Review of Policy Research 

About: Review of Policy Research is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Public policy & Politics. It has an ISSN identifier of 1541-132X. Over the lifetime, 1741 publications have been published receiving 26444 citations. The journal is also known as: RPR.

Using social goals to evaluate public participation in environmental decisions

Abstract: The need to increase public participation in environmental decision-making is receiving renewed attention at all levels of government. However, there are few approaches to evaluating these processes that address the question: what are the results of public participation? This article proposes one way to answer this question using a framework that evaluates the outcomes of participatory processes using a set of social goals. These social goals are: (1) educating the public; (2) incorporating public values, assumptions, and preferences into decision making; (3) increasing the substantive quality of decisions; (4) fostering trust in institutions; (5) reducing conflict; and (6) making decisions cost-effectively. Although these goals apply to public participation writ large, there are a limited number of formalized mechanisms available to public agencies for involving the public. The article matches these six social goals to the participatory mechanisms by which they might be achieved. It concludes with areas for further research suggested by the framework.

Women Offenders and the Gendered Effects of Public Policy1

Abstract: At 17%, women represent a significant proportion of all offenders under criminal justice supervision in the US. Drawing on the findings from their report, “Gender-Responsive Strategies: Research, Practice, and Guiding Principles for Women Offenders,” the authors maintain that public policy has ignored the context of women's lives and that women offenders have disproportionately suffered from the impact of ill-informed public policy. This discussion of the implications of gender within the criminal justice system is based on a simple assumption: responding to the differences between women and men in criminal behavior and to their antecedents is critical to gender-responsive policy. Building on the pathway theoretical perspective, we find that in addition to the gendered impact of the war on drugs, policy changes in welfare reform, housing, and other social policy arenas combine to create a disparate impact on drug abusing women and women of color. Key policy areas affecting the lives of women offenders and their children include welfare benefits, drug treatment, housing, education, employment, and reunification with children. We conclude that addressing the realities of women's lives through gender-responsive policy and programs is fundamental to improved outcomes at all criminal justice phases. A blueprint for gender-responsive policy development is described through six guiding principles and their policy implications.

States on Steroids: The Intergovernmental Odyssey of American Climate Policy

Abstract: Climate change has conventionally been framed as an issue that would be addressed by an international regime established through negotiation among nation-states. The experience of policy development in the decade following the signing of the Kyoto Protocol indicates that climate change also needs to be examined as a challenge of multilevel governance. The increasingly central role of state governments in American climate policy formation squares with recent experience in other Western democracies that share authority across governmental levels. This paper examines the American experience, considering factors that have contributed to a state-centric policy process and using that body of experience to assess competing strategic choices faced by individual states based on their mix of emission trends and policy adoption rates. In turn, the collective state experience allows for consideration of the varied political feasibility of competing climate policy tools that remain under active review in subnational, national, and international contexts. The paper concludes with a set of scenarios that explore different ways in which a state-centric system may be integrated with expanding involvement at the national level.

The New World of Crises and Crisis Management: Implications for Policymaking and Research

Abstract: In recent years, we have witnessed a series of spectacular crises and disasters: 9/11, Madrid and London, the Asian tsunami, the Mumbai attacks, the implosion of the financial system—the world of crises and disasters seems to be changing. This special issue explores how these crises and disasters are changing and what governments can do to prepare. This opening article defines critical concepts, sketches a theoretical perspective, offers key research findings, and introduces the contributions to the special issue.

The Adoption of State Climate Change Policies and Renewable Portfolio Standards: Regional Diffusion or Internal Determinants?

Abstract: This paper draws upon policy innovation literature and quantitatively explains the adoption of state climate change policies, leading to a broader question—what makes states more likely to adopt policies that provide a global public good? First, existing empirical evidence relating to state climate change policy adoption is reviewed. Following this brief discussion, several analytic approaches are presented that test specific hypotheses derived from the internal determinants and regional diffusion models of policy adoption. Policy diffusion is tested as a function of the motivations, resources, and obstacles of policy change. Motivations for policy innovation include environmental conditions and demands of citizens. Resources include state financial and geographic resources, such as wind and solar potential. Obstacles include a state's reliance on carbon-intensive industries such as coal and natural gas. The results show that internal factors, particularly citizens' demands, are stronger predictors of states' policies than are diffusion effects from neighboring states.