 Assessing Material and Symbolic Variations in Punctuated Equilibrium and Public Policy Output PatternsMichael Givel Review of Policy Research, 2008, vol. 25, issue 6, 547-561 Abstract: Numerous researchers have confirmed sharp and punctuated policy change. Newer findings in U.S. forest policy in the Pacific Northwest and U.S. state tobacco policy have found largely nonpunctuated changes. What are the implications for punctuated equilibrium theory? U.S. state tobacco policy‐making from 1990 to 2006 indicates a wide variety of nonpunctuated policy output patterns including: linear and constant, gently oscillating and increasing, linear and increasing, and linear and constant and then nonexponentially increasing. All nonpunctuated policies resulted in symbolic policy output change except state tobacco licensing, higher tobacco taxes, and enactment of clean indoor air legislation, which resulted in partially material and partially symbolic policy output change. Emerging from this research is a new public policy model based on social policy realism. Public policy output change can be quite complex, sometimes punctuated and sometimes not, reflecting the balance of power between sometimes competing and cooperating interest groups. Date: 2008 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:revpol:v:25:y:2008:i:6:p:547-561 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Review of Policy Research is currently edited by Christopher Gore More articles in Review of Policy Research from Policy Studies Organization Contact information at EDIRC. |
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