Public Policy Investment

This book addresses one of the enduring questions of democratic government: why do governments choose some public policies but not others? Political executives focus on a range of policy issues, such as the economy, social policy, and foreign policy, but they shift their priorities over time. Despite an extensive literature, it has proven surprisingly hard to explain policy prioritisation. To remedy this gap, this book offers a new approach called public policy investment: governments enhance their chances of getting re-elected by managing a portfolio of public policies and paying attention to the risks involved. In this way, government is like an investor making choices about risk to yield returns on its investments of political capital. The public provides signals about expected political capital returns for government policies, or policy assets, that can be captured through expressed opinion in public polls. Governments can anticipate these signals in the choices they make. Statecraft is the ability political leaders have to consider risk and return in their policy portfolios and do so amidst uncertainty in the public's policy valuation. Such actions represent the public's views conditionally because not every opinion change is a price signal. It then outlines a quantitative method for measuring risk and return, applying it to the case of Britain between 1971 and 2000 and offers case studies illustrating statecraft by prime ministers, such as Edward Heath or Margaret Thatcher. The book challenges comparative scholars to apply public policy investment to countries that have separation of powers, multiparty government, and decentralization. This ambitious book takes a new look at party policy prioritization in government, drawing on financial theory to systematize the way decision-makers think about their political agendaThe book is not just an impressive intellectual achievement but a fresh and invigorating way of viewing politics within the rational choice tradition. A must-buy for anyone really interested in the development of political science and the forces driving contemporary British politics. Ian Budge, Research Professor in Government, University of Essex Tony Bertelli and Peter John have produced a major innovation in the study of policy processes that will change how we think about the linkages between public opinion and public policy Using data collected through the British Policy Agendas Project, they go on to study changes in the composition of the government of Britains policy portfolio, and address the issue of how investing in attention can pay dividends to the re-election potential of government. Bryan D. Jones, J.J. "Jake" Pickle Regent's Chair in Congressional Studies, Department of Government, University of Texas This ambitious book takes a new look at party policy prioritization in government, drawing on financial theory to systematize the way decision-makers think about their political agendaThe book is not just an impressive intellectual achievement but a fresh and invigorating way of viewing politics within the rational choice tradition. A must-buy for anyone really interested in the development of political science and the forces driving contemporary British politics. Ian Budge, Research Professor in Government, University of Essex Tony Bertelli and Peter John have produced a major innovation in the study of policy processes that will change how we think about the linkages between public opinion and public policy Using data collected through the British Policy Agendas Project, they go on to study changes in the composition of the government of Britains policy portfolio, and address the issue of how investing in attention can pay dividends to the re-election potential of government. Bryan D. Jones, J.J. "Jake" Pickle Regent's Chair in Congressional Studies, Department of Government, University of Texas Bertelli and John offer a fresh and compelling lens through which to understand one of the most consequential challenges facing governments, namely deciding which issues will be given priority on the policy agenda. Building on insights from financial economics, their theory of public policy investment posits that government leaders "invest" attention in public policies based on their assessments of the risks and returns of alternative policy portfolios. The book grounds its empirical component in modern British politics, but the concepts and insights transcend the immediate empirical setting and are broadly applicable to a wide range of policy-making environments. By focusing attention on the importance of executive leadership and the difficult business of statecraft, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in government decision-making and the public policy process. Elisabeth R. Gerber, Jack L. Walker, Jr. Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan1. Introduction ; 2. Policy Prioritization ; 3. Statecraft and the Art of Governing ; 4. Public Policy Investment and Electoral Ambition ; 5. Valuing Public Policies ; 6. Quantitative Empirical Strategy ; 7. Policy Investment Illustrated in Britain, 1971-2000 ; 8. Policy Investment Performance in Britain, 1971-2000 ; 9. Investment, Statecraft, and General Elections, 1971-2000 ; 10. Conclusion