ABSTRACT

The policy track in the American Political Science Association, in contrast, usually centers around more rigorous empirical research, questions of better theory, and substantive discussions of policy issues with a higher degree of political content. Public policy is concerned with the analysis of what governments choose to do or not to do, regardless of whether the initiatives come from outside or inside government. As a consequence, separate movements known as comparative public administration and comparative public policy have largely disappeared, as the comparative dimensions of policy and management have been absorbed into substantive debates regarding appropriate standards and curriculum within our professional schools. The new comparative work in institutional analysis and development and in development policy has much to contribute to the new comparative politics. In analyzing health policies one needs to have a command of the literature developed by specialists in the medical field.