Policy Analysis as Problem Solving: A Flexible and Evidence-based Framework

Drawing extensively from real-life cases, Policy Analysis as Problem Solving helps students develop the analytic skills necessary to advise government officials and nonprofit executives on a wide range of policy issues. Unlike other texts, Policy Analysis as Problem Solving employs a pragmatic, heterodox approach to the field. Whereas most texts on policy analysis are anchored in microeconomics, emphasizing economic efficiency, this book takes a broader view, using realistic examples to illustrate the full scope of policy analysis. The book provides succinct but thorough discussions of the key elements of the policy-analytic process, including problem definition, objectives and criteria, development of alternative policy options, and analysis of these alternatives. The text’s practical approach and extensive downloadable resources―which include interviews, case studies, and further readings―will be of enormous benefit to both students and instructors of policy analysis.

Rachel Meltzer is Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Chair of the Public and Urban Policy master’s degree program at the New School. She regularly teaches Policy Analysis, advises student teams in the Urban Policy Lab, and runs a doctoral seminar on theories of the policy-making process. Her research is broadly concerned with urban economies and how market and policy forces can shape disparate outcomes for neighborhoods. She focuses on issues related to housing, land use, economic development, and local public finance.
Alex Schwartz is Professor of Urban Policy at the New School, where he has taught Policy Analysis since 1993. He directs the New School’s Urban Policy Lab, in which teams of graduate students advise government agencies and nonprofit organizations on a wide array of policy and management issues. His research focuses primarily on housing and community development. He is the author of Housing Policy in the United States (3rd edition) (Routledge, 2014) and is the Managing Editor for North America for the international journal Housing Studies.