Does Policy Analysis Matter?

How well can democratic decision making incorporate the knowledge and expertise generated by public policy analysts? This book examines the historical development of policy analysis, as well as its use in legislative and regulatory bodies and in the federal executive branch. The essays show that policy-analytic expertise effectively improves governmental services only when it complements democratic decision making. When successful, policy analysis fosters valuable new ideas, better use of evidence, and greater transparency in decision processes.

Lee S. Friedman is Professor of the Graduate School at the Richard & Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley. 

Contributors
List of Figures and Tables
Preface

1. Public Policy Making and Public Policy Analysis
Lee S. Friedman

2. How Effective Is Policy Analysis?
John A. Hird

3. Can Congress Do Policy Analysis? The Politics of Problem Solving on Capitol Hill
Eric M. Patashnik and Justin Peck

4. The Complicated and the Complex: Policy Analysis in an Era of Design
M. Suzanne Donovan

5. Summary and Future Directions
Lee S. Friedman

Index