How private groups increasingly set public policy and regulate lives—with little public knowledge or attention. From accrediting doctors and lawyers to setting industry and professional standards, private groups establish many of the public policies in today’s advanced societies. Yet this important role of nongovernmental groups is largely ignored by those who study, teach, or report on public policy issues. Public Policymaking by Private Organizations sheds light on policymaking by private groups, which are not accountable to the general public or, often, even to governments. This book brings to life the hidden world of policymaking by providing an overview of this phenomenon and in-depth case studies in the areas of finance, food safety, and certain professions. Far from being merely self regulation or self-governance, policymaking by private groups, for good or ill, can have a substantial impact on the broader public—from ensuring the safety of our home electrical appliances to vetting the credit-worthiness of complex financial instruments in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. From nonprofit associations to multinational corporations, private policymaking groups are everywhere. They certify professionals as competent, establish industry regulations, and set technical and professional standards. But because their operations lack the transparency and accountability required of governmental bodies, these organizations comprise a policymaking territory that is largely unseen, unreported, uncharted, and not easily reconciled with democratic principles. Anyone concerned about how policies are made—and who makes them—should read this book.

Develops a new theory of public regulatory interventions in private sustainability governance based on policymaking in the European Union.

What is the impact of lobbying on the policymaking process? And who benefits? This book argues that most research overlooks the lobbying of regulatory agencies even though it accounts for almost half of all lobbying - even though bureaucratic agencies have considerable leeway in how they choose to implement law.

What are the political motivations behind firms' decisions to adopt policies that self-regulate their behavior in a manner that is beyond compliance with state, federal and local law? Public Forces and Private Politics in American Big Business advances a new understanding of the firm as a political actor that expands beyond the limited conceptualizations offered by economists and organization theorists. Timothy Werner develops a general theory of private politics that is tested using three case studies: the environment, gay rights and executive compensation. Using the conclusions of these case studies and an analysis of interviews with executives at 'Fortune 500' firms, Werner finds that politics can contribute significantly to our understanding of corporate decision-making on private policies and corporate social responsibility in the United States.

This volume explores the influence of professional service firms on public policy-making from a global perspective. Drawing on cases studies from around the world, researchers from different disciplines—including sociology, political science, geography, anthropology, history, and management studies—examine how professional service firms have generated power in the policy-making process. The chapters further investigate the structure and organization of these firms and their relationship with public agencies. They discuss the impact of strategies, techniques and models promoted by these firms on political decision-making. And they analyze how these firms have contributed to the formation of global policy-pipelines, facilitating the quick diffusion of policy ideas across time and space. Exposing how professional advisors can undermine democratic decision-making, the chapters in this book explore the potential for resistance and regulation of public-private relationships.

Rush to Policy explores the appropriate role of technical analysis in policy formulation. The authors ask when and how the use of sophisticated analytic techniques in decision-making benefits the nation. They argues that these techniques are too often used in situations where they may not be needed or understood by the decision maker, where they may not be to answer the questions raised but are nonetheless required by law. House and Shull provide an excellent empirical base for describing the impact of politics on policies, policy analysis, and policy analysts. They examine cost-benefit analysis, risk analysis, and decision analysis and assess their ability to substitute for the current decision-making process in the public sector. They examine the political basis of public sector decision-making, how individuals and organizations make decisions, and the ways decisions are made in the federal sector. Also, they discuss the mandate to use these methods in the policy formulation process. The book is written by two practicing federal policy analysts who, in a decade of service as policy researchers, developed sophisticated quantitative analytic and decision-making techniques. They then spent several years trying to use them in the real world. Success and failures are described in illuminating detail, providing insight not commonly found in such critiques. The authors delineate the interaction of politics and technical issues. Their book describes policy analysis as it is, not how it ought to be. Peter W. House is the director of policy research and analysis at the National Science Foundation. He is the author of ten books on multidisciplinary science and technology policy research and analyses in government, private, and university sectors, including The Art of Public Policy Analysis and with Roger D. Shull, Regulatory Reform: Politics and the Environment and Regulations and Science: Management of Research on Demand. Roger D. Shull is a senior analyst at the Division of Policy Research and Analysis, National Science Foundation.

Discussing the features of public administration, this work explores organization theory and behaviour in the public sector. It covers public policy and its implementation, and considers the evolution of ethics, offering alternative ethical constructs for use by the practicing public administrator. The work also explores Total Quality Management in government, government contracting, privatization, voluntarism and government corporations. The implications of the Government Performance Act of 1993 and recent developments in budgetary thinking including target base budgeting and cutback are also included.

Why do policymakers select certain problems for attention and ignore others? Why do some policy ideas fail and other succeed? In addition to the US President, Congress and Supreme Court what other institutions are influential in shaping public policies? How do policymakers design and implement policies? How do those policies ultimately influence the nation? Providing answers to these and other questions are the focus of this book. The practice of politics and policymaking is complicated, involving thousands of people in government institutions and the private sector. Although each public law and public policy has a unique history, Politics and Public Policy is designed to help students understand the larger patterns of the policy making process. Politics and Public Policy goes beyond conventional analyses that focus narrowly and exclusively on presidents and members of Congress to offer a more comprehensive and realistic view of policymaking in the United States. The judicial rulings, regulations, administrative rulings, and corporate decisions of judges, bureaucrats, corporate officials, journalists, and voters determine government policy and results just as much as the decisions of legislators and chief executives. Moreover, state and local governments play an increasingly important and expanding role in the design and conduct of public policies.