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Public administration and the promise of evidence-based policy: experience in and beyond Australia

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  • Brian W. Head

Abstract

This article examines the uncertain growth and future prospects of "evidence-based" policy-making, with a focus on Australia and some other states in which public leaders and officials have claimed to value and promote the use of evidence in policy decision-making. There are many obstacles to developing evidence-informed policy systems, including the availability of investment for data analysis, entrenched political elites and traditional cultural values. The gaps between rhetoric and reality are substantial, even in the more "advanced" states, mainly owing to political considerations such as partisan ideologies and the power of economic and socio-cultural interests. Evidence-based approaches are shown to operate most clearly in those policy areas concerned with technical efficiency, and are less evident in contested areas of social policy. Brief comparisons are drawn between Singapore, Hong Kong and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

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  • Brian W. Head, 2014. "Public administration and the promise of evidence-based policy: experience in and beyond Australia," Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 48-59, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rapaxx:v:36:y:2014:i:1:p:48-59
    DOI: 10.1080/23276665.2014.892273
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    Cited by:

    1. Harvey A. Whiteford & Carla Meurk & Georgia Carstensen & Wayne Hall & Peter Hill & Brian W. Head, 2016. "How Did Youth Mental Health Make It Onto Australia’s 2011 Federal Policy Agenda?," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(4), pages 21582440166, December.
    2. Brydie Clarke & Janelle Kwon & Boyd Swinburn & Gary Sacks, 2021. "Understanding the dynamics of obesity prevention policy decision-making using a systems perspective: A case study of Healthy Together Victoria," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, January.

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