Policy Dynamics

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 371 pages
• Published by: University Of Chicago Press June 15, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0226039412
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0226039411
• Book Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 1.1 pounds

Product Description
While governmental policies and institutions may remain more or less the same for years, they can also change suddenly and unpredictably in response to new political agendas and crises. What causes stability or change in the political system? What role do political institutions play in this process?

To investigate these questions, Policy Dynamics draws on the most extensive data set yet compiled for public policy issues in the United States. Spanning the past half-century, these data make it possible to trace policies and legislation, public and media attention to them, and governmental decisions over time and across institutions. Some chapters analyze particular policy areas, such as health care, national security, and immigration, while others focus on institutional questions such as congressional procedures and agendas and the differing responses by Congress and the Supreme Court to new issues.

Policy Dynamics presents a radical vision of how the federal government evolves in response to new challenges-and the research tools that others may use to critique or extend that vision.

From the Inside Flap
While governmental policies and institutions may remain more or less stable for years, they can also change suddenly and unpredictably in response to new political agendas and crises. What causes stability or change in the political system? What role do political institutions play in this process?

To investigate these questions, Policy Dynamics draws on the most extensive data set yet compiled for public policy issues in the United States. Spanning the past half-century, this data set makes it possible to trace policies and legislation, public and media attention to the issues involved, and governmental decisions over time and across institutions. Some chapters analyze particular policy areas, such as health care, national security, and immigration, while others focus on institutional questions, such as congressional procedures and agendas, and the differing responses by Congress and the Supreme Court to new issues.

Policy Dynamics presents a radical vision of how the federal government evolves in response to new challenges-and provides the research tools that others may use to critique or extend that vision.

Reader Reviews
Frank Baumgartner and Bryan Jones have written one of the more interesting books on political change, "Agendas and Instability in American Politics," in which they use the metaphor of punctuated equilibrium theory from biology to explain the norm of stasis in policy discourse, punctuated by periods of dramatic change to a new equilibrium. This edited work serves as a nice follow up to that earlier, estimable volume. The authors note that this work explores (page 1) "some long-term trends in the development of American politics and public policy." They identify two goals to be met by this book: (1) to further demonstrate the power of their punctuated equilibrium theory of politics; (2) to introduce readers of the volume to the wealth of data drawn upon and to spur future research in the area. Readers without some background in political science will doubtless find this rather difficult material. However, for those with a modicum of knowledge about political science, this is a rich volume. The first part of the book features discussion of positive and negative feedback in politics and in the study of political dynamics. Parts two and three focus on a variety of case studies by different researchers. Examples of policies covered in Part two include telecommunication policy, immigration reform, science and technology policy, and national security. Part three is more interested in structures of decision making, such as the use of omnibus legislation and changing agendas of Congress and the Supreme Court. Part four is one chapter, authored by the two editors, in which they reflect upon the issues addressed throughout this book. In the end, they speak to the role of democracy in policy change and policy making. For those interested in the policy process and its dynamics, this is a valuable addition to the literature.