Policy Networks And Policy Change: Putting Policy Network Th

Description:
This innovative study sheds new light on the future of public policy by using policy network theory to work out the implications for public policy of major technological, ecomomic, environmental and social trends, then testing these propositions against the available evidence. The trends analysed include the increasing sophistication of technology, the growth and diversification of production and consumption, the shift to services, the growth of women's employment, our increasing use of energy, the continuing growth in mobility, climate change, economic globalization, secularization, population ageing, the expansion of education, and sexual liberalization. Among the findings are that we should expect more business-friendly and more employment-friendly policies; more intrusive, technological and internationalized law enforcement and security policies; more women-friendly policies; more liberal social policies; stronger climate policies; and more vigorous policies to counteract the negative effects of technological innovation and economic internationalization.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Policy Networks and Resource Dependency Actors and Resources Policy Network Theory as a Theory of Policy Change Policy Network Theory and the Future of Public Policy Testing Policy Network Theory Policy Implications of Technological Trends Growing Affluence, the Shift to Services, and the Growth of Women's Employment Energy Use, Mobility and Climate Change Trade Expansion and the Internationalization of Production and Finance Sex and Secularization Population Ageing and the Expansion of Education The Future of Public Policy

Author Biography:
HUGH COMPSTON is a Reader in the Department of Politics, Cardiff School of European Studies, Cardiff University, UK, and has written extensively on public policy and policy-making. Recent publications include King Trends and the Future of Public Policy, Handbook of Public Policy in Europe: Britain, France and Germany (editor), and Turning Down the Heat: The Politics of Climate Policy in Affluent Democracies (co-editor with Ian Bailey).