How do the public policies of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom stack up against one another? Comparing Public Policies combines a conceptual discussion of policy-making with an examination of seven specific policy areas using a cross-national perspective. Adolino and Blake strike a balance between policy analysis and description as they provide students with a helpful mix of analytical tools and background information.

The book begins with a concise overview of the policy process and then considers the role of cultural, economic, political, and institutional influences on policy-making. A brief chapter describes the political system of the six countries and provides necessary context. The core of the book is devoted to seven policy areas: immigration, fiscal policy, taxation, health care, social policy, education, and the environment. Each chapter shares a common framework that begins with an introduction to a policy topic, follows with its examination in each country, and concludes with an analysis of cross-national trends-past and present-in policy choices, outcomes, and dynamics. A final chapter re-examines the internationalization of public policy in industrialized countries. Adolino and Blake also consider how policymakers use this comparative perspective to guide them in their policy choices and help them pursue those choices within the political process.

Useful pedagogical features have been incorporated throughout the text. "In Depth" boxes offer students a more detailed discussion of a policy issue, political process, or analytical technique while "Country At-a-Glance" boxes provide quick reference to the political institutions of each country. A wealth of recent data is displayed in numerous tables and a glossary gives students a practical guide to terminology.

Preface
An Introduction to Comparative Public Policy
1. The Policy Process
2. Theories of Policy Making
3. Political and Economic Dynamics in Industrialized Countries
4. The Policy-making Context
5. Immigration Policy
6. Fiscal Policy
7. Taxation Policy
8. Health Care Policy
9. Social Policy
10. Education Policy
11. Environmental Policy
12. Conclusion
Glossary

"Comparing Public Policies is comfortable and rewarding reading. Adolino and Blake's political analyses, clarity of writing, and numerous examples, tables, models, and theories - related with a great amount of interesting and descriptive detail - are indicative of their competent and seasoned scholarship. Readers will appreciate the essential economic, demographic, and sociopolitical issues being discussed within a consistent framework. Policymaking in the six featured countries is covered up to the present time, making Comparing Public Policies the most up-to-date text in terms of both politics and policy reforms and challenges."

- Steve Mazurana, University of Northern Colorado

Jessica R. Adolino is professor of political science at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she teaches courses on comparative politics, European politics, and international affairs. Her research interests primarily lie in the area of British politics. She published an extensive study of immigration and ethnic politics, Ethnic Minorities, Electoral Politics and Political Integration in Britain, in 1998. She is currently studying the political dynamics of European integration in the United Kingdom.

Charles H. Blake is professor of political science at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he teaches comparative politics, comparative public policy, and research methods. His research on the political economy of upper-income and middle-income societies has been published in a variety of journals including Comparative Political Studies, Democratization, and the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, among others. The second edition of his Politics in Latin America: The Quests for Development, Liberty, and Governance will be published in 2008.