study of public policy - Answers systematic scientific analysis of government activity.
public policy - Answers government action designed to address the demands of a set of citizens
to resolve a social issue
Efficiency - Answers whether the resources time and energy of a program are delivering the
greatest policy outcomes for a given level of resources.
Federalism - Answers is a system of shared powers in which the state governments shifted
some of their original powers to the national government
collective action dilemmas - Answers micro level incentives that prevent individuals from
organizing to advocate for benefits individually even though they may extract those collectively
Policy entrepreneurs - Answers any individual who advocates organizes or attempts to define a
policy problem or solution.
dominant policy image - Answers the image that most citizens think of when a phrase or policy
is mentioned
Policy Window - Answers an opportunity in time where political and policy pressures align
momentarily to allow some set of policy problems and solutions to meet
Policy demands - Answers pressures placed upon elected leaders and policymakers that
change the costs of their inaction
credible action - Answers is a a promised or threatened action that the action's target believes
will be carried out with a high probability.
Agenda setting - Answers the process by which formal institutional centers of power will take
up and potentially act on a policy solution
Advocacy coalitions - Answers policy subsystems that consist of a variety of interests including
actors wishing administrative agencies legislative committees researchers policy analysts etc...
Technical complexity - Answers the level of knowledge that is required to understand a policy
area
Policy Salience - Answers refers to the number of citizens that are likely to be affected by the
policy in a significant way.
Policy evaluation - Answers the systematic investigation of the effects of a policy on its
intended social target prior to action
Program evaluation - Answers the systematic investigation of the effects of a program on its