The Powers of Problem Definition: The Case of Government Paperwork

Problem definition is a package of ideas that includes, at least implicitly, an account of the causes and consequences of undesirable circumstances and a theory about how to improve them. As such, it serves as the overture to policymaking, as an integral part of the process of policymaking, and as a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy sciences 1989-05, Vol.22 (2), p.97-121
Main Author: Weiss, Janet A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Data collection
Definitions
Entrepreneurs
Executive branch
Federal Government
Government
Government budgets
Government bureaucracy
Government officials
Government Policy
INFORMATION GATHERING & ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS
Managerial budgeting
Office management
Paperwork
Policy Making
Policymaking (paperwork)
Problem Solving
Problems
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Problem definition is a package of ideas that includes, at least implicitly, an account of the causes and consequences of undesirable circumstances and a theory about how to improve them. As such, it serves as the overture to policymaking, as an integral part of the process of policymaking, and as a policy outcome. In each of these roles it seems to exert influence on government action. Distinguishing among the roles clarifies the nature of that influence. A case study examines the transition from one problem definition to another in the domain of information collection by the federal government. The rise of the Paperwork Reduction definition illustrates the variety of ways in which problem definition has powerful consequences.
ISSN:0032-2687
1573-0891
DOI:10.1007/BF00141381