Great Policy Successes

Description

With so much media and political criticism of their shortcomings and failures, it is easy to overlook the fact that many governments work pretty well much of the time. Great Policy Successes turns the spotlight on instances of public policy that are remarkably successful. It develops a framework for identifying and assessing policy successes, paying attention not just to their programmatic outcomes but also to the quality of the processes by which policies are designed and delivered, the level of support and legitimacy they attain, and the extent to which successful performance endures over time. The bulk of the book is then devoted to 15 detailed case studies of striking policy successes from around the world, including Singapore's public health system, Copenhagen and Melbourne's rise from stilted backwaters to the highly liveable and dynamic urban centres they are today, Brazil's Bolsa Familia poverty relief scheme, the US's GI Bill, and Germany's breakthrough labour market reforms of the 2000s. Each case is set in context, its main actors are introduced, key events and decisions are described, the assessment framework is applied to gauge the nature and level of its success, key contributing factors to success are identified, and potential lessons and future challenges are identified. Purposefully avoiding the kind of heavy theorizing that characterizes many accounts of public policy processes, each case is written in an accessible and narrative style ideally suited for classroom use in conjunction with mainstream textbooks on public policy design, implementation, and evaluation. Cover......Page 1 Great Policy Successes......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Acknowledgements......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 List of Figures......Page 10 List of Tables......Page 12 List of Contributors......Page 14 Shifting Focus......Page 16 How Do We Know a ‘Great Policy Success’ When We See One?......Page 18 Studying Policy Success: Methodological Considerations......Page 21 Case Selection......Page 23 Temporal Complexity......Page 24 Outline of This Volume......Page 26 Exploring Policy Successes: Pointers about the Landscape Ahead......Page 29 Concentrated and Shared Power......Page 30 Politicization and Depoliticization......Page 31 References......Page 32 Introduction......Page 36 Why is Bolsa Família a Policy Success?......Page 37 The Emergence of CCT Programmes......Page 39 The Challenge in Integrating Federal Cash Transfers: The Origins of Bolsa Família......Page 41 Challenges in the Implementation of the Bolsa Família Programme......Page 43 Sustainability and Resilience......Page 47 Conclusion......Page 50 Notes......Page 52 References......Page 53 Introduction......Page 57 Anatomy of Healthcare Success in Singapore......Page 58 Policy History: Incremental Reforms......Page 59 Socio-Economic Context......Page 62 Policy Tools: Multiple Tools, Concerted Use......Page 64 Organizational Tools......Page 65 Financial Tools......Page 66 Regulatory Tools......Page 67 Information Tools......Page 68 Political Conditions: Continuity and Unity of Purpose......Page 69 A Health Policy Success? Assessment......Page 72 References......Page 75 Introduction......Page 78 Political Success......Page 79 Finding Money for the NHS: Political Leadership at a Critical Juncture......Page 80 Contexts, Challenges, and Agents of Reform......Page 83 Reform Design and Choice......Page 87 Delivery, Legitimacy, and Endurance of the Waiting Times Reduction Effort......Page 91 Governing the NHS by Performance Targets: Analysis and Conclusions......Page 93 References......Page 95 Introduction......Page 99 Programmatic Success......Page 101 Process Success......Page 103 Political Success......Page 104 Contexts, Challenges, Agents: The Conditions Conducive to Policy Change......Page 105 Design and Choice: The Window of Opportunity for a Smoking Ban......Page 109 Delivery, Legitimacy, and Endurance: Smoking Denormalization......Page 113 Analysis and Conclusions: A Success Story for ‘Evidence-Based Policymaking’?......Page 114 References......Page 116 Introduction: An Historic Achievement......Page 119 Prelude to the Bill......Page 120 Drafting and Negotiating the GI Bill......Page 123 Assessing the GI Bill......Page 127 An Enduring Commitment and Its Legacy......Page 130 Conclusion......Page 132 References......Page 134 Introduction......Page 137 Assessing Comprehensive Education’s Success......Page 138 Setting the Scene: The Main Actors and the Political Landscape......Page 140 A Critical Juncture: The Creation of the Legislative Framework......Page 143 Implementation Disputes......Page 146 Deregulating Equality: The Discourse and Policy Change of the 1990s......Page 147 Summarizing Success in the Finnish Comprehensive School System......Page 149 References......Page 152 A Digital Success Story......Page 158 History and the Hiding Hand......Page 161 External Influences and Skills......Page 163 Design and Choice......Page 165 Delivery, Legitimacy, and Endurance......Page 167 Analysis and Conclusions......Page 169 Governance Principles......Page 170 Design Principles......Page 171 References......Page 173 Introduction: A Public Infrastructure Success......Page 176 Navigating Complexity in Developing ACTA......Page 178 A Search for Governance......Page 179 Building and Maintaining Political Support......Page 182 Rights of Way......Page 183 A Tale of Many Cities: Complexity and Institutional Design......Page 184 Adapting to Change......Page 186 Programmatic Assessment......Page 187 Political Assessment......Page 188 Towards Sustained Success in Infrastructure Governance: Learning from ACTA......Page 189 Can the ACA Experience Travel?......Page 191 References......Page 193 The Rise, Fall, and Return of Marvellous Melbourne......Page 195 Marvellous Melbourne as a Governance Success......Page 196 Contexts, Challenges, and Agents of Urban Transformation......Page 199 Designing and Delivering a Liveable City......Page 205 Enduring Allure......Page 210 Analysis and Conclusions......Page 211 References......Page 213 Introduction......Page 216 Reinventing a Success Story......Page 217 Assessing the Dutch Delta Approach......Page 219 Design and Governance of the Programme......Page 221 The Road to Policy Reinvention......Page 224 Conclusions: The Strength of Consensual Incrementalism......Page 227 References......Page 230 The Long Shadow of a Post-War Expansion Plan......Page 233 A Planning Success......Page 234 The Historical Context for the Emergence of the Finger Plan......Page 238 Policy Design, Political Decision-Making, and Initial Implementation......Page 242 Absorbing Change: Adapting the Finger Plan......Page 246 Why the Finger Plan Was Successful......Page 249 Learning from the Copenhagen Experience......Page 254 References......Page 255 Introduction: A Policy Success......Page 259 Context and Challenges......Page 263 The Design and Choice of a Fund......Page 265 Implementation......Page 268 Maintenance and Adjustments......Page 269 Assessing the Petroleum Fund......Page 272 Institutionalizing Self-Restraint in Public Policy: Policy Transfer from Norway?......Page 274 Notes......Page 276 References......Page 277 A Policy Success?......Page 279 Context, Challenges, and Agents of Reform......Page 281 Policy Design and Choice......Page 285 Market Interventions......Page 287 State-Owned Enterprises and Privatization......Page 288 Monetary Policy......Page 289 Delivery, Legitimacy, and Endurance of the Reforms......Page 290 Problems with Privatization......Page 291 The Government Falls Apart, The Reforms Endure......Page 292 Analysis and Conclusions......Page 293 References......Page 295 Introduction: A Sick Man’s Recovery......Page 298 Programmatic Assessment......Page 299 Political Assessment......Page 301 Stalemate: German Labour Market Policies in the 1990s......Page 302 A First Punch: The Hartz Reforms......Page 305 A Second Punch: Tackling Recession......Page 309 Conclusions: Lessons, and Challenges......Page 311 References......Page 314 Introduction......Page 319 Assessing the Montreal Protocol......Page 320 The Challenge: Healing and Protecting a Global Open Access Resource......Page 323 The Role of Scientific Evidence......Page 325 Support among the General Public and Industry......Page 326 The Protocol Design and Negotiation Process......Page 327 Coping with Compliance Challenges and Costs......Page 329 Assistance for Developing Countries......Page 330 Distributed Leadership......Page 331 Lessons Learned and Future Challenges......Page 332 References......Page 334 Index of Names......Page 338 General Index......Page 348