INFORMING WILDERNESS POLICY: THE DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF WILDERNESS CONSERVATION1

Abstract: Over the last two decades wilderness conservation has resurfaced to become one of the most contentious issues currently on the public agenda. The "politics" of wilderness preservation has been extensively reported in the media, but academic analysis has been on a superficial level and usually by the supporters of "conservation". This analysis has not proved particularly helpful for policy practitioners in this field.     

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     

NEW ISSUES IN THE LOGIC OF POLICY ANALYSIS

Case studies of social interventions need not exchange relevance for rigor, provided analysts keep three methodological issues in mind. First, certain critical tests can and should be performed to help establish causal relations even when empirical data are limited. Second, "causell is an explanatory category representing a moral judgment. Third, case studies should provide some systematic attempt to evaluate the program under scrutiny. The article entitled "Social-Problem Solving in a Revolutionary Setting: Nicaragua's Pesticide Policy Reforms" by Douglas L. Murray (Policy Studies Review, November 1984) is used to illustrate these issues.     

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.     

WATERPOWER AND WILDERNESS: POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OF THE LAKE PEDDER CONTROVERSY

Not that even the truth was easy to discover: different eye-witnesses give different accounts of the same events, speaking out of partiality for one side or the other or else from imperfect memories.     

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.