The study of public policy has a long history. It is rooted in the study of politics and of public administration as having developed from the former into a discipline of its own. Theory and research of public policy also involves the application of the sociology of organizations to the public sector and the concerns of studies of separate substantive fields of policy, like social policy, education policy and environmental policy.



This collection focuses on the scholarly analysis of public policy, drawing on the various originating threads. It includes work that is prescriptive in character inasmuch as it contributes to a deeper understanding of the policy process in the public sector. The collection is mindful of the way in which new ways of cutting up the subject have emerged. Particularly salient, here, have been, on the one hand, studies with a focus on how policy is made and, on the other, a concern with public management.


Volume One: Public Policy in Perspective


Volume Two: Towards Public Policy


Volume Three: Public Policy in Action


Volume Four: Public Policy in Progress