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Thomas A Birkland. 2006. Lessons of Disaster: Policy Change After Catastrophic Events. Washington: Georgetown University Press. 240 pp. How does change occur in public policymaking? What role do disasters play [...]

This article examines the relationship between government performance and quality of life in the American states. We contend that the management capacity of state governments should have direct, tangible impacts on the overall social and economic well-being of state citizenry. In order to test this idea, we examine the influence of state management capacity (using the 1999 Government Performance Project grades), alongside other economic and political variables, on two prominent measures of state quality of life--The Morgan Quitno 'Most Livable State' Index and State Policy Reports' (SPP) 'Camelot Index.' We find that both state economic conditions and governmental policy priorities have significant impacts on state performance levels. But, our results clearly indicate that the management capacity of state governments also contributes directly to improving the overall quality of life for state citizens. Key Words: Public management; State quality of life; Government performance; Management capacity; State policy priorities; State government.

Health care is a major policy issue in the United States. Most Americans believe that health care is too inaccessible, too expensive, and too undependable. There is almost universal agreement [...]

Professional licensing boards occupy a central position in the policy process at the state level. The study examines three factors: public representation, economic resources, and size of board jurisdictions. Analysis shows that these variables affect different types of board actions. (Author/CH)