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SPECULATIVE POLICY MAKING IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL ARENA 1
Author(s) -
Menzel Donald C.,
Williams David G.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1978.tb02174.x
Subject(s) - incrementalism , compromise , legislature , politics , certainty , environmental policy , economics , public economics , law and economics , public administration , political economy , positive economics , political science , law , environmental resource management , epistemology , philosophy
The development of policy in the American political system has been characterized by incremental change, creation of support, bargaining, compromise, pluralistic group interplay, development of social support and political support, technical input, review and consideration. Incrementalism, as it is called, allows policy to develop in tandem with technical knowledge, legislative and executive support, political advantage, and presumably greater certainty concerning the impact of a particular choice. Environmental policy development, one scholar has hypothesized, followed this basic pattern until the late 1960's when policy aspirations began to escalate much faster than the knowledge, organizational arrangements and political support upon which policy implementation depends. This “escalation” hypothesis is examined in this paper, with particular attention given to policy development in West Virginia.