Science, Literature and Public Policy

This article argues thai the role of the law in the political system has been construed much too narrowly. A review of the political science literature demonstrates an interest in the law that is largely confined to the making of new laws, social change, and social control. That view implies an acceptance of the legal profession's distinction between public and private law as a reasonable guide for political scientists in the study of law.A more interactive view of the law is presented, characterizing legal mobilization (invoking legal norms) as a form of political activity by which the citizenry uses public authority on its own behalf. Further, the legal system, structured to consider cases and controversies on an individual basis, provides access to government authority unencumbered by the limits of collective action. This form of public power, although contingent, is widely dispersed.Consideration of the factors that influence legal mobilization is important not only to understanding who uses the law, but also as predictors to the implementation of public policy; with very few exceptions, the enforcement of the laws depends upon individual citizens to initiate the legal process. By virtue of this dependence, an aggregation of individual citizens acting largely in their own interests strongly influences the form and extent of the implementation of public policy and thereby the allocation of power and authority.

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Politics, Institutions, and Fiscal Policy: Deficits and Surpluses in Federated States

Canadian Journal of Political Science ◽

10.1017/s0008423906359975 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 713-715

Author(s):

Ian Burns ◽

Henry Jacek

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Fiscal Policy ◽

The Political ◽

Science Literature ◽

The Public ◽

The Past ◽

The Media ◽

Incumbent Party ◽

Political Variables ◽

Economic Considerations

Politics, Institutions, and Fiscal Policy: Deficits and Surpluses in Federated States, Louis M. Imbeau and Francois Petry (editors), Studies in Public Policy; Toronto: Lexington Books, 2004, pp. 239.Despite the continual attention by the public, the media and politicians on governmental deficits, surpluses and governmental debt over the past decade, the political science literature in this area is sparse. When political scientists do venture into this area, they are unduly influenced by economic considerations rather than using political-institutional explanations. Happily this volume avoids the usual approaches and instead emphasizes political variables. In particular, the editors and authors highlight the importance of the proximity of elections, the ideology of the incumbent party, and the severity of established anti-deficit policies.

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Thomas R. Dye,

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199646135.013.21 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Goldsmith

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Economic Development ◽

Political Science ◽

Policy Outcomes ◽

Tax Revenue ◽

Science Literature ◽

The Public ◽

American States ◽

The Impact ◽

Political Variables

This chapter examinesPolitics, Economics and the Public: Policy Outcomes in the American States, a book by Thomas Dye that highlights the importance of politics in determining public policy. First published in 1966, Dye focuses on the extent to which political variables influenced policy in comparison with economic ones, in particular economic development. He analyzes the impact of economic development and political variables, such as party and electoral systems on five policy areas: education, welfare, highways, tax/revenue policy, and public regulatory policy. Dye also measures economic development in terms of urbanization, industrialization, wealth, and education. This chapter discusses the importance of Dye’s book in the political science literature on public policy by setting it in the context of the state of political science of the period.

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What are we forgetting?

Behavioural Public Policy ◽

10.1017/bpp.2018.13 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 190-197 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

PELLE GULDBORG HANSEN

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Policy Development ◽

Science Literature ◽

Behavioural Science ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

Behavioural Insights ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Main Driver ◽

Diagnostic Approaches

AbstractDuring the last decade, the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) has been the main driver of establishing behavioural public policy as a novel approach in public policy. Adhering to a set of strategic principles, BIT has succeeded in translating insights from the behavioural science literature into policy interventions to show how behavioural science may be applied to public policy in a methodologically as well as economically efficient way. However, as Sanders, Snijders and Hallsworth (2018) note in their paper, the wide-ranging transformation of public policy development that many thought possible has remained absent. In this comment, I argue that this situation itself is due, at least partly, to the strategic principles adopted by BIT, and I call for developing more ‘diagnostic’ approaches, including better tools and models, to ensure that behavioural science is not perceived as offering merely technocratic tweaks.

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Guidelines for Revitalizing International Organizations for the Post-Covid-19 Era

Peace Economics Peace Science and Public Policy ◽

10.1515/peps-2020-0051 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Lisa J. Carlson ◽

Raymond Dacey

Keyword(s):

Game Theory ◽

Public Policy ◽

21St Century ◽

International Organizations ◽

Science Literature ◽

Global Crisis ◽

The Game Theory

AbstractCaruso, R. 2020. “What Post COVID-19? ‹‹Avoiding a 21st Century General Crisis››.” Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy 26 (2). May 2020 provides a prescription for avoiding a general global crisis in the Post-Covid-19 era via the revitalization of Post-WWII era international organizations. Here we examine the implications of contributions from the game theory and the trade and conflict realms of the peace science literature to assess the likelihood of successful revitalization of the relevant organizations. Unfortunately, we are more pessimistic than optimistic since the contributions of peace science suggest that countries are more likely to fail to implement the guidelines needed to revitalize these organizations.

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