7Studying Public Policy examines three dimensions of efforts to engage and resolve public problems: policy actors, institutions, and ideas. Using this focus, the book overviews past efforts to understand public policy-making, outlines the different stages of the policy-making process, and discusses the principal elements and patterns of policy dynamics. Developing an analytical framework of the subject, the text examines the theoretical and conceptual foundations of, and approaches used in, policy sciences giving students a solid basis for understanding public policy. This edition has been fully updated with new developments in the field and revised with clear language and an easy-to-understand structure, making it the most current, student-friendly resource available.