The Dynamics of Public Policy

Download or read book The Dynamics of Public Policy written by Adrian Kay and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: . . . this is a first rate book. It draws on a wide range of reading philosophy, economics and politics and teases out a number of important ideas. . . for academics and postgraduates it surely will be essential reading and I think has pushed the study of public policy forward. Michael Connolly, Political Studies Review In The Dynamics of Public Policy, Adrian Kay sets out the crucial methodological, theoretical and empirical implications of two important trends in the social sciences: a frequently expressed ambition for analysis of movies not stills and the regular observation that policy, politics and governance is becoming more complex. Beginning with a discussion of the centrality of temporality, change and history to the social sciences, he develops the provocative claim that existing models of the policy process are of limited value in understanding and explaining policy dynamics. Instead, the author argues that it is only through structured narratives that we can really understand and explain complex policy histories. He sets out a methodology for structuring policy narratives and illustrates the claims of the book through four detailed case studies: health policy and pharmaceutical regulation in the UK; and agricultural policy and budget policy in the EU. Adrian Kay s book will appeal to academics in the fields of policy analysis, public administration and public sector management as well as political science and political theory.