THE LIMITS OF ENERGY POLICY ANALYSIS

Glenn R. De Souza, Energy Policy and Forecasting: Economic, Financial, and Technological Dimensions
Raymond C. Scheppach and Everett M. Ehrlich, (Eds.), Energy-Policy Analysis and Congressional Action
Aaron Wildavsky and Ellen Tenenbaum, The Politics of Mistrust: Estimating American Oil and Gas Resources     

IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND POLICY FAILURE: THE NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT OF 1982

We examine the role of environmental assessments in the siting process mandated under the ambitious Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. We analyze the effect of these assessments in both the western and eastern United States using the original documents, critiques of the methodology of the assessments, and public comments on the siting process, including a content analysis of hearings in Wisconsin and Maine. We conclude that the major effect of the assessments on the policy process was to stimulate public and state opposition to the Department of Energy's efforts to implement NWPA, leading to what could be called policy failure and a significant redirection of the act by Congress in late 1987. The paper represents an early report of a more comprehensive and ongoing study of the politics of nuclear waste disposal.     

B: THE NORMATIVE/IDEOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF POLICY FORMATION FAMILY POLICY: HAS THE UNITED STATES LEARNED FROM EUROPE?

"Family Policy" is a term that is used increasingly in the U.S. to describe policies affecting children and their families. In this article, the authors focus on whether societal learning has occurred across the Atlantic with regard to family policy and what, if anything, the U.S. has learned or borrowed from Europe. The authors conclude that there has been some borrowing, albeit modest; currently, some of that learning is reflected in an expanding child policy debate.     

AGENDA-SETTING BY STATE LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUSES: POLICY PRIORITIES AND FACTORS OF SUCCESS

As their representation in legislative chambers has increased, black state legislators have organized into caucuses to maximize their policy influence. These caucuses act as policy entrepreneurs in initiating and advancing minority policy goals. The North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus is il- lustrative of an emerging force in half the states in moving minority policy issues from the systemic to the formal legislative agenda. Using the 1987 North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus as the research setting, supple- mented with selective data on other state caucuses, this article offers insights into the types of policy initiatives state legislative black caucuses advance. Also, situational and political factors that may foster successful agenda-setting are explored.     

FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING POLICY: A VIEW FROM THE LOCAL LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT

To maximize the use of human capital, employment and training resources need to be redirected to meet four objectives: (1) reduce welfare dependency by helping people gain skills for self-sufficiency, (2) prepare a new workforce through better education of youth, (3) retrain dislocated workers, and (4) develop an employment system that links workers and jobs through the coordination of institutions. Suggestions for federal, state, and local initiatives to meet these objectives are spelled out. Particular emphasis is placed upon both a significant revitalization of the federal role in employment and training and a reassessment of traditional approaches.     

THE POLICY CONSEQUENCES OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION:

By examining data from fifteen Latin American nations on several agricultural- and food-related variables for 1965 to 1977, this paper analyzes the efficacy of the Green Revolution for food consumption. A Radical Model is offered to explain why a high technology, export-oriented, agricultural policy may not adequately serve the food consumption needs of Third World countries.     

EVALUATING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY: LESSONS FROM DETROIT'S CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL PARK PROJECT

Success in implementing the Central Industrial Park project required clearing a 500-acre site for a new General Motors assembly plant, at a public sector cost of more than $200 million, in less than two years, to meet a deadline set by the corporation; clearance involved relocation of 3.500 people and more than 100 businesses, and demolition of 1,500 structures. Despite the complexity of the project and the need for approvals from multiple decision makers at the local, state, and national level, timely implementation was possible because of consensus on the project and i t s importance, formulation of special organizational structures and procedures, the actions and influence of the mayor and his development director as I'fixers, and redefinition and expansion of the statutory authority of officials responsible for project implementation. The crisis atmosphere in which project decisions were made, a consequence of corporate deadlines and the city's desperate economic situation, was essential to the effective combination of these forces. The price for success was steep, however, including higher acquisition and relocation costs, reduction of property tax revenues from the project to minimal levels for 30 years, and transfer of control over the formation and implementation of economic development policy to the private sector.     

THE AMBITIONS OF POLICY DESIGN

There is no shortage of warnings concerning the hazards of excessive ambition in consciously-pursued public policy. In the light of these cautions, this paper considers the appropriate ambitions for policy design. The critics have missed the target. There is no need to fear ambition in policy design, provided that openness in communications about policy is secured.