The Rise of Big Government [Paperback]

The Rise of Big Government chronicles the phenomenal growth of local, state, and federal government over the last 100 years. The authors explain this growth by arguing that public and social acceptance of government intervention has allowed government to maintain a presence at all levels of the economy. The authors take issue with the opposing argument that government has grown by itself and by the bureaucracy's constant push for its own expansion.Designed for upper-level and professional courses, this text is a state-of-the-art introduction to the public policymaking process that gives equal attention to issues of policy implementation and public governance. It uses an innovative systems approach, integrating the activities, actors, tools, and techniques of policymaking, to provide a comprehensive framework for policy design and analysis. The book is practice-oriented, with a focus on the ways that policymakers at all levels employ the standard technologies of governance - authority, agency, program, rule, contract, and budget - to design policy outputs and achieve policy outcomes. Through extensive use of graphics, the text makes concepts easy to grasp for a generation of students accustomed to the visual presentation of ideas. Case studies illustrate the tools and techniques discussed, and key terms, questions for discussion, and suggested readings round out each chapter.