Showing papers on "Public policy published in 1979"
TL;DR: A review of the literature reveals that a diverse array of meanings are attached to the term "using research" and that much of the ambiguity in the discussion of "research utilization" derives from conceptual confusion as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: This is a time when more and more social scientists are becoming concerned about making their research useful for public policy makers and policy makers are displaying spurts of well publicized concern about the usefulness of the social science research that government funds support. There is mutual interest in whether social science research intended to influence policy is actually "used" but before that important issue can profitably be addressed it is essential to understand what "using research" actually means. A review of the literature reveals that a diverse array of meanings is attached to the term. Much of the ambiguity in the discussion of "research utilization"-and conflicting interpretations of its prevalence and the routes by which it occurs-derives from conceptual confusion. If we are to gain a better understanding of the extent to which social science research has affected public policy in the past and learn how to make its contribution more effective in the future we need to clarify the concept. Upon examination the use of social science research in the sphere of public policy is an extraordinarily complex phenomenon. Authors who have addressed the subject have evoked diverse images of the processes and purposes of utilization. Here I will try to extract seven different meanings that have been associated with the concept. (excerpt)
1,890 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: Wildavsky as mentioned in this paper argues that the field of public policy needs to incorporate more awareness of the human aspects of policy making: he emphasizes the political choices to be made in a competitive environment and the social relations that sustain them.
Abstract: One of the foremost experts in public policy here attempts not only to describe what public policy is, but given societal changes in the last two decades, to account for its present status. To learn from the past in order to establish public policy as a discipline in its own right, Wildavsky traces its motifs from their beginnings in the 1960s to the 1980s. Starting from the premise that there has been growing polarization of political elites, he shows how public policy as a field has had to face increased politicization. For Wildavsky, the field of public policy needs to incorporate more awareness of the human aspects of policy making: he emphasizes the political choices to be made in a competitive environment and the social relations that sustain them. When the first specialist schools devoted solely to public policy came into existence in the 1960s, the programs of the Great Society were their main impetus. With the disillusionment and failure of the Great Society, the identity of public policy became transformed. New theoretical issues had to be addressed. In this volume, Wildavsky provides a foundation for the theory no less than the practice of policy-making. "Aaron Wildavsky" is professor of political science, University of California, Berkeley. He founded the School of Public Policy there, and is presently its Director. He was formerly Director of the Russell Sage Foundation. He was the President if the American Political Science Association for the years 1986-1987.
1,114 citations
TL;DR: For instance, the authors argues that social scientists and policy makers live in separate worlds with different and often conflicting values, different reward systems, and different languages, and argues that the social scientist is a separate world from the policy maker and the policy making system.
Abstract: utilization in policy formulation is limited, the literature abounds with social scientists speculation about why the information they produce has little impact on policy matters. Either explicitly or implicitly, the most prevalent theory found in this literature may be characterized as the &dquo;Two-Communities&dquo; theory. Authors who hold this view attempt to explain nonutilization in terms of the relationship of the researcher and the research system to the policy maker and the policy-making system. They argue that social scientists and policy makers live in separate worlds with different and often conflicting values, different reward systems, and different languages. The social scientist is
719 citations
612 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the theory of compensating wage differentials associated with disagreeable job characteristics, and discussed the policy implications of the theory and its application in the context of the marginal worker.
Abstract: Reviews the theory of compensating wage differentials associated with disagreeable job characteristics. Discussion of the theory of compensating wage differentials; Job characteristics viwed as disagreeable by the marginal worker; Policy implications. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)
358 citations
TL;DR: The "anatomy" of market failure provides only limited help in prescribing therapies for government success as discussed by the authors, and this rationale is really only a necessary, not a sufficient, condition for policy formulation.
Abstract: THE principal rationale for public policy intervention lies in the inadequacies of market outcomes. Yet this rationale is really only a necessary, not a sufficient, condition for policy formulation.1 Policy formulation properly requires that the realized inadequacies of market outcomes be compared with the potential inadequacies of nonmarket efforts to ameliorate them. The "anatomy" of market failure provides only limited help in prescribing therapies for government success.2 That markets may fail to produce either economically optimal or socially desirable outcomes has been elaborated in a well-known and voluminous
352 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: For instance, the authors is a core text for the course on the Bureaucracy taught in departments of political science, as well as a supplement for courses in Public Policy or Introduction in Public Administration.
Abstract: Intended as a core text for the course on the Bureaucracy taught in departments of political science, as well as a supplement for courses in Public Policy or Introduction in Public Administration.
309 citations
TL;DR: This article found that about two-thirds of the cases demonstrate consistency between public opinion and public policy and that there is some variation in consistency among areas of substantive policy, most notably that foreign policy decisions are more often consistent with public preference than domes tic policies.
Abstract: While the importance of the question of how often American policy decisions are in agree ment with the preferences of the mass public is clear, there have been only a few limited attempts to provide an empirical answer. The research reported here uses available pub lished national survey results and compares them with policy outcomes. Overall, about two-thirds of the cases demonstrate consistency between public opinion and public policy. There is some variation in consistency among areas of substantive policy, most notably that foreign policy decisions are more often consistent with public preference than domes tic policies. The key factor limiting the extent of consistency appears to be the failure of the political system, particularly the legislative branch, to act quickly on proposals for policy change.
234 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: Fuchs as discussed by the authors draws on his deep understanding of the strengths and limitations of economics and his intimate knowledge of health care institutions to help readers understand the problems every nation faces in trying to allocate health resources efficiently and equitably.
Abstract: In this classic book, Professor Victor Fuchs draws on his deep understanding of the strengths and limitations of economics and his intimate knowledge of health care institutions to help readers understand the problems every nation faces in trying to allocate health resources efficiently and equitably. Six complementary papers dealing with national health insurance, poverty and health, and other policy issues, including his 1996 presidential address to the American Economic Association, accompany the original 1974 text. Health professionals, policy makers, social scientists, students and concerned citizens will all benefit from this highly readable, authoritative, and nuanced discussion of the difficult choices that lie ahead.
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: A comparison of health care policy in four nations and the origins and evolution of the positive state shows that the United States has a different approach to health care than other nations.
Abstract: Preface Part I. Comparative policy analysis 1. Introduction 2. The origins and evolution of the positive state 3. Accounting for public policy 4. Comparing policy priorities Part III. National health care policy in four nations 5. Germany: the pioneer in national health care 6. Great Britain: health care in a modern welfare state 7. The Soviet Union: health care in a communist state 8. Japan: health care in an Asian nation 9. Summary and implications for health care policy in the United States Appendices Notes Bibliography Index.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe a model for blending and evaluating the tasks of business executives and staffs who deal with public policy, and suggest paths of study which can help corporate decision-makers develop appropriate stances on public issues, and recommends ways to assess the performances of those who represent the company in this area.
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make welfare economics more complete by discussing the recent inframarginal analysis of division of labour and by pushing welfare economics from the level of preference to that of happiness, making a reformulation of the foundation of public policy necessary.
Abstract: Yew-Kwang Ng looks to make welfare economics more complete by discussing the recent inframarginal analysis of division of labour and by pushing welfare economics from the level of preference to that of happiness, making a reformulation of the foundation of public policy necessary. A theory of the third best is provided, with extension to the equality/efficiency issue. The remarkable conclusion of treating a dollar as a dollar provides a powerful simplification of public policy formulation in general and in cost-benefit analysis in particular.
TL;DR: This article used tax returns and mail and telephone surveys of stock-owning families to evaluate the effect on American equity markets of the shift of stock ownership from individuals to institutions and present new information on individual investors, their future plans and the possible consequences of changes in government policy or economic environment.
Abstract: Uses information obtained from federal income tax returns and mail and telephone surveys of stock-owning families to evaluate the effect on American equity markets of the shift of stock ownership from individuals to institutions. Presents new information on individual investors, their future plans, and the possible consequences of changes in government policy or economic environment. Suggests the most efficient ways to encourage individual stock ownership. Examines the pros and cons of numerous proposals and mechanisms for improving the securities markets, including new material on disclosure requirements, options, short sales, and index funds. Provides charts and tables to illustrate information on the individual as an investor.
TL;DR: Although the consumer behavior of young people has become of increasing interest to marketing practitioners and public policy makers, little empirical data are available to be used in effective dec... as mentioned in this paper,.
Abstract: Although the consumer behavior of young people has become of increasing interest to marketing practitioners and public policy makers, little empirical data are available to be used in effective dec...
TL;DR: This paper presents a meta-analysis of the distribution of net benefits in the Republic of Ireland over a 25-year period from 1991 to 2002 and concludes that the policy implications are policy implications and conclusions.
Abstract: Pressures for uniformly applied emission standards come from local political leaders who fear that industry will be lost to areas with a more-efficient policy of adjusting environmental controls to suit local conditions and preferences; but analysis of the cost distribution shows that the results are neither uniform nor economically efficient. Standardization is found to create an income redistribution, however, which is consistent with current social policies of shifting net benefits to low-income groups. A cost-benefit analysis of the impact of uniform regulation by income groups reveals the bias toward minority residents of polluted urban areas. The overall effect of the Clean Air Act is that polluters, but not the general public, are treated uniformly. 13 references.
Book•
01 Jan 1979
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: Kyvig as mentioned in this paper examines the operation of the national liquor ban, discusses central issues of U.S. constitutional development, and illuminates continuing public policy issues of alcohol and drug control.
Abstract: In this new edition of the most comprehensive study of the political reaction against the Eighteenth Amendment, a response that led to its reversal fourteen years later by the Twenty-first Amendment, David E. Kyvig examines the operation of the national liquor ban, discusses central issues of U.S. constitutional development, and illuminates continuing public policy issues of alcohol and drug control. Employing previously unexamined archival evidence, Kyvig calls attention to a little-known but broad-based bipartisan movement led by the Associated Against the Prohibition Amendment and the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform. These organizations ad their allies amassed political power, particularly within the Democratic path. In the midst of the Great Depression they engineered a complicated, yet very democratic process of formal constitutional change, in the end achieving the only amendment reversal in U.S. constitutional history.
TL;DR: In this paper, the value of arms control negotiations and weapons systems evaluations when there is no firm strategic force posture is questioned and the evolution of pre-war deterrence as a policy of assured destruction is outlined and examined in terms of whether the concept is rational or likely to be effective.
Abstract: Arguments over Salt II will avoid some needed discussion of basic strategies. The author questions the value of arms control negotiations and weapons systems evaluations when there is no firm strategic force posture. He points out that failure to deter attack will leave the country in an acute crisis and the president with the options of surrender or proceeding without a clear strategy. The evolution of pre-war deterrence as a policy of assured destruction is outlined and examined in terms of whether the concept is rational or likely to be effective in the long run. Arguments of the two schools of thought - military equivalency and counter-military targeting - are summarized and, while some advances are noted in recent years, there is still a need to establish stability criteria in US defense planning.
TL;DR: This survey provides an exposition of seven technoeconomic models that are representative of recent work on energy policy, and offers suggestions on the future role of modeling in the public policy process.
Abstract: This survey provides an exposition of seven technoeconomic models that are representative of recent work on energy policy. The paper begins with several microeconomic concepts related to energy conservation and to energy-economy interactions. We then examine three representative medium-term models which deal with pricing, import policy and investment decisions in today's conventional supply technologies. Next, we analyze four studies dealing with longer-range issues-alternative research and development strategies for a transition away from depletable energy resources. The paper concludes with a summary of unresolved issues, and with suggestions on the future role of modeling in the public policy process.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that failure to make express allowances for transaction cost considerations is responsible for mistaken public policy in this area and suggest guidelines for federal antitrust policy, concluding that antitrust enforcement agencies and the courts should assume that vertical market restrictions are efficiency-enhancing unless certain structural conditions exist within the industry.
Abstract: Whether troublesome antitrust issues are posed when vertical restraints are placed on distributors by manufacturers has long been disputed. Although economic analysis is needed to assess the ramifications of such restraints, this analysis comes in a variety of forms and does not speak with one voice to these issues. Defective economic reasoning predictably leads to results that are inimical to economic efficiency and sound public policy. Such was the case when franchise restrictions were held anticompetitive in United States v. Arnold, Schwinn & Co.' This Article develops the argument that failure to make express allowances for transaction cost considerations is responsible for mistaken public policy in this area. The transaction cost approach applies symmetrically both to an assessment of the efficiency gains, if any, arising from vertical restraints and to an evaluation of the strategic purposes and effects, if any, that accompany such restraints. After developing the justifications for, and occasional anticompetitive effects of, vertical market restrictions, I will suggest guidelines for federal antitrust policy. Part I outlines the general transaction cost approach and concludes that antitrust enforcement agencies and the courts should assume that vertical market restrictions are efficiency-enhancing unless certain structural conditions exist within the industry. Part II discusses strategic behavior and the structural characteristics of industries needed to support strategic outcomes. Vertical restraints pose troublesome antitrust issues only when these
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the likely impact of the labels on consumers, and the relative effect of alternative information formats, and found that the labels can communicate useful information, but, by themselves, do not produce significant behavioral change.
Abstract: Through a series of experimental tasks this study investigates two questions about the federal labeling program for home appliances: (1) the likely impact of the labels on consumers; and (2) the relative effect of alternative information formats. Results indicate that the labels can communicate useful information, but, by themselves, do not produce significant behavioral change.
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: The authors examines three Massachusetts school systems and seven schools within those systems to determine whether laws formulated to alter practices in educating children who are deaf, blind, retarded, and physically handicapped actually result in fair and uniform treatment of children with special needs, or whether they just create more work for school personnel.
Abstract: Focusing on Massachusetts' innovative special education reform law, Chapter 766, "Reforming Special Education" traces the complex processes through which an ostensibly universalistic and equitable policy can produce a biased distribution of public benefits favoring affluent clients."Reforming Special Education" examines three Massachusetts school systems and seven schools within those systems to determine whether laws formulated to alter practices in educating children who are deaf, blind, retarded, and physically handicapped actually result in fair and uniform treatment of children with special needs, or whether they just create more work for school personnel.The book discusses individual and community wealth as factors in the allocation of funds. Despite Massachusetts' "equalizing formula," it points out that rich districts often fare better than poor ones because they have the resources and sophistication necessary to challenge funding decisions. The book also reveals that bureaucrats who are charged with carrying out the changes are victimized by new laws which, for lack of resources, they cannot hope to put into effect. Because the street-level bureaucrats, front-line personnel, develop informal means of coping with these problems and with their jobs, they distort the policy they are charged with implementing and become policy makers in their own right.Weatherley concludes that policy initiatives must take into account potential effects on the daily work routines of those charged with implementing them. These findings have dramatic implications for all human service bureaucracies where front-line staff interact with the public--hospitals, police departments, public welfare and employment offices, mental health centers and lower courts. Students of public policy, educators, social workers, or anyone involved in public service employment will find this a scholarly, yet highly readable account of the organizational constraints to bureaucratic reform.