With the right information, we can develop public policies that work better. All too often, public policy textbooks offer a basic grounding in the policy process without the benefit of integrating the use of policy analysis. Michael E. Kraft and Scott R. Furlong take a different tack. Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives, Seventh Edition helps students understand how and why policy analysis is used to assess policy alternatives. The text encourages them to not only question the assumptions of policy analyst, but also recognize how these strategies are used in the support of political arguments. The authors introduce and fully integrate an evaluative approach to policy to encourage critical and creative thinking on issues ranging from health care to climate change. From a concise review of institutions, policy actors, and major theoretical models to a discussion of the nature of policy analysis and its practice, Kraft and Furlong show students how to employ evaluative criteria in six substantive policy areas. Students come away with the analytic tools they need to understand that the motivations of policy actors--both within and outside of government--influence a complex yet comprehensible policy agenda.

"Rulemaking's logic was transparent and intuitive-a wonderful review of rule-making." -Paul Pavlich, Southern Oregon University In this thought-provoking new edition of their highly regarded text, authors Kerwin and Furlong help students grasp the dynamics of today's American politics by showing them how rulemaking remains an elemental part of our government system. Rulemaking, Fifth Edition, brings concepts to life with the inclusion of new data, a fresh analysis of interest group participation, and new coverage of the Trump administration's actions from executive orders and key personnel to agencies' responses to changes. An invaluable and accessible guide to an intensely political process, this much-anticipated edition contains the most current scholarship on a crucial yet understudied subject. New to the Fifth Edition New scholarship from the past five to six years provides readers with the latest research and analysis in rulemaking. Updated information on the Obama administration and the beginning of the Trump Administration puts rulemaking in context and demonstrates how different administrations use this tool. New tables and charts reflect the most recent data available to better illustrate the trends and patterns of rulemaking.