenging Incrementalism 11. Tax Policy: Battling the Special Interests 12. International Trade and Immigration: Elite-Mass Conflict 13. Energy and the Environment: Externalities and Interests 14. Civil Rights: Elite and Mass Interaction 15. Defense Policy: Strategies for Serious Games 16. Homeland Security: Terrorism and Nondeterrable Threats