Policy Governance in Multi-level Systems
Economic Development and Policy Implementation in Canada
Description
The past two decades have witnessed dramatic shifts in public policy, with increasing complexity not only in the relationships between the state, society, and the private sector, but also in the interactions among various orders of government in places such as Canada, the United States, and the European Union. In Policy Governance in Multi-level Systems, Charles Conteh examines how these seismic structural changes have impacted the work of public organizations and how these organizations are responding to modifications in their operating environments. With an emphasis on Canada's controversial but resilient regional economic policy, Conteh focuses his study on four agencies - the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Western Economic Diversification Canada, FedNor, and FedDev - and their evolving policy portfolios and modes of operation in New Brunswick, Manitoba, northern Ontario, and southern Ontario. Drawing upon literature in public administration, urban and regional governance, as well as multi-level governance, Conteh offers a cutting-edge analysis of contemporary and emerging understandings of multi-level governance and regional development while acknowledging the historical context of policy and intellectual traditions. Combining a solid theoretical background with empirical depth and practical lessons from the field, Policy Governance in Multi-level Systems is an invaluable resource for policy analysts, policy makers, and practitioners in many tiers of government, business, and community leadership.
Reviews
“Policy Governance in Multi-level Systems makes a notable contribution to scholarly literature on economic development and policy implementation, particularly with respect to the challenges surrounding strategic leadership and decision-making in complex, rapidly changing policy environments. Although its analysis is focused on Canada, the book’s findings are broadly relevant to policy implementation in all multilevel political systems, and should therefore be of interest to scholars in federal states such as the United States and Australia, as well as those who study the European Union.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis