The public policy program of the Kennedy School of Government: A student's view

In September of 1969, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy School of Government, formerly the Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration, initiated a new program of professional graduate education for students expecting to enter public service. Twenty-one students were chosen to participate in the Public Policy Program's first experimental year. The author was one of those students, and in this article he attempts to explain the purposes of the Program, the features which distinguish it from other graduate educations with similar purposes, the form it took in its first year, and the direction in which it seems to be moving. At various stages of the article, also, the author has inserted student comments concerning the Program's first year and suggestions for its further evolution. The hope is that this format will offer a somewhat more intimate view of the Public Policy Program than could be gleaned from a reading of catalogs, news releases, or a hurried article by a faculty member.     

By the numbers: Assessing the nature of quantitative preparation in public policy,public administration,and public affairs doctoral education

Does doctoral preparation in quantitative methods adequately prepare students to interact with the public affairs literature? Does the curriculum meet previously expressed ideals? Are incoming students prepared to complete this curriculum successfully? We present findings from a survey of 44 leading public affairs doctoral programs. Although almost all programs offer some quantitative methods training, our analysis of the survey data and course syllabi suggest that public affairs students may leave their programs only partially prepared to interact with the emerging public affairs literature and with less grounding in quantitative methods than some model curricula have prescribed. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Public Policy and Legitimacy: A historical policy analysis of the interplay of public policy and legitimacy

This article explores the interplay of local government policy and legitimacy from a broad postpositivist perspective where historical accounts and narratives are used in a complementary fashion. The basic assumption is that legitimacy is the product of satisfying felt needs and solving perceived problems. Health and social malaise problems and related policies of the past 120 years are analyzed in 50 Swedish municipalities. The analysis indicates that municipality policies respond to local problems only partly. Generally, local government policies responded dynamically to 'objective’ and perceived problems before the 1970s, but did not resolve the problems. Today’s legitimacy crisis could, to some extent, be explained by the discrepancy between high expectations created in the policy discourse and the central and local government’s incapacity to offer sustainable solutions to ongoing problems. It is suggested that if history is considered more seriously in public policy making it could help policy makers and citizens readjust expectations, illuminate the limits and prospects for public policy, and identify ways to restore legitimacy. Moreover, legitimacy could be restored if more realistic policies are worked out and if a new division of power between the levels of government is introduced.     

The use and non-use of policy appraisal tools in public policy making: an analysis of three European countries and the European Union

The increasing complexity of policy problems, coupled with the political desire to base new policies on the foundation of firm evidence, has accelerated the development of policy assessment tools. These range from complex computer models and cost benefit analysis through simple checklists and decision trees. In the last decade, many governments have established formal policy assessment systems to harness these tools in order to facilitate more evidence-based policy making. These tools are potentially widely available, but to what extent are they used by policy makers and what becomes of the evidence that they generate? This paper addresses these questions by studying the empirical patterns of tool use across 37 cases in three European countries and the European Commission. It uses a simple classification of tools into advanced, formal and simple types. It finds that even when tools are embedded in policy assessment systems, their use is differentiated and on the whole very limited, in particular when it comes to more advanced tools. It then explores these patterns from contrasting theoretical perspectives to shed light on why, when and how different policy assessment tools are used in the policy process.     

Narrative policy analysis and the integration of public involvement in decision making

Public involvement in environmental policy analysis and planning may be in some cases for the purpose of incorporating public values and preferences in decision making. Narrative policy analysis is put forward as a method, which is particularly useful to the practice of public involvement for maintaining a juxtaposition of views throughout the policy development and planning process. It is argued that this process may facilitate the consideration of public preferences in a decision-making process. This can be achieved through the joint development of a meta-narrative.     

Philanthropy and the housing crisis: The dilemmas of private charity and public policy

Abstract

American philanthropy has historically sought to address the nation's housing crisis, especially among the poor. This article compares private philanthropy's response to the housing crisis in two important eras of economic transformation: the period between the Civil War and World War I (the Progressive Era), when the United States was undergoing large‐scale urbanization and industrialization, and the period from the 1980s through today, when the United States became integrated in a global economy and confronted the shock of deindustrialization, widening economic disparities, and deepening urban decay.

Following the historical review, the article focuses briefly on the current housing crisis and the dilemmas that private foundations and nonprofit organizations face in trying to develop a coherent strategy to address the problem. It closes with a proposal for a partnership between private foundations and housing organizations that can address the need to change both public opinion and public policy toward housing.     

Economists and economic policy making in Israel: The politics of expertise in the stabilization program

This study analyzes the involvement of economists in the making of Israel's stabilization policy of 1985. The economists who participated in the policy process are conceptualized as political actors engaged in a struggle over material and symbolic resources, and their impact in the polity process is related to their definition of policy outcomes as political assets to the profession.     

Comparative technology and public policy: The development of the nuclear power reactor in six nations

This essay proposes an analytic framework to compare the development and commercialization of a number of advanced civilian technologies. This framework emphasizes the multiple institutional actors and their objectives that such technology developments manifest and reflect. The construct is then illustrated in the context of the development and diffusion of the nuclear power reactor in six nations. The major policy observations deal with the finding that there are distinct developmental stages; furthermore, government policies had best recognize these stages with their particular requirements, so that policies can be formulated which are appropriate to these conditions.The research for this paper was performed under a grant from the National Science Foundation while the author was a member of the research staff of The Rand Corporation. The views expressed are the author's own and are not necessarily shared by The Rand Corporation, the Solar Energy Research Institute, nor their respective research sponsors.