Description: This book examines how the interplay of politics and data affects when failed policies get recognized. It shows how compelling data and analysis is an important political tool for highlighting failure. Importantly, the research demonstrates how data and analysis themselves are the products of political processes and reflections of those in power. Using case studies from education and juvenile criminal justice and tax policy, the book makes a theoretical contribution to the study of policymaking, state politics, and the role of knowledge and information in contemporary American politics.
Review Quotes: "In our highly polarized politics, laws on the books--to mitigate crime, improve schools, health care, and the economy--either seem to live on forever or end up scrapped for no good reason. Can politicians ever recognize when policies fall short (or, by contrast, only need small mid-course corrections)? Using careful evidence and innovative theorizing, Sarah James's fascinating and provocative book spells out how evidence-based policy corrections sometimes happen. Partisans and interest groups weigh in for sure, but data about policy effects can matter if carefully collected and made visible by reputable agencies. Citizens and analysts may doubt that politicians ever acknowledge or correct shortfalls, but this book spells out when and how democratic policymaking can do better." -- Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Harvard University
"Building on implementation literature, James looks at two factors at the state level that determine whether policies are deemed failures and repealed: first, a state's data collection capacity, and second, its analytical capacity to examine the data. ..What readers learn here is that there is a politics of data or evidence, and the choice of whether to provide good data and analysis of policy is often highly contested. Excellent for collections on American politics, policy, and implementation." -- D. Schultz, CHOICE