American Public Policy: Promise and Performance

This revised edition begins by defining American public policy and its environments, as well as identifying the governmental structures through which policy is designed and reshaped. Then it explains the procedure of policy making, from the agenda-setting stage to implementation through evaluation. The author analyzes the problems, goals, and important issues in various substantive policy areas, including economic, environmental, and defence policy. Part four is devoted to an explanation of policy analysis, in a cost-benefit and an ethical context.

B. Guy Peters is Maurice Falk Professor of American Government at the University of Pittsburgh. He has written extensively in the areas of public administration and public policy, both for the United States and comparatively. Among his recent publications are the Handbook of Public Administration and The Quest for Control: Politicization of the Public Service.