This visionary Research Handbook presents the state of the art in research on policy design. By conceiving policy design both as a theoretical and a methodological framework, it provides scholars and practitioners with guidance on understanding policy problems and devising accurate solutions. Chapters discuss the major approaches to policy design as well as the challenges that confront policy designers and academics interested in improving this framework. More than 40 expert contributors operationalise the policy design framework around different models of causation, evaluation, instrumentation and intervention to explain and improve policy outcomes. This framework sheds new light on the nature of policy problems and the means to address these problems, while also explaining if and how a policy fits into the broader social and political environment. The Research Handbook considers not only the process of designing, and the roles that individuals and institutions play in the political process of revising and creating new policies, but also the outcome of the designing process: policy design as a plan for action. Providing a practical alternative to the conventional theories of the policy process like the policy cycle, this Research Handbook will be critical reading for scholars and students of public policy, political theory and public administration and management. It will also be beneficial for policy makers interested in improving the ways in which they formulate public policies.

This timely Handbook offers a wide-ranging examination of contemporary comparative policy analysis (CPA), advancing the understanding of methodology in the study of comparative public policies, and broadening the array of methods and techniques deployed by scholars in the field. Internationally acclaimed contributors overcome the current concentration on quantitative techniques, engaging with a more conscious and comprehensive selection of methods to improve the quality of CPA. Providing an overview of the major theoretical issues currently under discussion in CPA and the methodological shift in social sciences, this Handbook argues for the utilization of a range of alternative approaches to maximize the utility of the research. Far-reaching and comprehensive, this Handbook offers an insightful overview of methods for researchers of CPA looking to broaden their methodological repertoire. It will also be useful for students of public policy and the social sciences in need of a guide to contemporary research methods and applications. Contributors include: C. Anckar, D. Beach, L. Chaques-Bonafont, D. Dickson, K. Dowding, A.S. Dube, W.N. Dunn, T. Erkkila, G. Fontaine, I. Geva-May, F. Gilardi, A.D. Henry, D.C. Hoffman, K. Ingold, G. Jaramillo, P. John, M.D. Jones, A. Kay, P. Marier, A. Molenveld, J. Muhleisen, D. Nohrstedt, R. Pacheco-Vega, B.G. Peters, O. Porto de Oliveira, J. Schnepf, H.B. Seeberg, A. Smith-Walter, E. Thomann, J. Tosun, C.M. Weible, B. Wuest

This timely Handbook offers a wide-ranging examination of contemporary comparative policy analysis (CPA), advancing the understanding of methodology in the study of comparative public policies, and broadening the array of methods and techniques deployed by scholars in the field. Internationally acclaimed contributors overcome the current concentration on quantitative techniques, engaging with a more conscious and comprehensive selection of methods to improve the quality of CPA. Providing an overview of the major theoretical issues currently under discussion in CPA and the methodological shift in social sciences, this Handbook argues for the utilization of a range of alternative approaches to maximize the utility of the research. Far-reaching and comprehensive, this Handbook offers an insightful overview of methods for researchers of CPA looking to broaden their methodological repertoire. It will also be useful for students of public policy and the social sciences in need of a guide to contemporary research methods and applications. Contributors include: C. Anckar, D. Beach, L. Chaques-Bonafont, D. Dickson, K. Dowding, A.S. Dube, W.N. Dunn, T. Erkkila, G. Fontaine, I. Geva-May, F. Gilardi, A.D. Henry, D.C. Hoffman, K. Ingold, G. Jaramillo, P. John, M.D. Jones, A. Kay, P. Marier, A. Molenveld, J. Muhleisen, D. Nohrstedt, R. Pacheco-Vega, B.G. Peters, O. Porto de Oliveira, J. Schnepf, H.B. Seeberg, A. Smith-Walter, E. Thomann, J. Tosun, C.M. Weible, B. Wuest

This book seeks to consistently explain the role of ideas and institutions in policy outcomes, and addresses the problem of how resource nationalism causes a deficit of public accountability in oil producing countries from Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors present a causal mechanism linking ideas and policy outcomes through institutional arrangements, focusing on policy design to describe the role of instruments selection and combination in improving or reducing public accountability through agenda setting, policy formulation, cross-sectorial coordination and political interplays.

This book examines anti-corruption policies in Latin America. It compares best practices in public procurement and state budgets in order to provide new insights into policy design for governments, civil society organisations and international organisations engaged in the fight against corruption. The book assesses how a paradigm shift toward transparency in global governance has led to major changes in public policies in the region since the late 1990s. Using Uruguay and Chile as case studies, it then demonstrates the causal mechanisms linking transparency institutionalisation to corruption control. The book also offers recommendations for research and practice about the importance of coherent public accountability systems, that combine citizen oversight over government with government responsibility towards non-state actors. It will appeal to scholars and students of public policy, public administration and governance in Latin America, as well as those interested in political corruption.

This book seeks to consistently explain the role of ideas and institutions in policy outcomes, and addresses the problem of how resource nationalism causes a deficit of public accountability in oil producing countries from Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors present a causal mechanism linking ideas and policy outcomes through institutional arrangements, focusing on policy design to describe the role of instruments selection and combination in improving or reducing public accountability through agenda setting, policy formulation, cross-sectorial coordination and political interplays.