This comparative study explains how public policies in welfare states have been affected by social and economic factors including secularization, globalization, and changes in the preferences and ideologies of citizens. Illuminating developments across Europe with insights drawn from their case study of the Netherlands, the authors show that policymakers must continually balance the changing and often conflicting interests of multiple institutions and social forces. Their insights make essential reading for academics and students interested in the institutional development of social policies.

The Responsiveness of Social Policies in Europe: The Netherlands in Comparative Perspective

Politics & Social Sciences

Fenger, Menno

van der Steen, Martijn

van der Torre, Lieske

Sociology

Policy Press

Public Policy in Action: Perspectives on the Policy Process

This comprehensive textbook explores the policy process from a multitude of perspectives, including rationalism, culturalism, institutionalism and from a political point of view. This allows students to discover key concepts from the policy science literature and gain a deeper understanding of how public policy is discussed academically and shaped empirically. 
Public Policy in Action gives a detailed breakdown of all stages of the policy process by discussing the emergence of policy problems affecting the agenda, the formulation of policy alternatives, the decision-making process, the implementation of policies and the progression to evaluation, learning and policy change. The authors also outline the sets of factors which influence the steps of the policy process internally and externally. The book is supported by a wide variety of case studies from a number of national and international contexts of relevance to an international audience. 
Key features include: 
<ul>
<li>Up-to-date review of the literature on the policy process</li>
<li>Coverage on all key elements of the policy cycle</li>
<li>Insight into the complexity of policy making in practice</li>
<li>Multiple perspectives of the policy process</li>
<li>Critical reflections on the roles of policy analysts</li>
<li>Multiple case studies including water management, migration and social policies.</li>
</ul>
This extensive and detailed textbook will be an invaluable resource for undergraduate and masters students of public policy, policy analysis and public administration, by providing an insight into the complexity of policy making in the real world.

Scholten, Peter

Bekkers, Victor

Politics & Government

Edward Elgar Publishing

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