ABSTRACT
Public administrators use probability theory to account for uncertainty in many aspects of the policy process, especially the important functions of project planning and decision making. When engaged in project planning, public administrators employ probability theory to establish the likelihood of events that effect the allocation of scarce public resources. As a decision-making tool, probability theory is used in many techniques of policy analysis, especially when administrators are called upon to assess the expected benefits of alternative courses of action. Furthermore, probability theory is used to make inferences about the characteristics of a city, state, or nation's population and the presence of relationships important to the administration of public programs.
