A Primer for Policy Analysis

Stokey and Zeckhauser. . . . Those names have sent shivers through students of policy analysis over time. This represents a strong and rigorous introduction to major tools for policy analysis. If you successfully process this book, you will be well equipped to analyze policy. The first section of the book comprises three chapters, providing an introduction to policy and policy analysis. The authors note at the outset (Page ix): "This is a do-it-yourself book: the more effort you put into it, the more understanding you will get out of it." Furthermore (Page 3): ". . .the emphasis in this book is on how decisions ought to be analyzed and made, rather than on the details of the information that should serve as inputs to the decision." Discussion in this section examines models and how to choose which models to use. But the guts of the book is Part II, "Nuts and Bolts." Here, the reader is introduced to a variety of tools of policy analysis. Examples: Queues (this helps answer the question of how many ticket booths should be available at a baseball game); Simulations; benefit-cost analysis (weigh the costs and benefits of a proposal, to see if benefits outweigh costs; if not, maybe consider not taking the action); decision analysis; and so on. Part III, "Ends and Means," reflects on such issues as the government's role when the market fails, addressing social welfare, and putting policy analysis to work. A difficult but outstanding work. This is a major resource for the policy analyst, even though it is three decades old now.

I read this book as a primer for the more advanced class at Harvard. It's a good introduction but take the class if you can. This book is most useful for managers and as a reference to refer to high level approaches with hints for how to dig into more detail.