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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...

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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
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container_end_page	121
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container_start_page	97
container_title	Policy sciences
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creator	Weiss, Janet A.
description	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.
doi_str_mv	10.1007/BF00141381
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identifier	ISSN: 0032-2687
ispartof	Policy sciences, 1989-05, Vol.22 (2), p.97-121
issn	0032-2687 1573-0891
language	eng
recordid	cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_61573574
source	EconLit s plnými texty; Business Source Ultimate; Worldwide Political Science Abstracts; Springer LINK Archives; Sociological Abstracts; JSTOR
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
title	The Powers of Problem Definition: The Case of Government Paperwork
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