SCIENCE IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY

In recent years a number of important science policy issues have rentered on questions about the social utility of science. The field of knowledge systems accounting has evolved as a special form of social impact assessment to observe and measure the impact of science on society. A system of social impacts of science (SIS) indicators has been developed as an attempt to represent these complex patterns and relationships. In the final analysis, the causal relevance of science to social performance depends on our capacity to link the complex knowledge system of modern science to the achievement of social goals.     

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.     

INTRODUCTION: WATER RESOURCES AND PUBLIC POLICY

Research in water resource policy historically has reflected more general trends in public policy analysis. This symposium focuses more narrowly upon a sample of some contemporary issues.     

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.     

GOVERNMENT PRODUCTIVITY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND PUBLIC POLICY

Marc Holzer and Stuart S. Nagel (editors) . 1984. Productivity and Public Policy .
George W. Downs and Patrick D. Larkey . 1986. The Search for Government Efficiency: From Hubris to Helplessness
Elaine Morley . 1986. A Practitioner's Guide to Public Sector Productivity Improvement .
Richard H. Silkman and Dennis R. Young with the assistance of Robert Lipp . 1985. Subsidizing Inefficiency: A Study of State Aid and Local Government Productivity .     

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.     

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.