Do Think Tanks Matter?: Assessing the Impact of Public Policy Institutes - Couverture souple

Abelson, Donald E.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0773523170 ISBN 13 : 9780773523173

Editeur : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

It is often assumed that think tanks carry enormous weight with lawmakers. In "Do Think Tanks Matter?" Donald Abelson argues that the basic question of how think tanks have evolved and under what conditions they can and do have an effect is consistently ignored. Think tank directors often credit their institutes with influencing major policy debates and government legislation and many journalists and scholars believe the explosion of think tanks in the latter part of the twentieth century indicates their growing importance in the policy-making process. Abelson goes beyond assumptions, identifying the influence and relevance of public policy institutes in today's political arena in the United States, where they've become an integral feature of the political landscape, and in Canada, where, despite recent growth in numbers, they enjoy less prominence than their US counterparts. By focusing on the policy cycle, issue articulation, policy formation, and implementation, Abelson argues that individual think tanks have sometimes played an important role in shaping the political dialogue and the policy preferences and choices of decision-makers but often in different ways and at different stages of the policy cycle. This revised and updated edition of the book includes up-to-date data (2000-08) on the growing visibility and policy relevance of think tanks in Canada and the United States.

Revue de presse :

"Well-written and lucid ... this is a seminal contribution to the field. Abelson has a sophisticated and up-to-date understanding of the literature and the phenomena that he studies." --Evert Lindquist, University of Victoria

"An important contribution to a body of literature that is increasingly recognised in the social sciences as an undeveloped field and worthy of more extensive investigation. Abelson's comparative insights will have wider significance in drawing attention to how think tanks find different points of access within the policy cycles. He provides extensive coverage of the issues, concerns, and debates confronted by think tank directors, their funders, and their users, and provides the most up-to-date account of the literature." --Diane Stone, University of Warwick

"Most of the serious research on Canadian think tanks has been done by Donald Abelson ... His groundbreaking book ... has proven enormously influential." The Walrus "Well written, carefully documented and articulate case for the antithesis of the title ... a valuable treasure trove of interesting ... information." Canadian Public Policy "Many interesting observations about the nature of think tanks and the policymaking process more generally." --Cato Journal

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Date d'édition: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0773523170
• ISBN 13: 9780773523173
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 272