Policy Studies Journal articles from June 2001

Policy Studies Journal archives from June 2001

From the Editors.
June 22, 2001... This issue of the Policy Studies Journal provides strong evidence of the diversity and pervasiveness of the contemporary study of public policy and of the unifying themes that frame modern policy studies. As detailed below, the individually...

Politics and Economic Development: Why Governments Adopt Different Strategies to Induce Economic Growth.(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... This article assesses the forces that drive governments to engage in economic development activity and attempts to explain why communities adopt different strategies to bring about the common goal of economic well-being. I address this issue at...

Tracing Issue Definition and Policy Change: An Analysis of Disability Issue Images and Policy Response.(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... We examine the role of issue definition in disability policy change. Based on qualitative and quantitative evidence from media coverage and congressional hearings, we conclude that policy change was influenced by the redefinition of disability...

Measuring Efficiency in Local Government: An Analysis of New South Wales Municipalities' Domestic Waste Management Function.(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... Data envelopment analysis is used to measure the technical and scale efficiency of the domestic waste management function in 103 New South Wales local governments. After allowance is made for nondiscretionary environmental factors that may...

Organizational Impediments to Effective Policy on Gulf War Illness.
June 22, 2001... The mysterious medical conditions experienced by the veterans of the Persian Gulf conflict created a major public policy problem for the federal government. The actions of both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense...

Microcredit and Third World Development Policy.
June 22, 2001... We are pleased to offer this special Policy Studies Journal symposium on microcredit as a strategy for combating world poverty. Microcredit is a grass-roots development strategy that grants small-scale loans to poor borrowers for...

Microcredit as a Grass-Roots Policy for International Development.
June 22, 2001... The failure of top-down development policies in the Third World has given rise to a variety of grass-roots, or bottom-up, development strategies to combat the severe poverty that continues to plague developing countries. Among these grass-roots...

"Small Is Indeed Beautiful but ...": The Context of Microcredit Strategies in Nepal.(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... With the recent introduction of the Grameen Bank methodology in microcredit programs, it is hoped that rural development will finally impact poverty alleviation in Nepal. However, extreme poverty and hostile topography, and hence lack of...

Development and the Role of Microcredit.(sub-Saharan Africa)
June 22, 2001... Microcredit is a concept that has gained widespread acceptance by international development agencies and major donors. It is viewed as a way to correct both governmental and market failure in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many view microcredit as a...

A Grassroots Developmental Strategy for Africa: Towns as Agents of Growth Through Financial Credit.
June 22, 2001... Since independence, governmental leaders in Africa have not pursued the policy option of making towns, represented as incorporated units, borrowers of commercial credit. To improve the quality of life among rural populations, governments in...

Delivering Microfinance in Developing Countries: Controversies and Policy Perspectives.
June 22, 2001... The article reviews three major controversies in the microfinance field: vehicles, technologies, and performance assessments for financial service delivery. Then it proposes that these controversies be resolved by a perspective emphasizing...