This practical text provides analytic tools and real world examples to equip both students and professionals with the skills they need to develop - and implement - effective public policies. Focusing on transition economies, Morse and Struyk concentrate on the day to day tasks involved in tackling social and economic policy issues. They thoroughly cover the practicalities of activities such as allocating resources, balancing political and technical factors, introducing competition into the public sector, weighing costs and benefits, monitoring and evaluating programs, and even presenting policy recommendations, as well as the specifics of the actual decisionmaking process. Exercises and case studies allow readers to apply lessons learned to real situations. An on line instructors manual includes answers to the study problems in the book, ideas for class discussion, and other tips for interactive teaching.