PUBLIC POLICY

A Contextual Outline:
Public policy and governance are very closely related to each other. As an important instrument of governance, public
policy affects each and every aspect of our life. Therefore, an understanding of the processes by which public policy is
actually made and the institutions and actors that play a role in this process is vital for informed citizens and for all of us
interested in improving the quality of governance or promoting good governance. It not only offers useful insights into
why and how policies are formulated and implemented, and succeed or fail, but also offers strategic choices and
options necessary for coalition/support building for appropriate and effective policy formulation and implementation. This
may ultimately lead to ensuring good governance.
This course on Public Policy essentially aims at familiarizing the students with the complexities of governance
and policy processes. Outlining the meaning, nature, scope and significance of public policy, it examines various
approaches to and models of public policy. The course equips the students with the public policy-making processes
including the institutions and actors involved in policy formulation and implementation and the dynamics (various forces
or factors) that influence policy formulation. Discussing policy implementation in the context of various theories of
organization, it highlights the role of bureaucracy and other actors in policy implementation. Further, the focus on politics
of policy implementation provides the students with the knowledge of how socio-economic and political forces like, caste,
class, community, rural power structure, politician-bureaucratic nexus, etc. impinge on and influence policy
implementation. Finally, it tries to acquaint the students with the process of policy evaluation.

Course Contents:
1.

Public Policy: Meaning, Definition, Scope and Significance

2.

Approaches to the Study of Public Policy

3.

Public Policy-Making Processes

4.

Official Actors: The Institutional Framework

Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Regulatory Agencies

5.

Unofficial Actors in Policy Formulation

Interest Groups
Political Parties
The General Public
Research Organizations & Policy Think Tanks
Mass Media

6.

Politics/Dynamics of Policy Formulation

7.

Policy Implementation: The Organizational Set-Up

a. Classical and Behavioural Theories of Organization
b. Bureaucracy and its Role in Policy Implementation
c. Street-Level Bureaucracy
d. Development Administration at the District, Block and Panchayat Level
e. Non-Governmental Organizations

8.

Politics of Policy Implementation

Caste, class and community
Rural power structures and the dominance of local elites
Politician-bureaucratic nexus
Issues of acceptability, resistance and ownership

9.

Policy Evaluation

Actors in Policy Evaluation

Policy and Program Evaluation
Difference between Policy Analysis and Policy Evaluation
Types/Stages of Policy Evaluation

Chapter 1:
Public Policy: Meaning, Nature and Scope
Anderson, James E. (2000). Public Policy-Making: An Introduction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy
Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Cochran, Charles L. and Eloise F. Malone (1995). Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Dye, Thomas R. (1998). Understanding Public Policy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003). Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Parsons, Wayne (1995). Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis. Cheltenham:
Edward Elgar.
Theodoulou, Stella Z. and Matthew A. Cahn (1995). Public Policy: Essential Readings. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Chapter 2:
Approaches to the Study of Public Policy
Cochran, Charles L. and Eloise F. Malone (1995). Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
McCool, Daniel (1995). Public Policy Theories, Models, and Concepts: An Anthology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Parsons, Wayne (1995). Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis. Cheltenham:
Edward Elgar.
Sabatier, Paul A. (ed.) (1999). Theories of the Policy Process. Bolder, CO.: Westview Press.
Chapter 3:
Public Policy-Making Processes
Anderson, James E. (2000). Public Policy-Making: An Introduction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy
Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Bonser, Charles E., Eugene B. McGregor, Jr. and Clinton V. Oster, Jr. (1996). Policy Choices and Public Action. Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Cochran, Charles L. and E. F. Malone (1995). Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Gerston, Lary N. (1997). Public Policy Making Processes and Principles, Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Kingdon, John W. (1995). Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. New York: Longman
Lindblom, Charles E. and Edward J. Woodhouse (1993). The Policy Making Process. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall Inc.
Sabatier, Paul A. (ed.) (1999). Theories of the Policy Process. Bolder, CO.: Westview Press.
Theodoulou, Stella Z. and Matthew A. Cahn (1995). Public Policy: Essential Readings. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Chapter 4:
Official Actors: The Institutional Framework
Anderson, James E. (2000). Public Policy-Making: An Introduction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy
Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Gerston, Lary N. (1997). Public Policy Making Processes and Principles, Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Kingdon, John W. (2003). Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. New York: Longman
Chapter 5:
Unofficial Actors in Policy Formulation
Anderson, James E. (2000). Public Policy-Making: An Introduction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy
Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Gerston, Lary N. (1997). Public Policy Making Processes and Principles, Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Kingdon, John W. (2003). Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. New York: Longman
Klijn, Erik-Hans (1996). Analyzing And Managing Policy Processes in Complex Networks: A Theoretical Examination of
the Concept Policy Network and its Problems, Administration and Society, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 90.

Theodoulou, Stella Z. and Matthew A. Cahn (1995). Public Policy: Essential Readings. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Chapter 6:
Politics/Dynamics of Policy Formulation
Birkland, Thomas A. (2001). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy
Making. New York: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Echeverri-Gent, John (1993). The State and the Poor: Public Policy and Political Development in India and the United
States. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Howlett, Michael and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Sub Systems. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Kingdon, John W. (2003). Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. New York: Longman
Klijn, Erik-Hans (1996). Analyzing And Managing Policy Processes in Complex Networks: A Theoretical Examination of
the Concept Policy Network and its Problems, Administration and Society, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 90.
Kohli, Atul (1987). The State and Poverty in India: The Politics of Economic Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Meier, K. (1979). Politics and Bureaucracy: Policy Making in the Fourth Branch of Government, North Scituate, Me:
Duxbury Press.
Chapter 7:
Policy Implementation: The Organizational Set-Up
Edwards, George C. III (1980). Implementing Public Policy. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.
Handy, C. (1976). Understanding Organizations. Harmondsworth: Penguin
Hill, Michael and Peter Hupe (2002). Implementing Public Policy: Governance in Theory and Practice. London: Sage
Publications.
Hughes, O. E. (1998). Public Management and Administration: An Introduction. London: Macmillan Press.
Ingram, Lary C. (1995). The Study of Organizations: Positions, Persons and Patterns. Westport: Praeger.
Linder, Stephen H., and B. Guy Peters (1989). Implementation as a Guide to Policy Formulation. International Review
of Administrative Services, 55, pp. 631-652.
Lipsky, Michael (1980). Street Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York: Russell Sage
Foundation.
Maheshwari, S. (1998). Administrative Theory: An Introduction. New Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd.
Montjoy, R. S. and L. J. OToole (1979), Toward a Theory of Policy Implementation, Public Administration Review, 34
(5), pp. 465-476.
Pfeffer, Jeffrey (1997). New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Prasad, D. Ravindra, V. S. Prasad and P. Satyanarayana Eds. (1989). Administrative Thinkers. New Delhi: Sterling
Publishers.
Ripley, Randal B., and Franklin, Grace E. (1986). Bureaucracy and Policy Implementation, Homewood Ill.: Dorsey Press,
Sabatier, Paul A. and Daniel A. Mazmanian (1989). Implementation and Public Policy, Lanham: University Press of
America.
Terry, L. D. (1995). Leadership of Public Bureaucracies: The Administrator as Conservator. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
Turner, Mark and David Hulme (1997). Governance, Administration and Development: Making the State Work. Oakwood
Avenue: Kumarian Press Inc.
Weatherly, R. and Lipsky, M. (1977). Street Level Bureaucrats and Institutional Innovation in Implementing
Chapter 8:
Politics of Policy Implementation
Barrett, S. and Colin Fudge (eds.) (1981). Policy and Action: Essays on the Implementation of Public Policy. New York:
Methuen & Co.
Berman, Paul (1980). Thinking about Programmed and Adaptive Implementation in Helen Ingram and Dean Mann (eds.)
Why Policies Succeed or Fail. Newbury Park, California: Sage.
Echeverri-Gent, John (1993). The State and the Poor: Public Policy and Political Development in India and the United
States. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Gellner, E. and J. Waterbury (eds.) (1977). Patrons and Clients in Mediterranean Societies. London: Center for
Mediterranean Studies of the American Universities Field Staff.
Goggin, Malcolm L. (1988). Policy Design and the Politics of Implementation. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.
Hill, Michael and Peter Hupe (2002). Implementing Public Policy: Governance in Theory and Practice. London: Sage
Publications.
Kohli, Atul (1987). The State and Poverty in India: The Politics of Economic Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Migdal, J. S. (1988). Strong Societies and Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third World.
Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Montjoy, Robert S. and Douglas J. Watson (1995). A Case for Reinterpreted Dichotomy of Politics and Administration as
a Professional Standard in Council-Manager Government, Public Administration Review, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp.
231-239.
Nelson, Barbara J. (1996). Public Policy and Administration: An Overview, in Robert E. Goodin and Hans-Dieter
Klingemann (eds.). A New Handbook of Political Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Weatherly, R. and Lipsky, M. (1977). Street Level Bureaucrats and Institutional Innovation in Implementing Special
Educational Reforms, Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 171-197.
Chapter 9:
Policy Evaluation
Nagel, Stuart S. Ed. (2002). Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Parsons, Wayne (1995). Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis. Cheltenham:
Edward Elgar.