ABSTRACT

Policy design is a complex subject with many nuances and variations to consider. In Davis Bobrow’s (2006) apt phrase, policy design is ‘ubiquitous, necessary and difficult’ but surprisingly little studied and understood. Over the past three decades it has received some treatment in the existing policy literature, but not as much, or in as much detail, as is necessary (May 1981, 1991 and 2003; Weimer 1992; Bobrow 2006). Within the policy sciences it has been linked to studies of policy implementation and policy instruments (May 2003) and to those of policy ideas and policy formulation (Linder and Peters 1990; James and Jorgensen 2009), but without systematic attention being paid to such basic elements as the definition of key terms and concepts. In addition, it has been a large, if typically implicit, part of a more recent trend towards the study of governance, and even ‘meta-governance’, but again, without the benefit of clear and systematic analysis (Meuleman 2009; 2010). This book surveys the existing literature, clarifies key terms and concepts, and brings clarity to the study of this important aspect of public policy-making.