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Public Policy
A Concise Introduction

Second Edition


384 pages | CQ Press
Public Policy: A Concise Introduction, Second Edition by Sara R. Rinfret, Denise Scheberle and Michelle C. Pautz, is a student-friendly textbook that connects responsible citizens to the world through a contemporary examination of the fundamentals of American public policy. The authors help both majors and non-majors foster their analytical skills early and then spend the rest of the semester discussing the policy issues, data, and events that matter most to them.

The Second Edition has been updated to include how we can collectively use public policy to raise individuals from the margins and address inequities that exist in our system. Recent policy questions include: "How do we shape our country's health care system?", "How do we address increases in costs of tuition?", and "Did the COVID-19 pandemic positively or negatively shape our public education system?"
 
 
SECTION I: DEFINING U.S. PUBLIC POLICYMAKING
 
CHAPTER 1 The Foundation
 
CHAPTER 2 The Policy Process and Policy Theories
 
SECTION II: THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC POLICY
 
CHAPTER 3 Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations
 
CHAPTER 4 Rulemaking and Regulations
 
SECTION III: UNDERSTANDING KEY PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES
 
CHAPTER 5 Economic Policy and Government Budgeting
 
CHAPTER 6 Crime and Public Policy
 
CHAPTER 7 Education Policy
 
CHAPTER 8 Civil Rights and Immigration Policy
 
CHAPTER 9 Social Welfare and Health Care Policy
 
CHAPTER 10 Environmental and Energy Policy

Supplements

Instructor Resource Site
edge.sagepub.com/rinfret2e
 
The open-access Student Study Site makes it easy for students to maximize their study time, anywhere, anytime. It offers flashcards that strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts, as well as learning objectives that reinforce the most important material.
 
For additional information, custom options, or to request a personalized walkthrough of these resources, please contact your sales representative
 
Student Resource Site
edge.sagepub.com/rinfret2e
 
The open-access Student Study Site makes it easy for students to maximize their study time, anywhere, anytime. It offers flashcards that strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts, as well as learning objectives that reinforce the most important material.
 
For additional information, custom options, or to request a personalized walkthrough of these resources, please contact your sales representative
 

Not only is this a solid academic text, but it resonates mightily with my students because our enrollment is predominantly female. When seeing themselves through these authors, my students feel empowered. For this and other reasons, this book fills an important void in academic scholarship.

Hunter Bacot
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Review

The design and resources available will make it easier to teach policy process to majors and non-majors.

Dr Bianca Easterly
Political Science Dept, Lamar University
March 14, 2022

Sara Rose Rinfret

Dr. Sara R. Rinfret is currently a Professor of Public Administration and Associate Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs at Northern Arizona University. She has more than a decade of higher education administrative experience and is a nationally recognized scholar in regulatory policy, environmental policy, and public administration. She previously served as the Acting Dean for the Alexander Blewett School of Law, Chair of the Department of Public Administration and Policy, and the Director of Master of Public Administration at the University of Montana. To date, she has published 8 books and more than 40 peer reviewed articles, and... More About Author

Denise L. Scheberle

Denise Scheberle is a clinical teaching professor for the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado– Denver. She is Professor Emerita from the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay,where she served as the Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor in Environmental Studies and professor and chair of the Department of Public and Environmental Affairs. She is the recipient of national, state, and campus teaching awards, including the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Distinguished Teaching Award and University of Wisconsin Regents Teaching Excellence Award. She is the author of Industrial Disastersand Environmental Policy: Stories... More About Author

Michelle Catherine Pautz

Michelle C. Pautz is professor of political science and assistant provost of the Common Academic Program at the University of Dayton. Her research has appeared in Administration & Society, Administrative Theory & Praxis, Journal of Political Science Education, Journal of Environmental Studies & Sciences, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Policy Studies Journal, PS: Political Science & Politics, Public Voices, and the Review of Policy Research, among others. She is the author of Civil Servants on the Silver Screen: Hollywood’s Depiction of Government and Bureaucrats; coauthor of The Lilliputians of Environmental... More About Author