Rachel Meltzer – författare

In Policy Analysis as Problem Solving, authors Rachel Meltzer and Alex Schwartz provide a pragmatic yet fresh and original approach to the field. Emphasizing the importance of evidence and sound logic and drawing upon multiple perspectives and methods, the book guides readers through the process of making evidence-based decisions about policies. It offers a series of clear and comprehensive discussions about the key elements of the analytical process, beginning with steps to define the problem all the way until analysts arrive at a recommendation. The authors break from traditional approaches in their embrace of analytical flexibility and illustrate a broader framework for thinking about policy, both empowering and equipping readers to marshal a diverse array of evidence, techniques, and evaluative criteria in their analyses. Case studies threaded throughout the book illustrate the different ways in which problems can be framed and the kinds of policies and criteria that may flow from these alternative framings. Focusing on child support, voter turnout, water shortage, and short-term rental platforms, they also reveal the challenges and imperfect conditions that analysts encounter in the real world.Bolstered by an expanded scope, updates to its case studies, and refinements to its central arguments, the second edition of Policy Analysis as Problem Solving remains an excellent go-to resource for students and aspiring analysts in policy analysis and public policy courses.

In Policy Analysis as Problem Solving, authors Rachel Meltzer and Alex Schwartz provide a pragmatic yet fresh and original approach to the field. Emphasizing the importance of evidence and sound logic and drawing upon multiple perspectives and methods, the book guides readers through the process of making evidence-based decisions about policies. It offers a series of clear and comprehensive discussions about the key elements of the analytical process, beginning with steps to define the problem all the way until analysts arrive at a recommendation. The authors break from traditional approaches in their embrace of analytical flexibility and illustrate a broader framework for thinking about policy, both empowering and equipping readers to marshal a diverse array of evidence, techniques, and evaluative criteria in their analyses. Case studies threaded throughout the book illustrate the different ways in which problems can be framed and the kinds of policies and criteria that may flow from these alternative framings. Focusing on child support, voter turnout, water shortage, and short-term rental platforms, they also reveal the challenges and imperfect conditions that analysts encounter in the real world.Bolstered by an expanded scope, updates to its case studies, and refinements to its central arguments, the second edition of Policy Analysis as Problem Solving remains an excellent go-to resource for students and aspiring analysts in policy analysis and public policy courses.

Drawing extensively from real-life cases, Policy Analysis as Problem Solving helps students develop the analytic skills necessary to advise government officials and nonprofit executives on a wide range of policy issues. Unlike other texts, Policy Analysis as Problem Solving employs a pragmatic, heterodox approach to the field. Whereas most texts on policy analysis are anchored in microeconomics, emphasizing economic efficiency, this book takes a broader view, using realistic examples to illustrate the full scope of policy analysis. The book provides succinct but thorough discussions of the key elements of the policy-analytic process, including problem definition, objectives and criteria, development of alternative policy options, and analysis of these alternatives. The text’s practical approach and extensive downloadable resources—which include interviews, case studies, and further readings—will be of enormous benefit to both students and instructors of policy analysis.