Public Policy

With the right information, we can develop public policies that work better. All too often, public policy textbooks offer a basic grounding in the policy process without the benefit of integrating the use of policy analysis. Michael E. Kraft and Scott R. Furlong take a different tack. Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives, Seventh Editionhelps students understand how and why policy analysis is used to assess policy alternatives. The text encourages them to not only question the assumptions of policy analyst, but also recognize how these strategies are used in the support of political arguments. The authors introduce and fully integrate an evaluative approach to policy to encourage critical and creative thinking on issues ranging from health care to climate change. From a concise review of institutions, policy actors, and major theoretical models to a discussion of the nature of policy analysis and its practice, Kraft and Furlong show students how to employ evaluative criteria in six substantive policy areas. Students come away with the analytic tools they need to understand that the motivations of policy actors--both within and outside of government--influence a complex yet comprehensible policy agenda.

“"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, Ph.D. "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 "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

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, 7th ed. (2018), 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, 10th ed. (2019), with 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. He has long 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 SUNY 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 numerous 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.

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