LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AS IMPLEMENTORS OF PUBLIC POLICY

This study expands the growing literature in comparative public policy that examines welfare services. By now, it is accepted that a combination of economic, social, and political factors are influential in the delivery of these services by the 60 states. This paper finds that similar factors are also operating at the county level in New York state. Most notably, political factors affect the distribution of welfare benefits–despite federal and state mandates that require distribution to be based solely on need. This raises a number of issues. concerning the nature of political influence and the autonomy of local bureaucracies, which require further exploration.     

ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC POLICY

Comparative State Policies. Edited by B. GALLIGAN (Melbourne: Longman Cheshire, 1988, 303pp).
From Fraser to Hawke: Australian Public Policy in the 1980s. Edited by B. HEAD and A. PATIENCE (Melbourne: Longman Cheshire, 1989, 525pp).
Hawke and Australian Public Policy: Consensus and Restructuring. Edited by E. JENNETT and R. STEWART (Melbourne: Macmillan, 1990, 422PP).     

AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC POLICY AND THE PROBLEM OF FRAGMENTATION

Abstract: Politics matters in policy. In particular, the way in which a society organises its structures for bargaining affects the extent to which it is able to solve the general problem of "externalities" resulting from private choice. Two "ideal type" societies, the corporatist and the pluralist, are contrasted. It is suggested that the apparently superior economic performance of corporatist societies may be due to the fact that they have more efficient means of making collective choices than do pluralist societies. It is argued that, as a society which is best described as fragmented rather than pluralist or corporatist, Australia may be missing out on the advantages offered by well-structured bargaining. In particular, it may be possible significantly to improve decision-making practices by means of an Accord between business and government which promotes policy-related trade-offs within an agreed general framework.     

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING

Increasingly, the nations of the world are becoming more interdependent among themselves. This is true not only in an economic sense, but in a political sense as well. The field of public administration has become internationalized, presenting a new challenge to both teachers and students of the discipline. The article argues that special attention should be given to teaching students how to manage policy interdependency. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary approach is advocated as a method of broadening students' perspectives in public administration. In concluding the article, the author offers several recommendations for improving public administration programs.     

THE COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF AGENDA SETTING: THE EMERGENCE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION AS A PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE IN BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES

This article compares the emergence of consumer protection as an issue on the public policy agendas of Britain and the United States in the 1960s. Similar forces caused the emergence of consumer protection in both cases. Governmental responses to consumer protection issues also have been similar, but distinctive features of each country's political system are evident as well. The analysis draws upon existing consumer protection literature for each country as well as the author's interviews with a number of Britons involved in this policy area. The principal conclusion is that consumer protection gained each country's policy agenda as a discretionary item. Events of the past few years demonstrate that it is not yet a durable agenda item in either case.     

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN PUBLIC POLICY

In comparison with the other social and behavioral sciences, there has been a general lack of anthropological input or interest in public policy.
This absence from the public policy arena has been the result of both historical developments and theoretical biases within the field. Nevertheless, there have been certain periods when significant numbers of anthropologists have worked in policy areas-the 1930s. World War Il-but even then their influence was not great. However, in recent years we have witnessed a rapidly growing emphasis on public policy in applied anthropology which promises to give the discipline the opportunity to become atruly holistic policy science.
In addition to the discussion of the factors which have impeded and, more recently, contributed to anthropological involvement with public policy, each of the symposium papers is briefly introduced.     

THE PROBABILITY OF PLACEMENT BY THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

In a typical year, the United States Employment Service places over 4 million persons from among 16 million applicants. This investigation of which applicants are most likely to be placed shows that placement occurs in two labor market segments, corresponding roughly to the primary and secondary labor markets described in the economic literature. The equity and efficiency implications o f devoting a substantial percentage o f Employment Service resources t o secondary labor market placements are considered. Several states currently use Employment Service data as a source of local labor market information. An argument is made that these states are misusing this data and suggestions for improvements are offered.     

THE CONSUMER INFORMATION OVERLOAD CONTROVERSY AND PUBLIC POLICY

It is widely believed that providing consumers with more product information produces "overload" and leads to confusion and poorer quality consumer decisions. The existence of a consumer information overload phenomenon has been used by marketers and others to argue against regulations and legislation mandating additional consumer information provision. The belief that a consumer information overload phenomenon exists is based largely on misinterpretations of research findings. The present paper reviews the consumer information overload research literature and concludes that existing research data support the contention that provision of more information, rather than producing overload, actually improves consumer decision making. Implications of the information overload research controversy for consumer policy makers are discussed.     

THE EXPATRIATE ADVISOR AS SENIOR POLICY ANALYST

Few first-hand accounts on advising exist by government advisors working in Third World countries. Other writers suggest that such advising is different from that found in the governments o f the industrialized countries. A framework for comparing expatriate advisors in Africa with senior policy analysts in the United States is developed which finds a great deal of similarity between the two types of advisors. Examples are drawn from the literature (much of it fugitive) about advisors and policy analysts working in Africa, Europe, and the United States.     

THE BIOTECHNOLOGY OF SEX PRESELECTION: SOCIAL ISSUES IN A PUBLIC POLICY CONTEXT

Sex preselection is the ability to select the sex of one's offspring prior to conception. After a discussion of the potential methods of sex preselection, this paper explores the possible diffusion of sex preselection biotechnologies within sociopolitical systems. Ethical aspects are discussed w i t h i n the context of broad social issues, family considerations, social class effects, crime, religion, and medical services. The article concludes with an examination of the public policy choices that might confront decision makers should sex preselection become a reality.