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A Brief History of Public Policy since the New Deal

Andrew E. Busch

A Brief History of Public Policy Since the New Deal traces the development of national domestic policy from the Great Depression through the early Trump years. A chronological look that illuminates the cumulative effects of policy change, the book also focuses on themes such as the interplay of ideas, events, politics, and people; models such as incrementalism, multiple streams, and punctuated equilibrium; the importance of foreign policy issues to the development of domestic policy; and features including the importance of problem definition and the “law of unanticipated consequences.” Following the narrative, each chapter includes a summary of seven key policy areas: economic policy, social welfare, civil rights, environmental and education policy, moral/cultural issues, and federalism. The material is organized by eras identified by presidencies and by whether the era represented a burst of policymaking, made possible because key inputs of ideas, events, politics, and people aligned for change, or a rough equilibrium. Although presidencies are used to define eras, the role of all the institutions are given their due.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 248 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-5381-2826-8 • Hardback • September 2019 • $67.00 • (£52.00)

978-1-5381-2827-5 • Paperback • September 2019 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-2828-2 • eBook • September 2019 • $34.00 • (£25.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / General, Political Science / American Government / General

A Brief History of Public Policy since the New Deal

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

A Brief History of Public Policy Since the New Deal traces the development of national domestic policy from the Great Depression through the early Trump years. A chronological look that illuminates the cumulative effects of policy change, the book also focuses on themes such as the interplay of ideas, events, politics, and people; models such as incrementalism, multiple streams, and punctuated equilibrium; the importance of foreign policy issues to the development of domestic policy; and features including the importance of problem definition and the “law of unanticipated consequences.” Following the narrative, each chapter includes a summary of seven key policy areas: economic policy, social welfare, civil rights, environmental and education policy, moral/cultural issues, and federalism. The material is organized by eras identified by presidencies and by whether the era represented a burst of policymaking, made possible because key inputs of ideas, events, politics, and people aligned for change, or a rough equilibrium. Although presidencies are used to define eras, the role of all the institutions are given their due.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 248 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-5381-2826-8 • Hardback • September 2019 • $67.00 • (£52.00)

978-1-5381-2827-5 • Paperback • September 2019 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-2828-2 • eBook • September 2019 • $34.00 • (£25.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / General, Political Science / American Government / General

Author

Claremont McKenna College. He is coauthor of several R&L books including The Imperial Presidency and the Constitution, Defying the Odds: The Elections of 2016, and After Hope and Change: The 2012 Elections and American Politics.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction to Public Policy Since the New Deal
Chapter One: The New Deal
Chapter Two: The Truman-Eisenhower Equilibrium
Chapter Three: The New Frontier/Great Society
Chapter Four: The Nixon-Ford-carter Equilibrium
Chapter Five: The Reagan Revolution
Chapter Six: The Bush-Clinton Equilibrium
Chapter Seven: George W. Bush and the Republican Non-breakout
Chapter Eight: New Directions in the Wake of the Great Recession?
The Obama and Trump “Transformations”
Conclusion

Reviews

Too often courses in American politics ignore the public policies that are the very stuff about which political forces contend. This book provides a comprehensive and insightful narrative about the actual course of public policy since the New Deal and therefore enables students to understand how policy and politics interact. I plan to use it in my American Politics course.
— Marc Landy, Boston College

Ahistorical discussion of public policy—unfortunately now widespread—is uniformed discussion. Andrew Busch rectifies this shortcoming with a balanced, thorough and incisive analysis of the variable course of US domestic policy since 1932. It’s essential reading for both scholars and students of American public policy and a welcome addition to many classrooms.
— Steven E. Schier, Carleton College

A Brief History of Public Policy since the New Deal

Andrew E. Busch

A Brief History of Public Policy since the New Deal

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