A Brief History of Public Policy since the New Deal
By (author) Andrew E. Busch
Not available to order
Publication date:
10 September 2019Length of book:
248 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781538128282
A Brief History of Public Policy Since the New Deal traces the development of national domestic policy from the Great Depression through the early Trump years. A chronological look that illuminates the cumulative effects of policy change, the book also focuses on themes such as the interplay of ideas, events, politics, and people; models such as incrementalism, multiple streams, and punctuated equilibrium; the importance of foreign policy issues to the development of domestic policy; and features including the importance of problem definition and the “law of unanticipated consequences.” Following the narrative, each chapter includes a summary of seven key policy areas: economic policy, social welfare, civil rights, environmental and education policy, moral/cultural issues, and federalism. The material is organized by eras identified by presidencies and by whether the era represented a burst of policymaking, made possible because key inputs of ideas, events, politics, and people aligned for change, or a rough equilibrium. Although presidencies are used to define eras, the role of all the institutions are given their due.
Ahistorical discussion of public policy—unfortunately now widespread—is uniformed discussion. Andrew Busch rectifies this shortcoming with a balanced, thorough and incisive analysis of the variable course of US domestic policy since 1932. It’s essential reading for both scholars and students of American public policy and a welcome addition to many classrooms.