Why do policymakers select certain problems for attention and ignore others? Why do some policy ideas fail and other succeed? In addition to the US President, Congress and Supreme Court what other institutions are influential in shaping public policies? How do policymakers design and implement policies? How do those policies ultimately influence the nation?

Providing answers to these and other questions are the focus of this book. The practice of politics and policymaking is complicated, involving thousands of people in government institutions and the private sector. Although each public law and public policy has a unique history, Politics and Public Policy is designed to help students understand the larger patterns of the policy making process. Politics and Public Policy goes beyond conventional analyses that focus narrowly and exclusively on presidents and members of Congress to offer a more comprehensive and realistic view of policymaking in the United States. The judicial rulings, regulations, administrative rulings, and corporate decisions of judges, bureaucrats, corporate officials, journalists, and voters determine government policy and results just as much as the decisions of legislators and chief executives. Moreover, state and local governments play an increasingly important and expanding role in the design and conduct of public policies.