Understanding the policy process : analysing welfare policy and practice / John Hudson and Stuart Lowe.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-322) and index.

Introduction: what is policy analysis? -- Part I. Macro-level Analysis -- 2. Globalisation -- 3. Political economy -- 4. The post-industrial economy -- 5. Technological change -- 6. Structures of power -- Part II. Meso-level Analysis -- 7. The changing nature of governance -- 8. Policy networks -- 9. Institutions -- 10. Policy transfer -- Part III. Micro-level Analysis -- 11. Decision making and personality -- 12. Implementation and delivery -- 13. Evaluation and evidence -- 14. Conclusions: policy analysis and welfare states --

"This book draws on the latest and best social science to explain how and why social policy change occurs. Focusing on the policy making process as the key to change, it uses core concepts of policy analysis, one in each chapter, to build up a fully worked explanation of social policy change and to equip readers with knowledge that can be applied to any aspect of welfare policy and public and social policy more generally. This second edition of the book updates the bestselling first edition for the post-Blair era with international case studies from numerous countries. "Understanding the policy process": · introduces the main themes of the policy analysis literature; · demonstrates the centrality of the policy making process to an understanding of the operational possibilities and limits of social policy; · takes account of macro-, meso- and micro-level approaches to social policy analysis; · uses clear explanations of key concepts, up-to-date illustrative case studies and examples to increase students' understanding of the theory and practice of policy analysis; · uses a comparative approach"--Publisher's website.