Learning Lessons: Medicine, Economics, and Public Policy

by Fein,Rashi

• ISBN13: 9781412810807
• ISBN10: 1412810809
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-02-15
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This is a book about the policy process. It discusses theconsiderations advisers have in mind as they developand select policy alternatives, the ways each of us mightwant to think about making decisions, and the lessonswe should remember in order to minimize avoidableerrors. In writing about his experiences in government,the classroom, and private life, Fein offers insights thatapply to people responsible for decisions in many kindsof institutions, at all levels of responsibility.His anecdotes and the situations he describes aredrawn from over fifty years of experience in the policyarena. They are not intended to represent either a roundedtheory about public administration or a comprehensivetreatment of important components of political science.Like most people in the policy arena, Fein came to thatwork from another discipline-in his case economics.His experience of "finding his own way" through actionand experience rather than through application of theorymight appear quaint. But his successes, failures, and thelessons he learned, illuminate the process and may proveuseful, even inspirational.Fein is sensitive to the need to move beyond statisticsand to present the real world and the faces of real peoplebehind the data. He believes that an effective advisershould bring knowledge and interests that extend beyondthe confines of a single discipline, even one as methodologicallypowerful as economics. Unless the adviserpresents a range of choices that have been developedwith contributions from many fields of knowledge, theproposed policies are likely to be far too constrained and,at worst, unworkable. His perspective, articulated in thisbook, is easily summarized: there is more to life and toour nation’s welfare than economics. We live in a society,not in an economy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Time to Change the Rules is Before the Game Begins	p. 15
The Meaning and Influence of Words	p. 27
Words, Attitudes, and Behavior	p. 27
The Impact of Unexpected Language	p. 36
Same Words, but Different Meanings	p. 39
Context Matters	p. 47
Physicians and Social Scientists: A Contrast	p. 52
There's Rationing and There's Rationing	p. 58
Defining the Policy Options and Issues	p. 67
Should Politics Affect Policy?	p. 71
Asking the Correct Question	p. 90
Some Changes Take Time	p. 97
Is Everything Connected?	p. 106
Knowing the "Other"	p. 117
Learning from the "Non-Expert"	p. 117
Experience Counts	p. 128
We All Play Many Roles	p. 137
Comments that Increase Our Understanding	p. 145
Four Lessons	p. 155
The Known Drives Out the Abstract	p. 155
Not Everyone Thinks Like an Economist	p. 161
Polities Trumps Rational Economics	p. 168
Keep It Simple	p. 176
Epilogue	p. 185
One Person Can Make a Difference	p. 186
Notes	p. 191
Index	p. 193
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