The Politics of Information - by Frank R Baumgartner (Paperback)

About the Book

Information is central to government. Control the flow of information, and you can control the growth of government. So argue Frank Baumgartner and Bryan Jones in their latest book on the American policymakng process. They show how the growth and spread of governmentand its contractionsare closely related to how it searches for information, its definition of problems, and its organizational capacity to analyze that information. Just like individuals, government institutions, especially Congress, are subject to the paradox of search. If we don t seek, we won t find problems that ought to be addressed. But, if we do look for problems, we almost certainly will find them. And with each discovery of the nature of a social problem comes the possibility of creating a government program to help alleviate it. To make their case, the authors rely on massive empirical datasets that trace the course of US public policy since World War II. Connecting the nature of the search process to policy outcomes, they tellingly show how government policy is intimately tied to the search process in a manner consistent with the paradox. Better search processes, defined as those that incorporate more diverse viewpoints, lead to more intensive government policymaking. Similarly, limiting the search process is associated with declines in policymaking activity. At the same time, they find little evidence that that the factors usually thought responsible for government expansionpartisan control of government, changes in presidential leadership, or shifts in public opinionare systematically related to the trends they observe."

Book Synopsis

How does the government decide what's a problem and what isn't? And what are the consequences of that process? Like individuals, Congress is subject to the "paradox of search." If policy makers don't look for problems, they won't find those that need to be addressed. But if they carry out a thorough search, they will almost certainly find new problems-and with the definition of each new problem comes the possibility of creating a government program to address it.

With The Politics of Attention, leading policy scholars Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones demonstrated the central role attention plays in how governments prioritize problems. Now, with The Politics of Information, they turn the focus to the problem-detection process itself, showing how the growth or contraction of government is closely related to how it searches for information and how, as an organization, it analyzes its findings. Better search processes that incorporate more diverse viewpoints lead to more intensive policymaking activity. Similarly, limiting search processes leads to declines in policy making. At the same time, the authors find little evidence that the factors usually thought to be responsible for government expansion-partisan control, changes in presidential leadership, and shifts in public opinion-can be systematically related to the patterns they observe.

Drawing on data tracing the course of American public policy since World War II, Baumgartner and Jones once again deepen our understanding of the dynamics of American policy making.

Review Quotes

"The Politics of Information illuminates the vast landscape of the national policymaking process. The analysis of the broadening and thickening dimensions of government growth is especially noteworthy."--Morris P. Fiorina, Stanford University

"Baumgartner and Jones have again contributed to the body of knowledge on agenda setting in public policy. In this analysis of how governments discover, define, and address problems, the authors present a model for how governments prioritize problems as problems go through the agenda-setting process. . . . Recommended."-- "Choice" (8/15/2015 12:00:00 AM)

"Fascinating. . . . Baumgartner and Jones are grappling with a fundamental question of governance: How do we collectively solve problems whose complexity exceeds the cognition of any one person? And what happens when we attempt to impose simplicity on complex problems that defy such control?"-- "Washington Monthly" (7/15/2015 12:00:00 AM)

"Baumgartner and Jones have done it again! The Politics of Information is yet another pathbreaking study from the authors. This time focus is on the development of American government, but both the theoretical approach and the empirical analysis deserves attention well beyond. Scholars of public policy and comparative politics also have a lot to learn from the book."--Christoffer Green-Pedersen, Aarhus University, Denmark

"Baumgartner and Jones provide insights regarding the reshaping of American governance that are truly invaluable to our understanding of the political process. There is no doubt this book will be widely cited for both its theoretical innovations and its empirical insights."--E. Scott Adler, University of Colorado, Boulder

About the Author

Frank R. Baumgartner is the Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bryan D. Jones is the J. J. "Jake" Pickle Regent's Chair in Congressional Studies in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. Together, they are the authors of several books, including, most recently, Agendas and Instability in American Politics, also published by the University of Chicago Press.