Handbook of Policy Formulation

by Michael Howlett (Editor), Ishani Mukherjee (Editor)

This Handbook represents a pioneering effort to consolidate the state of knowledge on policy formulation. An invaluable resource for scholars and students of policy studies, this Handbook provides a set of analytical discussions that help scholars, students and practitioners better understand the multiple dimensions of what policy formulation has come to mean in contemporary public policy-making and governance. In attempting to resolve pressing public problems, governments devise, deploy and develop policy tools in many different ways in different sectors and jurisdictions. Knowledge of these processes has been fragmented, however, spanning a multitude of different approaches, perspectives and case studies. By critically and systematically analysing both the processes and agents of policy formulation, this Handbook provides the first comprehensive overview of the formulation activities that are undertaken by governments in order to match their policy goals with the means of achieving them.

The Handbook unites a wide range of expert contributors who examine the roles played by policy actors, institutions and ideas in answering fundamental questions about policy formulation such as who undertakes it, how, when, where and why. Through seven thematic sections this Handbook discusses a wide range of topics related to formulation such as the nature of policy design, instrument choice, policy appraisal, policy advice and the politics of defining and resolving policy problems.

Contributors include: C. Adelle, J. Bandola-Gill, R. Burroughs, C. Eichbaum, M. Galizzi, A. Gunn, H. Gunter, M.P. Howlett, H.M. Ingram, D.S.L. Jarvis, G.F. Johnson, P.D. Jorgensen, J. Kohoutek, C. Koski, M. Lehtonen, D. Linders, C. Lyall, L. Ma, M. Maor, C. Matheson, P.J. May, J.G. McGann, I. Mukherjee, S. Nair, M. Nekola, J. Rayner, A.L. Schneider, J. Scott, R. Shaw, A. Simons, N. Stramp, H. Strassheim, M. van der Steen, A. Vesel�, J.-P. Vo�, S. Weiland, M. Wilder, A.R. Zito

584 pages, Hardcover

Published April 28, 2017

About the author

Michael Howlett is Burnaby Mountain Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Political Science at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. He specializes in public policy studies with an emphasis on natural resource and environmental policy-making. He is currently editor of Policy Sciences, Policy Design and Practice, the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Policy & Society and the Annual Review of Policy Design.