ABSTRACT
Development policy is the overarching term we use today in public administration and public policy to span development initiatives cutting across and embracing the economic development literature, issues in human development, comparative and development administration, and comparative public policy. While these distinctive and competing perspectives vary as to which of these fields of study are most relevant for public administration and public policy, work in development policy is essentially multidisciplinary. It draws on economics (development economics), the social sciences (with human development concerns), public administration (comparative and development administration), business administration (public management), and political science (comparative public policy). Nevertheless, it is the ongoing struggle to find the proper balance between theory and practice in development initiatives that has always been and remains the source of its close and continuing ties with professional work in public administration and public policy.
