Table Of ContentPUBLIC POLICY PRAXIS
Public administration and policy analysis education has long emphasized tidiness, stages, and rationality, but
practitioners frequently must deal with a world where objectivity is buffeted by, repressed by, and sometimes
defeated by value conflict. Too often public administration education has failed individuals who must deal
with the hustle and bustle and complexity of policymaking. Public Policy Praxis equips its readers to grapple
with ambiguity and complexity. By emphasizing mixed methodologies, students are encouraged, through the
use of cases, to develop a workable and practical model of applied policy analysis.
Throughout the book, Clemons and McBeth argue that pragmatism demands that analysts learn to think
politically and to understand that public problems are socially constructed. As such, in addition to analytical
models, the authors examine specific tools of policy analysis, such as stakeholder mapping, content analysis,
group facilitation, narrative analysis, cost-benefit analysis, futuring, and survey analysis. Students are given
the opportunity to try out these analytical models and tools in varied case settings (county, city, federal, urban,
and rural), facing wide-ranging topics (economic development, expansion of human services in an urban area,
building a health care clinic in a small town, an inner-city drug program, and the bison controversy in
Yellowstone National Park) that capture the diversity of public policy and the intergovernmental nature of
politics.
With chapters written to the student and in a nearly conversational style, Public Policy Praxis is an ideal
textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in public policy analysis, community planning, leadership,
social welfare policy, educational policy, family policy, and special seminars.
Randy S. Clemons is Professor of Political Science and the Associate Dean of the Ridge College of
Intelligence Studies & Applied Sciences at Mercyhurst University, USA.
Mark K. McBeth is Professor in the Department of Political Science and Associate Dean of the College of
Arts & Letters at Idaho State University, USA.
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“This new edition is much improved in all important aspects, particularly in how the chapters have been
organized to highlight the mixed methods approach to policy analysis. The authors’ post-positivist perspective
reflects current thinking within the discipline, and meshes perfectly with their case study approach. Public
Policy Praxis remains accessible in tone as it challenges us to examine our most basic assumptions about the
policy process.”
–Kenneth Kickham, University of Central Oklahoma, USA
“Public Policy Praxis is a concise yet comprehensive guide to policy analysis combining the practical and
theoretical in a balanced text. Both scholarly and conversational, it is a valuable resource offering a broad
base of policy concepts and terminology, and providing the essential tools for meaningful policy dialogue and
action on an evolving array of issues.”
–Bonnie Stabile, George Mason University, USA
“True to its name, Public Policy Praxis epitomizes the merger between diverse theories and meaningful
practice. Now on their 3rd edition, Clemons and McBeth again deliver complex ideas and methods easily
understood by policy students, yet substantive enough to belong on the scholar’s bookshelf. The approach is
practical, case driven, theoretically diverse, and yet simultaneously rigorous, covering complex tools of the
trade-both quantitative and qualitative. For a non-dogmatic, practical, and theoretically versatile policy
analysis text, this is your book.”
–Michael Jones, Oregon State University, USA
“Public Policy Praxis is one of the best books available for graduate programs in applied public policy and
policy analysis. It is an extremely well written piece of scholarship that seamlessly weaves both the
theoretically important concepts in the field of public policy with the applied “toolkit” approach of policy
analysis. Clemons and McBeth continue to provide both the scholar and the practitioner with an invaluable
resource.”
–Gregory C. Hill, Boise State University, USA
“Public Policy Praxis is a unique, case-based, and theory-rich approach for students to understand the politics
of public policy and access tools of policy analysis. With an accessible writing style, Clemons and McBeth
offer a refreshing approach to public policy that brings pragmatism and praxis to the fore in unpacking the
complexities of real-world policy issues.”
–Elizabeth A. Shanahan, Montana State University, USA
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PUBLIC POLICY PRAXIS
A CASE APPROACH FOR
UNDERSTANDING POLICY
AND ANALYSIS
THIRD EDITION
Randy S. Clemons and Mark K. McBeth
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For support material associated with Public Policy Praxis,Third Edition, please go to
www.routledge.com/products/9781138641662
First published 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
This edition published 2017
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Taylor & Francis
The right of Randy S. Clemons and Mark K. McBeth to be identified as authors of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Clemons, Randall S., author. | McBeth, Mark K., author.
Title: Public policy praxis: a case approach for understanding policy and analysis/by Randy S.
Clemons and Mark K. McBeth.
Description: Third edition. | New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015050274 | ISBN 9781138641679
(hardback: alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138641662 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315630342 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Policy sciences. | Policy sciences—Case studies.
Classification: LCC H97 .C56 2017 | DDC 320.6—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015050274
ISBN: 978-1-138-64167-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-64166-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-63034-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
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CONTENTS
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Boxes
List of Cases
Preface to the Third Edition
Acknowledgments
Part I Overview
Chapter 1 Public Policy, Power, The People, Pluralism, and You
Mini-Case: Drug Abuse and Waterville
Introduction
Introducing Narrative Analysis
Value Conflict
A Political System
Public Policy and Linkage Mechanisms
Power and Policymaking
Effect of Power Structures on the Policy Analyst
Stakeholder Analysis
Mini-Case: This Isn’t a Hilton Hotel, Ma’am
Concluding Thoughts
Glossary Terms
Case Study: Big-Mart: Cheap Goods at What Price?
Notes
Part II Theory and Practice: Rationality, Nonrationality,
Politics, and the Policy Process
Chapter 2 The Rational Public Policy Method
Genesis of the Rational Model
The Rational Public Policy Method in Theory
The Rational Model in Practice
Rationality or Something Else?
Mini-Case: Portersville Health Clinic
Model Evaluation
Heading to a Conclusion
Concluding Thoughts
Mini-Case: Democracy or Science? Climate Change and GMOs
Glossary Terms
Notes
Chapter 3 The Positivist Toolbox
Introduction
In Defense of Rationality and Big Data: Evidence-Based Politics
Shaundra the Policy Analyst
Tool #1: Sampling and Mail Surveys
Tool #2: Extrapolation and Forecasting
Tool #3: Measures of Central Tendency
Tool #4: Discounting
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Tool #5: Cost-Benefit Analysis
Concluding Thoughts
Glossary Terms
Problems
Notes
Chapter 4 Critiques of The Rational Approach
Examples of the Power of Nonrational Explanations
Critiques of the Rational Model
Mini-Case: Big-Mart Case Redux: Value Conflict in VanWood Heights
Mini-Case: Policy Analysis, Ethics, and Role
Case Study: Vaping Politics and Policy—Up in Smoke
Concluding Thoughts
Glossary Terms
Notes
Chapter 5 The Nonrational (Political) Approach
Essence and Overview of the Policy Process
Problem Identification/Gaining Agenda Status
Policy Formulation, Adoption, and Funding
Policy Implementation
Policy Evaluation, Adjustment, Termination
Mini-Case: The Pocatello Prison Siting Story: A Case of Politics
Concluding Thoughts
Glossary Terms
Case Study: The Expansion of Human Services in Allegheny County, 1968–95, Section I
Notes
Part III Practice and Theory: Problem Definition, Pragmatism,
Policy Analysis, Methodologies, and Democracy
Chapter 6 A Pragmatic Public Policy Analysis Method
The Rational Public Policy Analysis Method: History and Form
A Five-Step Method
Summary of the Five-Step Method
Concluding Thoughts
Glossary Terms
Case Study: Playing Politics: Bison, Brucellosis, Business, and Bureaucrats
Notes
Chapter 7 Problem Definition, Mixed Methodologies, and Praxis
The Two Tracks of Policy Analysis
The Ambiguous and Subjective Nature of Events in the System
School Shootings and Problem Definition
What Is the “Truth” and How Are Policies Generated?
Stone and Company: The Symbolic Representation of Problem Definition
The Social Construction of Public Problems
Mixed-Methods Tools
Using Language in Problem Definition: The Yellowstone Bison Controversy
Concluding Thoughts
Glossary Terms
Case Study: School Shootings and Focus Group Research: Narrative Analysis and Problem Definition
Notes
Chapter 8 Doing Democracy: A New (Six) Step Model
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Defining Democracy
Democracy as an Ambiguous Symbol
The Critique of Traditional Policy Analysis
Structuring Democracy
Communitarianism and Democracy
Democratizing Steps I through IV and Inserting a New Fifth Step into a Six-Step Model
Doing Democracy: Postpositivist Tools
Ethics as Democracy
A Tie that Binds
Mini-Case: Kathmandu: Red Pandas, Hunger, USAID, and Agriculture in Nepal
Concluding Thoughts
Glossary Terms
Case Study: So You Want to Be a Policy Analyst?
Notes
Part IV Conclusion: Praxis/Practice
Chapter 9 Letting You Show Off
Mini-Case: Drug Abuse and Waterville (Revisited)
Concluding Thoughts
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
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FIGURES
1-1 A Simplified Model of a Political System
1-2 The Backward Loop Variation
2-1 The Decisional Teeter-Totter: A Graphic Presentation of the Rational Model
2-2 Decisional Types
4-1 Same Facts, Two Different Tales
5-1 Agenda Setting
6-1 Map of Yellowstone National Park
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TABLES
1-1 The Role of Policy Analysts and Their Normative View of Power
1-2 Stakeholder Map
3-1 Sample Sizes for 95% Confidence Intervals
3-2 Boondocks Residents by Neighborhood
3-3 Surveys Mailed by Neighborhood
3-4 A Comparison of Sample Data with Census Data
3-5 Population Trends of Boondocks
3-6 Three Types of Data
3-7 Reported Crimes in Boondocks
3-8 Reported Crimes in Boondocks (Ordered)
3-9 Swimming Pool Benefits and Costs
3-10 Discount Factors for Selected Discount Rates (up to 20 Years)
3-11 The Do Nothing Alternative
3-12 The Repair Alternative
3-13 The New Site Alternative
3-14 The Existing Site Alternative
4-1 Summary of the Intellectual/Analytical Critique
4-2 Summary of the Cognitive Critique
4-3 Summary of the Political/Institutional Critique
4-4 Summary of the Ideological/Philosophical Critique
6-1 An Adapted Goeller Scorecard with Weighted Criteria
6-2 Breaking a Tie
7-1 An Example of Different Content Analysis Outcomes
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