Comparative Public Policy and Citizen Participation

Comparative Public Policy and Citizen Participation: Energy, Education, Health, and Urban Issues in the U.S. and Germany focuses on the processes involved in policy formulation and the functions of citizens in such activity. Concerns include education, energy and environmental policies, decision making, and delivery of human services. The selection first analyzes the policy-making procedures in the United States, including participation of the poor in poverty programs, welfare reform, energy legislation, and federal aid to elementary and secondary education. The book then discusses the participation of citizens in decision-making processes in energy and environmental policy. The necessity of citizens’ participation, failure of political parties, local decision making, and approval procedures for the federal emissions protection act are elaborated. The publication underscores citizens' participation at government expense, including federal experience with intervenor funding, congressional activities, and signs of change in the public sector. The text also takes a look at education as loosely coupled systems in West Germany and the United States; experiences with participation in the continuing education of teachers in West Germany, and participation of citizens in the delivery of human services. The book is a dependable reference for readers interested in the processes involved in policy formulation and the role of citizens in such undertaking.