Patterns of Policy Analysis Use for State Governments: A Contingency and Demand Perspective

Abstract

A question yet to be suitably answered by public administrators is how well public programs and organizations work. The approaches to answering this question have ranged from laissez-faire economic explanations to the recent emphasis on analytical approaches such as those classified as policy analysis. Some observers have been skeptical about the possible benefits of analysis in that a first step in analysis is the definition of objectives; since objectives of public programs may be difficult to define, the results of analysis may be dubious. Others have proposed that rationality should be increased in government and administration and that analysis is an important contributor to increased rationality.' Any study of policy analysis at the state level must recognize that state governments are simultaneously similar and dissimilar. On the one hand, they are similar from the standpoint of the types of services which they provide. On the other hand, they vary markedly in their regional, political, social, and economic characteristics.' A major area of variation is how they manage themselves, and, particularly, whether they use policy analysis in decision making. The objectives of this study are to seek a general model which can explain the use of policy analysis in the states, to determine whether there are consistent influences on the use of policy analysis in the different branches of state government, and to consider what may be the future status of policy analysis in the states.