ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the outcomes of policy production. Outcomes are the real world impacts of policy production, the nodes that connect past to future policymaking. Policy objectives are the most general measures of policy success. Policies can be, and usually are, delivered by means of multiple, often overlapping programs. National Drug Control Policy has been tasked by Congress with leading the president's 'war on drugs. Every policy solution results in outcomes that affect other policies, with impacts far beyond the scope of the original policy. When policy analysts examine the benefits and costs of public policies they almost always focus exclusively on target populations and actual recipients. Policy entrepreneurs, policymakers, and target populations often benefit as much from the process as from the results of the process. On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 into law.
