The Policy Design Primer: Choosing the Right Tools for the Job

The Policy Design Primer is a concise and practical introduction to the principles and elements of policy design in contemporary governance. Guiding students through the study of the instruments used by governments in carrying out their tasks, adapting to, and altering their environments, this book:

• Examines the range of substantive and procedural policy instruments that together comprise the toolbox from which governments select specific tools expected to resolve policy problems,
• Considers the principles behind the selection and use of specific types of instruments in contemporary government,
• Addresses the issues of instrument mixes and their (re)design in a discussion of the future research agenda of policy design and
• Discusses several current trends in instrument use often linked to factors such as globalization and the increasingly networked nature of modern society.

This readily digestible and informative book provides a comprehensive overview of this essential component of modern governance, featuring helpful definitions of key concepts and further reading.

This book is essential reading for all students of public policy, administration and management as well as more broadly for relevant courses in health, social welfare, environment, development and local government, in addition to those managers and practitioners involved in Executive Education and policy design work on the ground.

Michael Howlett is Burnaby Mountain Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in the Department of Political Science at Simon Fraser University, Canada. He specializes in public policy analysis, political economy and resource and environmental policy.