Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of considering the geographic context in policy-making and highlights the necessity of incorporating policy analysis in the study of political geography. We begin with a brief review of literature on political geography and a categorization of scale issues. This is contrasted with views of the policy process typically used by policy analysts. The result is a shift from theory to operational considerations which often leads to a loss of the important spatial dimension. Two simple applied cases studies are presented on how geographic factors affect public policy analysis and how applied public policy studies can be carried out with sensitivity to geographic considerations. The two case studies are regional income convergence and the rise of regional transportation management institutions. The first is analytic in character while the second has a policy evolution perspective but both indicate how the application of a geographic perspective invigorates policy analysis.
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Haynes, K.E., Xie, Q., Ding, L. (2004). Political geography, public policy and the rise of policy analysis. In: Bailly, A., Gibson, L.J. (eds) Applied Geography. GeoJournal Library, vol 77. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2442-9_5
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