Central / national / federal government policies Books

Book Synopsis‘A persuasive manifesto for a better Britain.’ Observer Book of the Day Britain is in crisis. This timely book by one of the stars of frontline politics shows a way out. Trade Review‘Nandy makes a powerful argument for rethinking politics.’ New Statesman ‘A much-needed intervention. … This fast and accessible read [offers] a deceptively radical vision and one that Labour should embrace.’ Observer, Book of the Day ‘Gives a clear sense of Nandy’s ambitions for the Labour party’s future policy. … Bang on the political zeitgeist.’ The Sunday Times ‘Brilliant, brave and bursting with ideas.’ Jess Phillips MP ‘A humane and decent personal manifesto that does not shirk the challenges and dangers we face. Powerful and deeply authentic.’ Philippe Sands ‘Clear-eyed and compassionate, but caustic about the people and ideas that have let Britain down so badly, Lisa Nandy is a new kind of politician and a new kind of thinker. We have never needed voices like hers more urgently.’ Stuart Maconie ‘Nandy is a big thinker and a gifted story teller. A must-read.’ Frances O’Grady, former General Secretary of the TUC ‘Original, thought-provoking and exciting.’ Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former Prime Minister of Denmark ‘A positive agenda for change and renewal rooted in the best traditions of the Labour movement.’ Jon Cruddas MP ‘Informative, perceptive and at times inspiring. This is the kind of political vision the country so badly needs.’ Anand Menon, Director, UK in a Changing Europe ‘Wide-ranging, imaginative, practical and believable.’ Danny Dorling ‘A tour de force. All In outlines what a better world might look like.’ Professor Will Jennings ‘With a sharp eye for illustration, Nandy offers one of Labour’s more radical routes out of neoliberalism in her accessible book.’ The House

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Book SynopsisRead this if you want to understand how to shape our technological future and reinvigorate democracy along the way.Reed Hastings, cofounder and CEO of NetflixA triumph: an analysis of the critical challenges facing our digital society that is as accessible as it is sophisticated. Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New AmericaA forward-thinking manifesto from three Stanford professorsexperts who have worked at ground zero of the tech revolution for decadesthat reveals how big techs obsession with optimization and efficiency has sacrificed fundamental human values and outlines steps we can take to change course, renew our democracy, and save ourselves.In no more than the blink of an eye, a nave optimism about technologys liberating potential has given way to a dystopian obsession with biased algorithms, surveillance capitalism, and job-displacing robots. Yet too few of us see any alternative to accepting the onward marc

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Book SynopsisIn the process, they are sucking the joy out of life.In The Rise of the New Puritans, Noah Rothman explains how, in pursuit of a better world, progressives are ruining the very things which make life worth living.Trade Review“The new Puritans are here, and they’re coming for your lifestyle, your freedoms, and your fun. In this book, Noah Rothman–one of the best authors in the country today–lays out the case for just why the censorious Left is winning the day, and why the future of the country relies on rejecting their tyrannical vision for tomorrow.” — Ben Shapiro, author and host of The Ben Shapiro Show “Living through a political and cultural realignment is fascinating, bewildering, and maddening. Noah Rothman nails these disparate thoughts to the page in his new book. He sets the reader up for finding a place to sit when the music stops on this current cycle of change and the inevitable ones that will come next. The Rise of the New Puritans does not scold; rather, it is a book that lifts up the best of our American independent spirit and reinforces the love we have for our country.” — Dana Perino, White House press secretary to President George W. Bush “The best book I’ve read on the absurdity and futility of the woke movement. Rothman brilliantly and methodically exposes the vapidity of these New Puritans with too-nuts-to-be-true examples of those they target—from poets, knitters, and bird-watchers to chefs and home decorators. No one is safe in these modern-day witch trials until we realize the secret to dismantling them: mockery. Absolutely brilliant, utterly engrossing. You will laugh out loud and shout these stories from the rooftops as Rothman reminds us that sanctimonious cults of misery have historically short shelf lives.” — Megyn Kelly, author, journalist, and host of The Megyn Kelly Show “Republicans long ago mastered the art of moral preening in the public square. In The Rise of the New Puritans, Noah Rothman vividly describes how today’s progressive movement is fueled by a utopian drive to enforce ideological conformity across America. Combined with rising illiberalism on the Far Right, this new Puritanism threatens to undermine some of liberal democracy’s most cherished values. Read Noah Rothman’s book to better understand why.” — Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe “Mixing sharp, pithy political analysis with old-fashioned reporting, Noah Rothman reveals how progressivism has sucked the excitement out of American life and tainted our politics. Rothman’s a brilliant thinker with a detective’s eye for both detail and motive. And this time he’s gone rogue taking on the Joy Police themselves. This dismantling of the Left’s censorship and hysteria is a must-read.” — Jonah Goldberg, author, syndicated columnist, and editor-in-chief of The Dispatch “Noah Rothman skewers the people who, to paraphrase H. L. Mencken, have a haunting fear that someone, somewhere, might be having a good time—or, more to the point, transgressing against their petty and inane quasi-religious orthodoxies. Rothman is a first-rate writer and thinker who expertly dissects this blight on our public life and points the way to a better, less censorious American future.” — Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of National Review “You hold in your hands a mirror on our collective recent history, and it’s pretty awful to gaze upon. Once more into the breach then with Rothman, who is a leading light of the rising generation of public intellectuals filling in the ranks of the exhausted and the exiled after more than two dozen years of constant, relentless boiling politics of rage. Freedom and fun are worth defending, and Rothman has done this for us.” — Hugh Hewitt, author, columnist, and host of The Hugh Hewitt Show “In chronicling the madness of woke excess, Rothman puts his finger on what makes its practitioners so deeply alienating: It’s not merely that they’re wrong about most things, though they are. It’s that they’re relentlessly, exhaustingly joyless, self-righteous, and devoid of grace. We can either ridicule and fight them or live under their capricious misery. Rothman takes sides—and names.” — Guy Benson, Fox News Channel contributor and host of The Guy Benson Show

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Book SynopsisA leading economist develops a supply-side approach to fighting climate change that encourages resource owners to leave more of their fossil carbon underground.The Earth is getting warmer. Yet, as Hans-Werner Sinn points out in this provocative book, the dominant policy approach—which aims to curb consumption of fossil energy—has been ineffective. Despite policy makers' efforts to promote alternative energy, impose emission controls on cars, and enforce tough energy-efficiency standards for buildings, the relentlessly rising curve of CO2 output does not show the slightest downward turn. Some proposed solutions are downright harmful: cultivating crops to make biofuels not only contributes to global warming but also uses resources that should be devoted to feeding the world's hungry. In The Green Paradox, Sinn proposes a new, more pragmatic approach based not on regulating the demand for fossil fuels but on controlling the supply.The owners of carbon r

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Book SynopsisHow the turmoil of recent years gives leaders an unprecedented opportunity to redesign global strategies and systems and to remobilize toward a smarter, more resilient, and equitable future.How can leaders faced with tremendous global upheaval create more resilient and trustworthy systems? In The Great Remobilization, Olaf Groth, Mark Esposito, and Terence Tse (along with research partner Dan Zehr) diagnose tectonic shifts in the global economy with an eye toward designing a smarter ?operating system? for the world. Through their FLP-IT (forces, logic, phenomena, impact, and triage) framework for strategic leadership, the authors chart a path forward, providing guidance for a new breed of ?design activist leader.? Focusing on key tectonic shifts they call the Five Cs?COVID and pandemic management, the cognitive economy and crypto, cybersecurity, climate change and carbon management, and China?they examine the implications that new forces and logics will have on countries, organizations, and individuals.Drawing from one hundred interviews and conversations with top-level executives, entrepreneurs, policymakers, diplomats, generals, scholars, and other leading experts from around the world, the authors show how to create new inclusive visions with the aim of rebuilding the trust that will allow for both human and economic growth. Insightful and forward-thinking, The Great Remobilization powerfully illustrates the rare opportunity that we have in this historic moment to actively redesign our fragile, overpressurized global systems and develop new strategies and leadership approaches for the future. Authored by three scholar-practitioners, their synthetic perspectives and insights are at once rooted in deep research and focused on relevance for leaders and their organizations.

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Book SynopsisCombining the theoretical tools of comparative politics with the substantive concerns of environmental policy, experts explore responses to environmental problems across nations and political systemsHow do different societies respond politically to environmental problems around the globe? Answering this question requires systematic, cross-national comparisons of political institutions, regulatory styles, and state-society relations. The field of comparative environmental politics approaches this task by bringing the theoretical tools of comparative politics to bear on the substantive concerns of environmental policy. This book outlines a comparative environmental politics framework and applies it to concrete, real-world problems of politics and environmental management.After a comprehensive review of the literature exploring domestic environmental politics around the world, the book provides a sample of major currents within the field, showing how environmental politic

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Book SynopsisThis book argues for independent, critical research on education policy in the context of attacks on the quality and usefulness of educational research in general. It takes issue with the argument, promoted bygovernment departments and agencies that education policy research should be limited to work that assists policy-makers. Against this position, the book advocates independent, critical research that scrutinizes policy in relation to its consequences for equality and social justice. It argues that practitioners and academic researchers should form a research community that develops its own knowledge base from which so-called evidence based policymaking in education may be assessed and challenged. The book offers guidance on the theoretical and methodological resources available to practitioners and others with an interest in doing research on policy and discusses some of the main issues and problems in doing policy research on education. It offers examples of research oTable of ContentsResearching education policysome argumentsTeachers as a policy case in education researchTheory, values and policy research in educationThe context of policy researchResources for policy researchHistory and policy research in educationConclusioncontesting the future?BibliographyIndex.

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Book Synopsis"This research should make us extremely sceptical that the constant search for 'higher standards' and for ever-increasing achievement scores can do much more than put in place seemingly neutral devices for restratification." - Michael W Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin, MadisonRecent educational reforms have raised standards of achievement but have also resulted in growing inequalities based on 'race' and social class. School-by-school 'league tables' play a central role in the reforms. These have created an A-to-C economy where schools and teachers are judged on the proportion of students attaining five or more grades at levels A-to-C. To satisfy these demands schools are embracing new and ever more selective attempts to identify 'ability'. Their assumptions and practices embody a new IQism: a simple , narrow and regressive ideology of intelligence that labels working class and minority students Table of ContentsEducation and equityReforming educationpolicy and practiceAbility and economy'intelligence' and the A-to-C economySelection 11 to 14fast groups, 'left over' mixed ability and the optionsSelection 14 to 16 setting, tiering, hidden ceilings and floorsEducational triage and the D-to-C conversionsuitable cases for treatment?Pupil perspectivesConclusionsrationing educationNotesReferencesIndex.

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Book SynopsisProvides an examination and assessment of the technological revolution in higher education, and the institutional and government policies that surround it. This book identifies issues and policy processes used to manage change and create more opportunities for education.Trade Review"There are very few books on this topic and none written from a Canadian perspective. The Tower under Siege provides a unique collection of research and commentary." Bruce Pennycook, emeritus, Vice-Principal (Information Systems and Technology), McGill University "The Tower under Siege offers important insights into the different paths jurisdictions have followed in developing telelearning policy." Donovan Plumb, Department of Education, Mount St Vincent University

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Book SynopsisThe North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) were designed to strengthen investor's rights at the expense of community rights and environmental protection. Both deals have achieved their aims. This title provides an examination of NAFTA and AIT cases involving MMT.Trade ReviewTrade Barriers to the Public Good brings a rigorous and refreshing moral perspective to bear on the policy implications of trade treaty provisions. Scott Sinclair, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

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Book SynopsisMedicare in Canada is not only this country's most treasured social programme, it has become a defining national characteristic. This book describes the emergence of Medicare. It identifies the crucial contribution of political courage and leadership in achieving a single-payer, publicly funded system.Trade Review"Written in the clear, confident style of an authority describing a process he knows intimately." Robert Fulford, Saturday Night "A brilliant analysis of health policy-making at federal and provincial levels ... well-informed, insightful, thought-provoking, and fun to read." Carl Meilike and Jan Storch, University of Alberta "A lucid, astute, sympathetic, exciting, and scholarly account and assessment o events and of the people and forces which shaped the." John F. Hastings, University of Toronto "A highly readable, rich, historical account which covers a vast area and draws upon an impressive array of research material." Keith G. Banting, University of British Columbia

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Book SynopsisThe book explains why certain public groups, such as Jews, lawyers, and gun-owners, develop substantially more representation than others and why certain organizations, like the National Rifle Association, become the presumed spokespersons for these groups across media and all branches of government.Trade Review"Offering an insightful explanation of why some interests are better represented than others, Matt Grossmann's The Not-So-Special Interests is destined to become one of the most important books on interest groups in this decade. His impressive collection and analysis of original data supports a conceptual framework rooted in the tradition of Truman but thoroughly modernized to engage contemporary questions. Not only does the book make a powerful argument, it's a pleasure to read as well." -- McGee Young, Assistant Professor of Political Science * Marquette University *"In The Not-So-Special Interests, Matt Grossmann's focus is resolutely on the bigger picture of organized interests in Washington, D.C., and is rigorously empirical . . . This is an extremely useful book, one that will spur debate, discussion, and certainly subsequent research." -- David S. Meyer * American Journal of Sociology *"With new ideas, new perspectives, and new data, Matt Grossmann revisits an old idea. He offers a fresh view of how major societal interests promote their ideas, seek policy advantage, and fit within the overall mosaic of American political life. Drawing upon an impressive new dataset of 1,600 advocacy organizations, Grossmann lays out how pluralism can and does become institutionalized across many venues. The Not-So-Special Interests presents an important addition to how we understand the politics of faction in the United States." -- Burdett Loomis, Professor * University of Kansas *"Grossmann's contributions of behavioral pluralism and individual pluralism should become staples for those seeking to understand organized interest behavior and influence . . . Recommended." -- R. M. Alexander * CHOICE *"The Not-So-Special Interests is an elegant and well-grounded study." -- Edward Ashbee * Journal of American Studies *"Grossmann's work is a major contribution—breathtaking in its scope and innovative in its theories of American pluralism at the dawn of the twenty first century. The book should be read by everyone concerned about whose voices really count in Washington." -- Kristin A. Goss, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Sanford School of Public Policy * Duke University *"In The Not-So-Special Interests, Matthew Grossmann sheds new light on one of the central questions in democratic theory and politics—who is represented? Skillfully combining information about the political attitudes and behavior of a wide range of social groups with original data about the organizations that claim to speak for them in Washington, he explains why some advocacy organizations succeed while others fail. His analyses offer new and often surprising insights about the sources and consequences of cumulative inequalities produced by interest group mobilization, power, and access." -- Dara Z. Strolovitch * Associate Professor, University of Minnesota and author of Affirmative Advocacy: Race, Class, and Gender in Interest Group Politics *"This book is one of the more-impressive theoretically constructed and empirically executed studies of the aggregation and mobilization of interests available. It is conscientiously grounded in the available research, and the database, most of it self-generated, provides comprehensiveness in relation to the universe studied, public advocacy groups in Washington, DC. This allows for an intensity of analysis that results in an original, well-executed, and significant contribution to our understanding." -- William Crotty * Political Science Quarterly *"The Not-So-Special Interests provides a refreshingly clear-eyed assessment of the landscape of interest group politics in Washington. . .Cutting through the folklore about interest groups is no small task, but blazes and impressive trail. It dispassionately devises sensible theories. It mingles real-world insights with heaps of illuminating quantitative data, most of which the author created from scratch using techniques that combin methodological rigor and common sense. The end result is a book that has important implications for the study of interest groups and for other questions in the field." -- Nicholas Carnes * American Review of Politics *

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Book SynopsisThe book examines different ways in which the concepts of media pluralism and diversity have been theorized and used in media policy debates. Its basic argument is that media pluralism should be understood as a broad normative value that refers to the distribution of communicative power in the public sphere.Trade Review"Uncertainty or disagreement of how to conceptualize media pluralism is a persistent stumbling block in academic and policy debates. Tackling this difficult issue is an important, brave and necessary exercise, and it is what this book does." -- -Natali Helberger Institute for Information Law "This publication discusses the conceptualisation of media pluralism from the angle of the democratic and public sphere theories. Specialists and professionals in the field, including media sociology academics and media practitioners, would welcome this publication as it sheds light to the concept of media pluralism that is notoriously difficult to define." -- -Petros Iosifidis City University London "At a time when references to media pluralism are as common as eulogies to motherhood and apple pie, Karppinen's claim that pluralism needs to be rescued from its depoliticized, catch-all identity and understood in terms of its ability to challenge inequalities in communicative power ought to be listened to very carefully. This book demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the current media policy environment and, more generally, of theories of power as they relate to policymaking. This stimulating book develops a rigorous framework for understanding pluralism in a way that will challenge concentrations of media power and enhance media democracy." -- -Des Freedman author of The Politics of Media Policy

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Anyone looking for an argument about something important would be well served to pick up What We Talk About When We Talk About War, Richler's provocative and ambitious new book." -- Randy Boyagoda * National Post *"What We Talk About When We Talk About War is an eloquent meditation on the nature of modern warfare, and one of the best books I've read about Canada in years — not the surprisingly colourful, forgotten history of, but a biting analysis of who we are in the twenty-first century. and why. ... So we are living in epic times. By identifying a sea change in the Canadian political psyche, Noah Richler identifies the spirit of our times, opens an important discussion. ... Don't leave this one to the critics. Buy the book, sink back, get mad and enjoy." * roverarts.com *"A hard-hitting polemic aimed at the new 'philistines' laying siege to Lester B. Pearson's legacy of liberal internationalism and peacekeeping ... Richler's War catapults him to the front line of the ongoing Canadian culture war. He brings to the task the unique talents and perceptions of a novelist. It's rare to find in Canadian political discourse precise references to Homer's The Iliad and the Trojan War." * Chronicle Herald *"Richler argues that the Canadian public has not been all that supportive or interested in the war in Afghanistan. He offers proof in the huge outpouring of sympathy and aid to Haiti. ... a great book for the peace movement to use. ... What We Talk About When We Talk About War lays the ground for what we must be talking about when we talk about peace." -- Shirley Farlinger * scienceforpeace.ca *

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Book SynopsisRising income inequality has been at the forefront of public debate in Canada in recent years, yet there is still much to learn about the economic forces driving the distribution of earnings and income in this country and how they might evolve in the future. With research showing that the tax-and-transfer system is losing the ability to counteract income disparity, the need for policy-makers to understand the factors at play is all the more urgent. Income Inequality provides a comprehensive review of Canadian inequality trends, including changing earnings and income dynamics among the middle class and top earners, wage and job polarization across provinces, and persistent poverty among vulnerable groups. The Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), in collaboration with the Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network (CLSRN), presents new evidence by some of the country's leading experts on the impact of skills and education, unionization and labour relations laws, as w

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Book SynopsisOne of the greatest challenges facing human civilization is the provision of secure, affordable energy without causing catastrophic environmental damage. As the world''s largest economy, and as a world leader in energy technologies, the United States is a particularly important case. In the light of increased competition from other countries (particularly China), growing concerns about the local and global environmental impacts of the energy system, an ever-present interest in energy security, and the realization that technological innovation takes place in a complex ecosystem involving a wide range of domestic and international actors, this volume provides a comprehensive and analytical assessment of the role that the US government should play in energy technology innovation. It will be invaluable for policy makers in energy innovation and for researchers studying energy innovation, future energy technologies, climate-change mitigation, and innovation management. It will act as a suppTrade Review'… this volume is an invaluable addition to a wider energy innovation literature that can, and should, be read by US policy-makers, particularly at the federal level. It is an account of how the US federal government has been responding to the need for [research, development and demonstration] RD&D in the energy sector. It is a critical analysis of how the RD&D aspect of US energy innovation, especially its ever-changing political dynamics can be accelerated. It also offers a thorough discussion of how RD&D could be systematically facilitated through a structured approach. It is a concise, well-focused study of the RD&D aspect of a rather complex and messy energy innovation system.' Laurence L. Delina, Journal Science and Public PolicyTable of Contents1. The need to transform US energy innovation Matthew Bunn, Laura Diaz Anadon and Venkatesh Narayanamurti; 2. Expanding, and improving targeting of, US investment in energy innovation: an analytical approach Laura Diaz Anadon, Gabriel Chan and Audrey Lee; 3. Reforming US energy innovation institutions: maximizing the return on investment Nathaniel Logar, Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Laura Diaz Anadon; 4. Encouraging private-sector energy technology innovation and public-private cooperation Charles Jones, Laura Diaz Anadon and Venkatesh Narayanamurti; 5. Maximizing the benefit from international energy innovation cooperation Ruud Kempener, Matthew Bunn and Laura Diaz Anadon; 6. Transforming US energy innovation: how do we get there? Laura Diaz Anadon, Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Matthew Bunn.

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Book SynopsisThis book makes a significant contribution to the comparative constitutional law and politics of hybrid regimes, those that are neither liberal democratic nor closed autocracies, whose number is on the rise everywhere in the world. It takes as its case studies China's two Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong and Macau.Table of Contents1. The rise of hybrid constitutionalism; 2. A transaction cost theory of hybrid constitutionalism; 3. Hybrid by constitutional design; 4. Comparative constitutional review in the Chinese special administrative regions; 5. Transaction cost politics in Hong Kong and Macau; 6. Epilogue; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe unique composition and configuration of doctors and hospitals in the US is leading to a crisis in primary care provision. There are significantly more specialists than generalists, and many community hospitals and outpatient facilities are concentrated in affluent areas with high rates of comprehensive insurance coverage. These particular features present difficult challenges to policymakers seeking to increase access to care. Carl F. Ameringer shows why the road to universal healthcare is not built on universal finance alone. Policymakers in other countries successfully align finance with delivery to achieve better access, lower costs, and improved population health. This book explains how the US healthcare system developed, and why efforts to expand insurance coverage in the absence of significant changes to delivery will fuel higher costs without achieving the desired results.Trade Review'Anyone curious about why health care is so daunting in the United States will appreciate this well-researched, eminently readable summary of how it is delivered and financed.' Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, MACP, President and CEO of Federation of State Medical Boards'In clear broad strokes, Ameringer offers a cogent analysis of how and why the US health care system came to be so different from the more effective and less costly systems that exist in every other economically advanced nation. Tracing the evolution of health care from the late nineteenth century through 2015, he identifies the kaleidoscopic combination of medical developments, socio-political policies, and uncoordinated financial programs that collectively produced the bloated and irrational arrangements now in place. This book should be read by all concerned citizens, by college classes, and especially by policymakers.' James C. Mohr, University of Oregon'In US Health Policy and Health Care Delivery: Doctors, Reformers, and Entrepreneurs, Carl F. Ameringer uses his combined expertise in health policy and law to bring to the fore an alternative explanation of why universal health care in the US remains elusive. He deftly weaves together a compelling argument that the ills of our current system are less the result of failures in insurance coverage than they are the historical evolution of how we deliver health care, focusing on high cost hospital and specialty care. His account deserves equal billing with the more pervasive account of health care financing and the book deserves a prominent place on the bookshelf of all serious health law and policy scholars and health care reformers.' Diane Hoffmann, University of Maryland'In this well-argued, thorough, and convincing analysis of inherited and invented problems in American health policy, Carl F. Ameringer presents this nation's health services as a hydra-headed monster of competing interests. Given the abundant historical evidence that partial solutions create new problems, effective policy proposals today must include broad support. A must-read for policy makers and the general public.' Rosemary Stevens, author of A Time of Scandal: Charles R. Forbes, Warren G. Harding and the Making of the Veterans Bureau'Ameringer takes on the timely topics of health care policy and delivery and examines them from a well-researched historical perspective to interrogate how and why the US health care system is different from systems of economically similar nations. Through this historical perspective, Ameringer argues that present-day policy changes will prove ineffective in lowering costs unless significant structural changes are made to how health care is delivered and organized. The book is generally organized chronologically and takes readers through the history of American health care, starting in the late 1800s. Ameringer writes in an approachable, engaging style that would be appropriate for an undergraduate audience. A brief index is included, but to fully understand the context of indexed subjects, readers will be better off reading the entire book, which is quite short. This text is an excellent source for anyone studying US health care systems and policy. Recommended.' C. A. Tomlinson, Choice'A clear, concise, and informative history of the failure of the United States to establish a system of universal health care … well suited for graduate or undergraduate courses in the history of medicine and health or in public policy. It also deserves attention from scholars, policy makers, and anyone concerned with the future of health care in America.' Margaret Marsh, Journal of American History'The book nicely incorporates stories of specific individuals and organizations in local or state contexts whose experiments or actions took on larger significance. This is a compact, highly readable story of the jostling of interests, and Ameringer's book wrangles the unruly history of the U.S. healthcare system into a neater and more linear story.' Miriam J. Laugesen, Bulletin of the History of Medicine'This is a compact, highly readable story of the jostling of interests, and Ameringer's book wrangles the unruly history of the U.S. healthcare system into a neater and more linear story.' Miriam J. Laugesen, Bulletin of the History of MedicineTable of Contents1. Health policy and health care delivery; 2. The scientific practitioner, 1870–1918; 3. Group medical practice and group insurance, 1919–1943; 4. The hospital as community health center, 1945–1965; 5. The turn to market competition, 1965–1995; 6. The emergence of corporate health systems, 1996–2015.

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Book SynopsisUnderstanding the Policymaking Process in Developing Countries provides a uniquely comprehensive and practical framework for development practitioners, policymakers, activists, and students to diagnose and improve policy processes in developing countries across a wide range of issues. Based on the classic policy sciences approach, the book offers over 100 diagnostic indicators keyed to identify problems of policy processes, policy content, bureaucratic behavior, stakeholder behavior, and national-subnational interactions. This multi-disciplinary framework is applied to a host of policy problems that particularly plague countries experiencing the ''under-development syndrome'', including aborted programs and projects, policy impasses, distorted implementation, unnecessary harm and conflict, and shortsighted initiatives. These points are illustrated through cases from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Based on the developing countries'' distinctive challenges, the book also offers recommeTrade Review'This is an excellent book. It is an important step forward in global development scholarship because it combines a highly effective 'reality check' on development theory and practice and it offers accessible practical steps and intelligent advice on how to unpack and overcome persistent challenges to development work. It should be required reading for aspirant development practitioners and policymakers.' Craig Hammer, Program Manager, The World Bank'It is rare to encounter a generalized explanation of the policymaking process in developing countries that doubles as a practical guide for the policy analyst. Understanding the Policymaking Process in Developing Countries is one such contribution. Ascher's structured and thorough explication of the policy process in developing countries, including the social, political, and institutional dimensions, is especially valuable for the practicing policy scientist.' Matthew Auer, Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia'This timely book by an experienced development thinker helps remind us that good development policies and programs require more than careful analysis. Effective policymaking also requires that those charged with implementing policies and programs be willing and able to ask the right questions about how the policy process works. This book provides valuable advice both on how policymakers and their advisors should pose these questions as well as on how they should might get them answered most effectively.' Sudhir Shetty, Chief Economist, East Asia Pacific, The World BankTable of Contents1. Challenges to effective development policymaking; 2. The policy process in developing countries really is different; 3. The expert's risk: endorsing ill-fated initiatives; 4. The expert's frustration: rejection of sound knowledge or recommendations; 5. Overcoming the impasses that block sound initiatives; 6. Inconsistent or incomplete enactment of initiatives; 7. Inadequate accommodation for excessive deprivation; 8. Reducing avoidable conflict; 9. Minimizing shortsighted policies; 10. Adapting policy initiatives and institutions; 11. Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisThe European Union was created for the purpose of encouraging peace on the continent, but today is increasingly active globally in areas such as diplomacy, development, humanitarian and consular aid, and civilian and military crisis management. Yet we know little about the forces that drive the Union to interact, influence and intervene outside its borders. This book offers a new theoretical perspective that explains how EU collective action is driven by practice, such as diplomatic routines and crisis management procedures. Using global case studies, Ekengren shows how the EU''s representatives perform these routines, or transnational practices, across particular ''locales'' around the globe, from Kosovo to Haiti. By connecting transnational and local forces in the explanation of EU foreign policy action, he presents an outline of a practice theory of translocal action. Scholars, policymakers and journalists will find this theoretically ground breaking book essential in understanding the European Union''s foreign policy.Trade Review'Ekengren's deft application of Bourdieusian practice theory to EU agency is a timely remedy for the famously undertheorized field of European studies.' Iver B. Neumann, author of At Home with the DiplomatsTable of Contents1. Explaining EU foreign policy action: turning to practice; 2. Outline of a theory of translocal EU foreign policy action; 3. The EU's translocal actions in Kosovo 1999; 4. The EU's translocal actions in the Haitian disaster 2010; 5. Toward a theory of the translocal recognition cycle; Appendix I: my research practice over time; Appendix II: list of interviewees; Appendix III: interview guidelines for Haiti study.

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Book SynopsisGovernment interventions in market failures can encounter objections from those who doubt their efficacy. Acocella, a leading expert on economic policy, counters these unfounded criticisms, making the convincing case for the foundation, coordination and reach of government action through economic policy. Arguing for the governmental potential to devise democratic, fair and effective institutions and policies, this book also demonstrates the validity of the principles outlined by Frisch and Tinbergen, amongst others, for controlling the economy, in a strategic context, equivalent to the rational expectations assumption. Demonstrating how unconventional monetary policies (such as macro-prudential regulation, new fiscal rules, and new forms of international policy coordination) can offer an effective response to the multiplicity of current economic issues, the recent financial crisis arguably indicates that economic policy must once again take centre stage as the applied complement to maiTrade Review'This is an exquisite and erudite scholarly work about the intellectual history of the foundations for economic policy. I have no doubt about the importance and the value of this book.' Matías Vernengo, Bucknell University, Pennsylvania'This book gives a clear discussion of the history and future of the discipline of economic policy, presenting a large amount of literature in a way which is accessible. It gives indispensable accounts of the history of the discipline of economic policy across different countries and its relation to national traditions in economics and (theoretical and practical) politics. The author makes you think over the related issues and question your own presuppositions, which is a major characteristic trait of a good scientific book. Considering recent economic problems, which are partly the long-term consequences of the financial crisis, alongside the results of other policy failures, it is of utmost importance to provide serious material about economic policy, and this is just what this text does.' Reinhard Neck, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, AustriaTable of ContentsPart I. Economic Policy as a Discipline; Part II. Economic Policy in the Present Tense.

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Book SynopsisThe way in which the country helps the poor is up for grabs as politicians debate radical proposals to undermine the basic structure of the social safety net. This book explores the consequences of relying on block grants or deferring to states when it comes to anti-poverty policy.Trade Review'American federalism has many faces, both bountiful and miserly, beneficent and malicious. Sadly, as Holes in the Safety Net shows, America's poor too often see its darkest face. Fortunately, the experts whose work animates this powerful book also light the path to a better federalism for the nation's most vulnerable citizens.' Jacob S. Hacker, Yale University, Connecticut, co-author of Winner-Take-All Politics and American Amnesia and author of The Great Risk Shift'This volume brings together the most important and influential scholars investigating poverty and the government programs designed to assist those living in it. The book is a must-read for anyone trying to understand why poverty persists in the one of richest countries in the world.' Khiara M. Bridges, Boston University and author of The Poverty of Privacy Rights'This fine collection illuminates the important role that the legal profession has come to play in defining and defending a rights-basis for our social policies that deal with poverty and inequality.' Francis Fox Piven, City University of New York and co-author of Regulating the Poor and Poor People's Movements'This exploration of the intersection of federalism and poverty policy includes informative, timely essays that speak to critical questions of how best to formulate policy … Overall the collection is critical of how US poverty programs have evolved, but it does offer hope and guidance to those working on poverty policy. This collection offers a lot to like.' N. K. Mitchell, ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction Ezra Rosser; Part I. Welfare and Federalism: 1. The tools in the battle: federalism, entitlement, and punishment across the US social welfare state Wendy Bach; 2. Laboratories of suffering: toward democratic welfare governance Monica Bell, Andrea Taverna, Dhruv Aggarwal and Isra Syed; 3. The difference in being poor in red states versus blue states Michelle Gilman; Part II. States, Federalism, and Anti-Poverty Efforts: 4. States' rights and state wrongs: SNAP and Medicaid work requirements in rural America Rebecca H. Williams and Lisa Pruitt; 5. State and local tax takeaways Francine Lipman; 6. Early childhood development and the replication of poverty Clare Huntington; 7. States diverting funds from the poor Daniel Hatcher; 8. States' evolving role in SNAP David Super; Part III. Advocacy: 9. Federalism in health care reform Nicole Huberfeld; 10. Poverty lawyering in the states Andrew Hammond; 11. Conclusion. A way forward Peter Edelman.

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Book SynopsisExploring gendered agency under neoliberalism by contextualising and historicising contemporary debates on sex work, Eglė Česnulytė features primary accounts from women selling sex in Kenya, arguing that their role in our understanding of gender and agency in today's neoliberal structures is crucial.Trade Review'An outstanding contribution to the understanding of sex work in Kenya in the context of neoliberalism. Egle Cesnulyte explores with immense analytical heft, and on the basis of extensive ethnography, how sex work can be a way for women to accumulate capital and to sustain livelihood strategies as part of reproductive labour. A must read.' Ray Bush, University of Leeds'This excellent analysis of how female sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya, experience and challenge socio-economic realities provides critical insight into their lives; how they exercise agency in 'tight corners'; and the gendered impact of neo-liberal practice and discourse. A must read for anyone interested in gender, everyday political economy or neoliberalism.' Gabrielle Lynch, University of WarwickTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Neo-liberal transformations and gender in Kenya; 3. Gendered livelihoods and 'bargaining with patriarchy'; 4. Selling sex in Mombasa; 5. Dreams and strategies of women selling sex; 6. A vicious circle: work-related dangers and obstacles for exiting sex work; 7. Connecting global and local: Kenyan state, NGOs and the sex worker movement; 8. Conclusions: gendered limits of agency in a neo-liberal world.

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Book SynopsisMany Western countries have seen an increase in the volume and importance of external consultants in the public policy process. This book is the first to investigate this phenomenon in a comparative and interdisciplinary way. The analysis shows who these consultants are, how widely and for what reasons they are used in Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands and Sweden. In doing so, the book addresses the positive and negative implications of high levels of external policy consultancy, including its implications for the nature of the state (transforming into a contractor state?) and for democratically legitimized and accountable decision-making (transforming into consultocracy?). It provides valuable new insights for students and practitioners in the fields of public administration, public policy, public management, political science and human resource management.Trade Review'Policy consultancy - 'the invisible public service' - has for a long time been somewhat of a blind spot in policy analysis. Caspar van den Berg, Michael Howlett, Andrea Migone, Michael Howard, Frida Pemer and Helen M. Gunter make a strong case that policy consultancy is far more important than the previous literature suggests. They sustain this argument by [providing] a detailed comparative analysis of policy consultancy in six countries representing three different types of institutional systems and administrative traditions. The book is a valuable resource to students and scholars in public administration, public management and political science.' Jon Pierre, University of Gothenburg, Sweden'We have known for some time that consultants can play an important role in governments - as part of consultocracy or the contracting state - but details have been elusive. This study of policy consultancy in six countries, representing three systems of government, opens this field up to scrutiny. What do policy consultants do and to what effect and how does their use vary and compare with other forms of external advice? In addressing these issues, the book will become a key resource for policymakers and scholars in public administration and policy and political sciences.' Andrew Sturdy, University of Bristol and co-author of Management as Consultancy'This book fills a blind spot in the study of public policy and public administration. Consultants, especially policy consultancy, could be part of a solution, by thinking out of the box, but also, could become part of a problem, when a public sector contracts out its brains. The authors show a reality which is much more complex than just bureaucrats and consultocrats by giving a convincing picture of how supply and demand of ideas dynamically interact in different countries.' Geert Bouckaert, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven'Policy Consultancy in Comparative Perspective is a long-needed book that sheds light on the use of consultants, its scope, causes and implications. This empirically rich book is a valuable contribution to the field of public administration by showing how and why central governments increasingly turn to policy consultants and that in the contractor state the distinction between internal public servants and external consultants becomes evermore blurred. Everyone interested in the internal dynamics of governments and patterns of change in policy-making should read this book.' Thurid Hustedt, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin'This is an important book, rich in its theoretical, empirical and comparative approach. By focusing on the role that consultants have come to play in the policy arena, it fills a gap in the public policy literature and clearly introduces something new that students of public administration need to be concerned with. The impact of these consultants has largely been ignored and this important work puts them where they belong: that is, in the mix of the forces that shape public policies. The work explores the multifarious tasks they perform in the policy-making arena: from analyzing … advising … recommending, and even to communicating and publicizing policies.' Ezra Suleiman, IBM Professor of International Studies, Princeton University, New JerseyTable of ContentsList of figures; List of tables; Author biographies; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Policy consultancy in comparative perspective; 2. Consultancy in the UK Government: modernising privatism; 3. Policy consulting in the USA: significant but in decline? 4. Entrenched and escalating: policy-relevant consulting and contracting in Australia, 1987–2017; 5. From corporatist to contractor state? Policy consulting in The Netherlands; 6. Policy consultants for substance and process: a review of the supply and demand for Canadian policy consulting; 7. Swedish government agencies' hiring of policy consultants: a phenomenon of increased magnitude and importance? 8. Conclusion: policy consulting in comparative perspective; Appendix A; Appendix B; Appendix C; Appendix D; Appendix E; Appendix F; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisPyrooz and Decker pull apart the bars on prison gangs to uncover how they compete for control. While there is much speculation about these gangs, there is little solid research. This book draws on interviews with 802 inmates - half of whom were gang members - in two Texas prisons; one of the largest samples of its kind. Using this data, the authors explore how gangs organize and govern, who joins gangs and how they get out, the dark side of gang activities including misconduct and violence, the ways in which gang membership spills onto the street, and the direct and indirect links between the street and prison gangs. Competing for Control captures the nature of gangs in a time of transition, as prison gangs become more horizontal and their power is diffused across groups. There is no study like this one.Trade Review'Competing for Control is a very important work which will surely generate significant discussions in virtually any classroom. It is a must-read for those of us in academe, as well as anyone who works in a correctional facility (or perhaps even resides in one).' Robert M. Worley, Theory in Action'This fascinating book takes readers inside the prison system and explains how it operates on a day-to-day basis.' E. Smith, Choice'Overall, then, this is a theoretically strong, well-written, and insightful book, which will no doubt become a key text for criminologists and penologists in the years to come.' Dev R Maitra, British Journal of Community Justice'This study will long stand as a tour de force in this field – for four important reasons. First, there is no other study of gangs inside prisons that rivals theirs. Second, the public policy import of their research provides guidance for prison administrators in future programming that surely will produce worthwhile benefits in the enterprise of controlling prison gang violence. Third – and most important – future generations of gang researchers will view this book as a foundational body of research on prison gangs, in the same way that Thornberry and colleagues' (2003) book was the first longitudinal study of gang membership from childhood into adulthood, and it inspired numerous other such studies. Fourth, Pyrooz and Decker utilized a rigorous study methodology.' Buddy Howell, Criminal Justice and Behavior'The book stands as an exemplar of social science. Grounded in theory and the collection of data specifically suited to stimulate and test theoretical arguments, it hits on all pistons - generating knowledge about social order in general, social order in prisons more specifically, and then, still more specifically, gangs.' Dan Mears, ACJS TodayTable of Contents1. Foundation for the study; 2. Understanding gangs in prison; 3. The LoneStar Project; 4. The characteristics of gang members in prison; 5. The characteristics of gangs in prison; 6. The role of gangs in the social order of prisons; 7. Misconduct and victimization in prison; 8. Joining and avoiding gangs in prison; 9. Continuity and change in prison gang membership; 10. Implications of competing for control.

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Book SynopsisSince 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed and promulgated numerous regulations to implement the pollution control statutes enacted by Congress. Critics have reacted strongly. Some, both within Congress and outside of it, have accused the agency of reaching beyond the authority given it by Congress and ignoring or underestimating the costs and economic impacts and overestimating the benefits of proposed and promulgated rules.

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Book SynopsisA NATIONAL BESTSELLER This explosive book is the definitive account of the Biden administration's most disgraceful hour-and the chaos it unleashed in the world.America's chaotic retreat from Afghanistan in 2021 was nothing short of a horror show. Women and children were trampled to death outside the gates of the Kabul airfield. Desperate Afghans fell from the landing gear of departing planes. Taliban fighters mercilessly whipped and humiliated U.S. civilians trying to access the few square miles still controlled by American forces. Countless Afghan interpreters were abandoned to the mercy of the Taliban after risking their lives alongside American troops for years. And thirteen U.S. service members-eleven of whom were still in preschool on 9/11-were murdered in an ISIS suicide bombing that could easily have been prevented.Still, the full story is worse than anyone imagined. Drawing from hundreds of hours of first-person interviews, investigative reporter Jerry Dunleavy and former Army Captain and Afghanistan veteran James Hasson provide an exclusive, no-holds-barred account of the disastrous events of August 2021. Kabul is packed with shocking and infuriating exclusive details about fatal politics and bureaucracy that contributed to the catastrophe. The authors also tell, for the first time, inspiring stories of the bravery and sacrifices exhibited by countless Americans on the ground.Kabul's original reporting includes eyewitness accounts from servicemembers of all ranks who participated the rescue effort, inside information from senior intelligence officials, interviews with high-ranking members of allied governments, harrowing stories from Americans and Afghan allies willfully abandoned by craven officials in Washington, and exclusive details about veteran-led rescue missions that continue to this day. Chapter after chapter, Kabul depicts American government at its worst and "ordinary" Americans at their best.Ultimately, this book explains how Biden's Afghanistan retreat spurred a dangerous new era that persist for decades. While Americans watched the fall of Afghanistan with disbelief, our nation's enemies were also paying close attention.

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Book SynopsisA resource to understanding the complexities of welfare reform furnishing an even handed evaluation of welfare abolition schemes. The six essays excerpted from CRS Report analyze state welfare initiatives, jobs for welfare recipients, tax incentives to train or retrain the work force, work incentive

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Book SynopsisThe 21st century is widely projected to be the Asian Century! The Asia Pacific region has been the world''s fastest growing region since 1965. This book provides a timely and insightful examination of the key issues involved in China''s economic relationships with the other Asian Pacific economies. It sheds light on the possible directions of change in the years to come in the economic role China plays within the broader Asia Pacific region.

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Book SynopsisThe seemingly endless battle to reform American schools rages onward as we approach the 21st century. Taxpayers seem confused and are not supporting the public schools as they have in the past. Parents are up in arms about perceived lack of student safety and discipline. Everyone bemoans what appears to be a failure of students to grasp even basic academic subjects. In short, the schools are receiving the brunt of the blame for the dumbing down of America. This book launches a frontal attack on the nature of the educational process and lays out clear guidelines for the future.

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Book SynopsisThis book is based on the thesis that the process of European integration is far more than just the building and further development of institutions. It is far more than the adjustment of economic and political procedures in a changing environmental and ever new challenges. Instead it is a social process which takes place even if the "social dimension" is underexposed by the official policy. And just this makes it all the more interesting because it shows the limits and opportunities to influence "great history" by the social basis of soci(et)al being - the peoples and their organisations. The main foci of the chapters in this book are: the role and function of social policy, and the role and function of civil society, namely the NGOs.

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Book SynopsisTransition from one millennium to another is not just a calendar date, but rather a complex historical process of qualitative changes in the development of human civilisation. Such understanding of history is especially important when one would like to assess the ''double step'' (a new century and a new millennium) being made at the advent of a new era. Together with the geopolitical regrouping, principal qualitative shifts are taking place on the international scene. They are already evident in the territories of some of the former republics of the Soviet Union which have been replaced by the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS). The goal of this book is to contribute to a more profound study of the global changes in the area of both international and national security which have been well underway in the world community in a whole and the CIS in particular, started by the dissolution of the former Soviet Union and accelerated by the subsequent political, economic and social reforms in the CIS countries.

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Book SynopsisThe discussion on globalisation has largely neglected the question of welfare/social issues. Of course, this is not astonishing -- the discussion on these issues had been fairly neglected even before questions of globalisation arrived on the agenda. And of course, these questions (social/welfare) had not been totally neglected. Instead, they have been tackled in a very limited way, just taking the national boundaries (or local, regional, and as well European or whatever) as granted. The consequences for others have been disregarded. But even taking notice of ''welfare'' in connection with globalisation is in a way restricted. What really matters is the ''mode of socialisation'' changes, the way of living together. Instead of looking at single issues like economic changes, ways of political negotiation etc., and the limitation on an institutional point of view the book reviews changes in soci(et)al realms in more holistic terms. The book does not aim at a definition and conceptualism of a global welfare state. However, some important restrictions of the mainstream discussion of globalisation are pointed out. Furthermore a perspective is debated which draws attention to the dangers of new lines of exclusion as well as on opportunities for social integration beyond natural borders. The various issues are tackled from a wide range of sociological and social-policy approaches.

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Book SynopsisSuper-Optimizing Examples - Across Public Policy Problems

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