Public Policy in the United States
Offering the widest breadth of policy issue coverage on the market, the sixth edition of this well-regarded text covers events through the 2016 elections and beyond. Though the content has been extensively and thoughtfully revised and updated, the sixth edition maintains its clear approach, without an overreliance on policy theory, and popular threefold structure: First, it introduces readers to the American approach to public policy making as it has been shaped by our political institutions, changing circumstances, and ideology. Second, it surveys all of the major policy areas from foreign policy to health care policy to environmental policy, and does so with well-selected illustrations, case studies, terms, and study questions. Third, it provides readers with analytical tools and frameworks to examine current problems and be able to understand and critique proposed public policy solutions. New to the sixth edition is an exploration of:
The Affordable Care Act and its implementation, controversies, and impact
The American economy since the end of the Great Recession, trade policy, and economic equality issues
Foreign policy including relations with Russia, China, and Iran, as well as the civil war in Syria, the continuing conflicts in Iraq, and the challenge of ISIS
The U.S. Criminal Justice system and its incarceration challenges as well as a discussion of minorities, police, and crime.
This new edition includes, for the first time, a test bank with multiple choice, short answer, and discussion/essay questions as well as an instructors manual. Public Policy in the United States, Sixth Edition, is an ideal undergraduate text for introductory courses on American Public Policy and Politics, and can be used as supplementary reading in undergraduate and graduate courses on policy process, policy analysis, and American government.
Mark E. Rushefsky is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Missouri State University, USA.
Sixth edition published 2018
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First edition published by M.E. Sharpe 1990
Fifth edition published by Routledge 2015
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rushefsky, Mark E., 1945 author.
Title: Public policy in the United States: challenges, opportunities,
and changes / Mark E. Rushefsky.
Description: Sixth Edition. | New York: Routledge, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017027857 | ISBN 9781138686038 (hardback: alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781138686045 (paperback: alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315542850 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Political planningUnited States. | United StatesPolitics
and government. | United StatesEconomic policy. | United StatesSocial
policy. | Policy sciences.
Classification: LCC JK468.P64 R87 2017 | DDC 320.60973dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017027857
ISBN: 978-1-138-68603-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-68604-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-54285-0 (ebk)
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by codeMantra
Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/9781138686045
Mark E. Rushefsky (PhD, Binghamton) is an emeritus professor of political science at Missouri State University. Public Policy in the United States, 6th ed., draws from his more than thirty years teaching public policy courses and his experiences as a caseworker in the New York City Department of Social Services, as a member of the Springfield Police Civilian Advisory Board, and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) working with children in the foster care system.
Dr. Rushefsky has written extensively in a variety of public policy areas, such as health, energy, and the environment. His works include the critically acclaimed Making Cancer Policy (1986), Health Care Politics and Policy in America, 4th. ed. (2014) (with Kant Patel), and The Politics of Public Health in the United States (2005) (with Kant Patel).
I first taught a public policy survey course entitled Issues in American Politics at the University of Florida in the summer of 1978. I continued to teach this course for many years, and of all the courses I have taught, both graduate and undergraduate, this is my favorite. Like many who consider writing a textbook, I felt that the available texts were missing something and that I had something to say: Public Policy in the United States is the result.
ABOUT THE SIXTH EDITION
Public Policy in the United States has been considerably revised for the sixth edition. All of the material has been updated and in some cases completely rewritten. The chapters on economic policy and on health policy saw important updates. All of the chapters consider the new directions of the President Donald Trump administration.
Many important elements are incorporated into the presentation of the material in this text. First, it presents to the student a set of ideas or concepts about how public policy is made and why it takes the form it does. covers the policy process, certain features of the American political system that affect the making of public policy, and the role of ideology in structuring policy debates. This chapter also considers the impact of increased partisanship/polarization on the policy process. The policy process is then used as an organizing framework for the case studies in the eight substantive chapters. Although some areas, such as transportation and agriculture, are not covered here, a student reading this book should be able to apply the concepts to those policy areas as well.
Second, this text shows the consistency of ideas among different policy areas by exploring ideology as it relates to the early stages of the policy process. The conservative position in one policy area is similar to the conservative position in another policy area; the same is true for liberal policy positions. The similarities are illustrated in the examination of policies concerning poverty, education, health care, and the environment. Furthermore, ideology is presented in a way that explains differences among various viewpoints. The emphasis in
