Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making Third Edition

I read this book for a Public Administration course in my Master's program and I am very thankful for the professor who assigned this text. Having read several economics books and having heard analysis of policies with regard to economic models, it's good to have this as an alternative framework.For me Stone's perspective seems intrinsic, She holds that interpersonal connections within a society drive the dynamics and perspectives within, rather than the informed self interest of individual actors. This comes off as a much more realistic portrayal of how individuals view choices. We are not able to balance every action as to pick and choose what is solely advantageous to our being, we do with what we have and we try to accommodate for those around us and those that we love.Using this premise she guides us through the different dilemmas perceived regarding policy interpretation. She first explores the different aims of policies and how they may be seen as being in conflict, like liberty and welfare. She elaborates that these goals are at times irreconcilably at odds and administrators have to do the best they can with what they have, with any social dilemma there is never any clean, utilitarian solution. However, she argues too that there may be a perceived problem yet multiple aims may be achieved, one does not have to forgo a goal [equity] for another [efficiency] or one demographic for another.From this she discusses the manner in which policies are framed and how the very framework one poses an issue may slight it to a particular stance. Such as calling medicaid welfare or help to the poor during a debate or a stump speech.At end Stone discusses the different ways in which policies are enacted and the intrinsic difficulties with each process of implementation. Such an example she uses is a common one with Rules, some groups and individuals choose to subvert rules because there is an acceptance in being alternative. Stone also informs the reader of ways in which the electorate may be coerced without legal action. Such would be the case of controlling the information the electorate receives or spinning it in a specific way that is advantageous to an elected official or entity of government/business. Such examples contradict the assumptions economic models make in individuals having unlimited access to all forms of data.Overall, this is a well-written, informative text that is easy to read. I believe you can be of any educational background and understand the concepts Stone lays out within. That being said I believe this text only provides a framework, as is the purpose of the text. If one wants to make informed decisions regarding policies or simply be well informed, they will have to pursue more exhaustive literature.I give this a book a 5/5 for being informative and providing a vital perspective to policy interpretation while still being easy to read.

A lot of useful information on the challenges and politics involved in policy analysis. The author provides wonderful metaphors as examples to illustrate the paradoxes embedded in our policy process. I bought this book as a required text for a policy analysis class, but found that it is useful in so many other facets beyond an academic environment. Despite how familiar people are with policy making, this book is extremely friendly to read and easy to follow. People inside and outside the political sphere can benefit from this book. Great read.

This book is a classic for good reason. It lays out concepts clearly, intelligently, and convincingly, all while sounding conversational and not overly technical, as is a pitfall of many academic publications. Stone's frameworks are just that--frameworks--and are useful for structuring one's analysis of policy, while also recognizing that no real world situation fits the frameworks perfectly.My one large critique of Stone is her extremely apparent liberal bias. While the ideas she presents are not inherently liberal or conservative (though one could certainly make the argument that the 'market model' she argues against is a conservative one and the 'polis model' she champions is a liberal one), the examples she draws to illustrate them are biased towards a liberal perspective. Whenever she presents something 'bad' done in a policy situation, it is almost always a Republican or conservative doing it, while liberal ideas and actions are almost always presented as the 'right thing' to do or a compassionate application of policy. Even as a liberal myself, it got a bit grating towards the end of the book. At times in certain chapters it seemed like Stone was soapboxing about an issue, even if that issue was only tangentially relevant to the topic at hand.If you can get past the bias, and perhaps only skim the examples she uses, there is still a lot to get out of this book.

This is a fascinating and thought provoking book on political decision making. I have used it as a text in my doctoral course on policy analysis for nearly two decades.She juxtaposes two models in this book. (1) The rationality project. This is where we use rational approaches to policy making, including economic analysis. The idea is to use neutral and objective data to make the best policy decision possible.The model for society and its functioning is the market, with its emphasis on self-interest and rational calculation. (2) On the other hand, she points out that this does not describe the political world. Here (see the chart on page 35), we see that community is important (not just self-interest), altruism has a role to play, cooperation and competition coexist, and so on. Politics is an arena where there is contestation over facts, values, even numbers. There is no objective, neutral evaluation of facts. The very nature of the economic, rational approach is contested.The volume explores the debates between the political and rational models in such arenas as the goals for society, the nature of deciding on which problems should be addressed, and how solutions are addressed.This is a thought-provoking work that will leave readers thinking about the nature of policy making and what is at stake.

This was required text for my Public Administration degree, but it did provide valuable insights to see the complexity of policy development and applications. While this may not be the most interesting topic for most this text does provide valuable information about the entire process.