A new textbook by Charles Wheelan, author of Naked Economics, Introduction to Public Policy uses economic principles to demonstrate that sound public policy occurs when unfettered private markets provide the greatest good for the greatest number. Only when it does not do this is government intervention needed.
Preface
SECTION I WHAT IS PUBLIC POLICY?
1 Public Decision Making 3
To Snowmobile, or Not to Snowmobile? 3
1.1 Defining Public Policy 6
Policy in the Real World Bad Policy Can Be Fatal, Literally: Zimbabwe's Self-Inflicted Wounds 8
1.2 The Policy Process 10
1.3 Overview of the Book 13
1.4 For-Profit, Nonprofit, and Government Institutions 14
Policy in the Real World Less Can Be More: Deregulation in the United States 18
1.5 Balancing Private Life and Public Policy 19
Policy in the Real World Private Behavior, Public Information: The AIDS National Mailing of 1988 21
1.6 The Art of the Possible: Life in a World of Scarcity and Uncertainty 22
1.7 Conclusion 26
For Discussion Maximizing Human Potential: The First Arab Human Development Report 28
2 Why is it so Hard to Make The World a Better Place? 32
The Promise and Pitfalls of Genetic Testing 32
2.1 Public Policy Success: Life is Better Now 35
Rule of Thumb a Note on Numbers 36
Policy in the Real World Good Science, Great Policy: The Global Eradication of Smallpox 37
2.2 So Far to Go 39
Policy in the Real World Using Research to Inform Policy: Fighting Drugs versus Fighting AIDS 52
2.3 Reconciling Our Differences 54
2.3.1 Values, Facts, and Theories 54
Policy in the Real World Peer Pressure: Peer-Reviewed Journals 55