The Politics of Failed Policies

James

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
10 October 2025

Political science & theory; Comparative politics; Political economy

The Politics of Failed Policies examines the darker side of state autonomy and policy experimentation in our federal system: policy failure. While advances in statistics and computing promised the ability to evaluate the outcomes of state policies more precisely and accurately, the path from information to responsive policy remains far from guaranteed, especially given our highly polarized political climate. Most of the existing scholarship focuses on individual characteristics that affect public officials' likelihood of internalizing new information and refining their policy preferences. In stark contrast, author Sarah James takes a historical institutionalist approach and shows that the design, resources, and processes of state-level research institutions can systematically influence when evidence can overcome confirmation bias and partisan preferences among elected state officials evaluating a policy. This work contributes a more precise definition of a state's capacity for research that better explains political responses to policy failure. The detailed case studies support a theory of policy feedback in which policy and institutional landscape can empower diffusely organized and disadvantaged policy opponents to overcome the power of the traditional winners in the American political economy.

The Politics of Failed Policies takes seriously that policy research and learning are not isolated from the caprices of party politics, and yet James shows that state politics and policymaking are not irrevocably beholden to the whims of partisan bickering. While ideological battles, pressure from well-resourced interest groups, and, yes, even elections, remain formidable forces in American politics, strategically designed state policies and institutions can lay a foundation for building a coalition to respond to actual policy outcomes. Choices about policy and institutional design have long-term effects on when, how, and why public officials feel pressured to acknowledge and respond to policy failure.

By: James
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780197813614
ISBN 10: 0197813615
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 10 October 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Part I: Theoretical contributions Chapter 1 : The tricky thing about experimenting Chapter 2 : Policy feedback, institutions, and policy learning Chapter 3 : Methodological Approach & Case Selection Chapter 4 : If you aren't counted, your problems don't count: Defining and theorizing collection capacity Chapter 5 : Moving beyond counting: Defining and theorizing analytical capacity Part II: Case Studies Chapter 6 : The Clear Cut Case (Washington taxes) Chapter 7 : The Treasure Trove Case (Texas Truancy) Chapter 8 : The Hollow Case (Washington Truancy) Chapter 9 : The Status-Quo Case (Texas' Tax Incentives) Chapter 10 : Experimentation & failure as opportunities References Appendix A : Building Policy Trajectories

Sarah James is an assistant professor of political science at Gonzaga University. She has a PhD in Government and Social Policy from Harvard University. She was the Arleen Carlson & Edna Nelson Graduate Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and a fellow in the Multidisciplinary Program on Inequality and Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. James has published in State Politics and Policy Quarterly, The Russel Sage Journal for the Social Sciences, and College Teaching. James also has a M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from Boston University. She has extensive experience in public K-12 education, first as a teacher, then as a high school principal, and she currently serves on the board of trustees for a Boston charter school.

Reviews for The Politics of Failed Policies

""In our highly polarized politics, laws on the books--to mitigate crime, improve schools, health care, and the economy--either seem to live on forever or end up scrapped for no good reason. Can politicians ever recognize when policies fall short (or, by contrast, only need small mid-course corrections)? Using careful evidence and innovative theorizing, Sarah James's fascinating and provocative book spells out how evidence-based policy corrections sometimes happen. Partisans and interest groups weigh in for sure, but data about policy effects can matter if carefully collected and made visible by reputable agencies. Citizens and analysts may doubt that politicians ever acknowledge or correct shortfalls, but this book spells out when and how democratic policymaking can do better."" -- Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Harvard University

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The Politics of Failed Policies

James

$55.95

Paperback

Reviews for The Politics of Failed Policies

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