Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-vgfm9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-19T23:57:07.450Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches to Implementation Research: a Critical Analysis and Suggested Synthesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Paul A. Sabatier
Paul A. Sabatier
Affiliation:
Environmental StudiesU. of California, Davis
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper first reviews the implementation literature of the past fifteen years, with particular emphasis on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches. It also argues that the 4–6 year time-frame used in most implementation research misses many critical features of public policy-making. The paper then outlines a conceptual framework for examining policy change over a 10–20 year period which combines the best features of the ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches with insights from other literatures.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , January 1986 , pp. 21 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Aaron, Henry (1978). Politics and the Professors. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Ackermann, Charbel and Steinmann, Walter (1982). ‘Privatized Policy Making,’ European Journal of Policy Resarch 10 (06): 173–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alexander, Robert (1982). ‘Implementation: Does a Literature Add Up to a Theory?’ Journal of the American Planning Association (Winter): 132–55.Google Scholar
Alterman, Rachelle (1983). ‘Implementation Analysis: The Contours of an Emerging Debate,’ Journal of Planning Education and Research 3 (Summer): 63–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bardach, Eugene (1974). The Implementation Game. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Barrett, Susan and Fudge, Colin, eds. (1981). Policy and Action. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Barrett, Susan and Hill, Michael (1984). ‘Policy, Bargaining and Structure in Implementation Theory,’ Policy and Politics 12: 219–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berman, Paul (1978). ‘The Study of Macro- and Micro-Implementation,’ Public Policy 6: 157–84.Google Scholar
Berman, Paul (1980). ‘Thinking about Programmed and Adaptive Implementation,’ in Why Policies Succeed or Fail, ed. by Ingram, Helen and Mann, Dean. Beverly Hills: Sage.Google Scholar
Berman, Paul and McLaughlin, Milbrey (1976). ‘Implementation of ESEA Title I,’ Teacher College Record 77 (02.): 397–4515.Google Scholar
Bowen, Elinor (1982). ‘The Pressman-Wildavsky Paradox,’ Journal of Public Policy 2 (02): 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowman, Ann and Lester, James (1986). ‘Subnational Policy Implementation: Testing the Sabatier-Mazmanian Model,’ Administration and Society, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Browning, Rufus, Marshall, Dale, and Tabb, David (1981). ‘Implementation and Political Change: Sources of Local Variation in Federal Social Programs,’ in Effective Policy Implementation, ed. by Mazmanian, D. and P., SabatierLexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath.Google Scholar
Browning, Rufus, Marshall, Dale, and Tabb, David, (1985). Protest Is Not Enough. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Burnham, Walter Dean (1970). Critical Elections and the Mainsprings of American Politics. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Cerych, Ladislav and Sabatier, Paul (1986). Great Expectations and Mixed Performance: The Implementation of European Higher Education Reforms. Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom: Trentham Books.Google Scholar
Davies, Tom and Mason, Charles (1982). ‘Gazing Up from the Bottoms: Problems of Minimal Response in the Implementation of Manpower Policy,’ European Journal of Political Research 10 (06): 145–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, Charles (1985). ‘Perceptions of Hazardous Waste Policy Issues among Public and Private Sector Administrators,’ Western Political Quarterly 38 (09.): 447–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derthick, Martha (1972). New Towns In-Town. Washington: Urban Institute.Google Scholar
Derthick, Martha (1979). Policymaking for Social Security. Washington: Brookings.Google Scholar
Dodd, Lawrence (1976). Coalitions in Parliamentary Governments. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony (1967). Inside Bureaucracy. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elmore, Richard (1978). ‘Organizational Model of Social Program Implementation,’ Public Policy 26 (Spring): 185–228.Google ScholarPubMed
Elmore, Richard (1979). ‘Backward Mapping,’ Political Science Quarterly 94 (Winter): 601–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elmore, Richard (1985). ‘Forward and Backward Mapping,’ in Policy Implementation in Federal and Unitary Systems, ed. Hanf, K. and Toonen, T.. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, pp. 33–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaser, Barney and Strauss, Anselm (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Chicago: Aldine.Google Scholar
Goggin, Malcolm L. (1984). ‘Book Review of Implementation and Public Policy, Mazmanian, Daniel A. and Sabatier, Paul A., eds,’ Publius 14 (Fall): 159–60.Google Scholar
Goggin, Malcolm L. (1986). The ‘Too Few Cases/Too Many Variables’ Problem In Implementation Research,’ Western Political Quarterly, forthcoming.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodwin, Leonard and Moen, Phyllis (1981). ‘The Evolution and Implemenation of Federal Welfare Policy,’ in Effective Policy Implementation, ed. Mazmanian, D. and Sabatier, P.. Lexington: Heath, pp. 147–68.Google Scholar
Hambleton, Robin (1983). ‘Planning Systems and Policy Implementation,’ Journal of Public Policy 3 (10): 397–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanf, Kenneth (1982). ‘The Implementation of Regulatory Policy: Enforcement as Bargaining,’ European Journal of Political Research 10 (06 1982): 159–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanf, Kenneth and Scharpf, Fritz, eds. (1978). Intemorganizational Polcy Making: Limits to Coordination and Central Control. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Heclo, Hugh (1974). Social Policy in Britain and Sweden. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Heclo, Hugh (1978). ‘Issue Networks and the Executive Establishment,’ The New American Political System, ed. King, Anthony. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute.Google Scholar
Hinckley, Barbara (1981). Coalitions and Politics.New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Hjern, Benny (1982). ‘Implementation Research – the Link Gone Missing’, Journal of Public Policy 2(3): 301–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hjern, Benny and Porter, David (1981). ‘Implementation Structures: A New Unit of Administrative Analysis,’ Organization Studies 2: 211–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hjern, Benny and Hull, Chris (1982). ‘Implementation Research as Empirical Constitutionalism,’ European Journal of Political Research 10 (06 1982): 105–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hjern, Benny and Hull, Chris (1985). ‘Helping Small Firms Grow,’ Unpublished book-length manuscript, Management Institut, Science Center, Berlin.Google Scholar
Hjern, Benny and Hull, Chris, Hanf, Kenneth and Porter, David (1978). ‘Local Networks of Manpower Training in the Federal Republic of Germany and Sweden,’ in Interorganizational Policy Making: Limits to Coordination and Central Control. London: Sage, pp. 303–44.Google Scholar
Hofferbert, Richard (1974). The Study of Public Policy. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.Google Scholar
Hogwood, Bryan and Peters, G. Guy (1983). Policy Dynamics. New York: St. Martin's.Google Scholar
Hull, Chris and Hjern, Benny (1982). ‘Helping Small Firms Grow,’ European Journal of Political Research 10 (06): 187–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ingram, Helen (1977). ‘Policy Implementation through Bargaining: Federal Grants in Aid.’ Public Policy 25 (Fall 1977).Google ScholarPubMed
Jones, Charles (1975). Clean Air. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Jones, Susan (1984). ‘Application of a Framework for Implementation Analysis to Evaluate Groundwater Management Policy in Two New York Counties,’ Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.Google Scholar
Jordan, A. G. And Richardson, J.J. (1983). ‘Policy Communities: The British and European Political Style,’ Policy Studies Journal 11 (06): 60–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirst, Michael and Jung, Richard (1982). ‘The Utility of a Longitudinal Approach in Assessing Implementation: Title I, ESEA,’ in Studying Implementation, ed by Williams, Walter. Chatham, N. J.: Chatham House, pp. 119–48.Google Scholar
Kiser, Larry and Ostrom, Elinor (1982). ‘The Three Worlds of Action,’ in Strategies of Political Inquiry, ed. Ostrom, E.. Beverly Hills: Sage, pp. 179–22.Google Scholar
Knoepfel, Peter (1981). ‘Conceptualizing Comparative Policy Analysis,’ Architecture and Behavior 1: 287–305.Google Scholar
Knoepfel, Peter and Weidner, Helmut (1982a). ‘A Conceptual Framework for Studying Implementation,’ in The Implementation of Pollution Control Programs, ed. by Downing, Paul and Hanf, Kenneth. Tallahassee: Policy Sciences Program.Google Scholar
Knoepfel, Peter (1982b). ‘Implementing Air Quality Control Programs in Europe,’ Policy Studies Journal 11 (09.): 104–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knoepfel, Peter and Hanf, Kenneth (1980). ‘Analytical Framework and Research Guidelines for the National Teams,’ Unpublished manuscript, International Institute for Science and Society, Science Center, Berlin, 120 pp.Google Scholar
Lazin, Frederick (1973). ‘The Failure of Federal Enforcement of Civil Rights Regulations in Public Housing, 1963–71,’ Policy Sciences 4: 263–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lester, James (1986). ‘Intergovernmental Relations and Ocean Policy: Marine Pollution, Dumping, and Incineration of Hazardous Wastes,’ in Ocean Resources and Intergovernmental Relations, ed. Silva, M.. Boulder: Westview.Google Scholar
Levin, Martin (1980). ‘Conditions Contributing to Effective Implementation and Their Limits.’ Unpublished manuscript, Brandeis University.Google Scholar
Lipsky, Michael (1971). ‘Street Level Bureaucracy and the Analysis of Urban Reform,’ Urban Affairs Quarterly 6: 391–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowry, Ken (1985). ‘Assessing the Implementation of Federal Coastal Policy,’ Journal of the American Planning Association, 51 (Summer): 288–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maclntyre, Angus (1985). ‘The Multiple Sources of Statutory Ambiguity,’ in Administrative Discretion and the Implementation of Public Policy, ed. Hibbeln, and Shumavon, . New York: Praeger, pp. 66–88.Google Scholar
Majone, Giandomenico (1980). ‘Policies as Theories,’ Omega 8: 151–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Majone, Giandomenico and Aaron, Wildavsky (1978). ‘Implementation as Evolution,’ in Policy Studies Review Annual – 1978, ed. Freeman, Howard. Beverly Hills: Sage.Google Scholar
Mazmanian, Daniel and Sabatier, Paul, eds. (1981). Effective Policy Implementation. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath.Google Scholar
Mazmanian, Daniel and Sabatier, Paul, eds. (1983). Implementation and Public Policy. Chicago: Scott Foresman and Co.Google Scholar
Milward, H. Brinton and Wamsley, Gary (1984). ‘Policy Subsystems, Networks, and the Tools of Public Management,’ in Public Policy Formation and Implementation, ed. Eyestone, Robert. Boston: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Murphy, Jerome (1973). ‘The Education Bureaucracies Implement Novel Policy: The Politics of Title I of ESEA,’ in Policy and Politics in America, ed. Sindler, Allan. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Nakamura, Robert and Smallwood, Frank (1980). The Politics of Policy Implementation. New York: St. Martin's.Google Scholar
Page, Ed, (1985). ‘Laws as an Instrument in Center-Local Relations,’ Journal of Public Policy 5 (2):241–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pressman, Jeffrey and Wildavvsky, Aaron (1973). Implementation. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.Google Scholar
Putnam, Robert (1976). The Comparative Study of Political Elites. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Rose, Richard (1984). ‘From Government at the Center to Nationwide Government,’ in Centre-Periphery Relations in Western Europe, ed. Meny, Y. and Wright, V.. London George Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Sabatier, Paul (1975). ‘Social Movements and Regulatory Agencies,’ Policy Sciences 8: 301–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabatier, Paul (1984). ‘Center-Periphery Relations in Coastal Zone Regulation.’ Unpublished manuscript, University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Sabatier, Paul (1986). ‘Policy Analysis, Policy-Oriented Learning and Policy Change: An Advocacy Coalition Framework.’ Manuscript submitted to Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization.Google Scholar
Sabatier, Paul and Klosterman, Barbara (1981). ‘A Comparative Analysis of Policy Implementation under Different Statutory Regimes,’ in Effective Policy Implementation, ed. Mazmanian, D. and Sabatier, P.. Lexington: Heath, pp. 169–206.Google Scholar
Sabatier, Paul and Mazmanian, Daniel (1979). ‘The Conditions of Effective Implementation,’ Policy Analysis 5 (Fall): 481–504.Google ScholarPubMed
Sabatier, Paul (1980). ‘A Framework of Analysis,’ Policy Studies Journal 8: 538–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabatier, Paul (1983a). ‘Policy Implementation.’ in Encyclopedia of Policy Studies ed. by Nagel, Start. N.Y.: Marcel Dekker, 1983, pp. 143–69.Google Scholar
Sabatier, Paul (1983b). Can Regulation Work? The Implementation of the 1972 California Coastal Initiative. N.Y.: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scharpf, Fritz (1978). ‘Interorganizational Policy Studies,’ in InterorganizationalPolicy-Making, ed. Hanf, K. and Scharpf, F.. London: Sage, pp. 345–70.Google Scholar
Sharpe, L.J. (1985). ‘Central Coordination and the Policy Network,’ Political Studies 33: 361–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thrasher, Michael (1983). ‘Exchange Networks and Implementation,’ Policy and Politics 11: 375–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Horn, Carl (1979). Policy Implementation in the Federal System. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath.Google Scholar
Van Meter, Donald and Von Horn, Carl (1975). ‘The Policy Implementation Process: A conceptual Framework,’ Administration and Society 6 (02.): 445–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weatherly, Richard and Lipsky, Michael (1977). ‘Street Level Bureaucrats and Institutional Innovation: Implementing Special-Education Reform,’ Harvard Educational Review 47 (2): 171–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, Carol (1972). Evaluation Research. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Weiss, Carol, ed. (1977). Using Social Research in Public Policy Making. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath.Google Scholar
Wittrock, Bjorn et al. (1982). ‘Implementation Beyond Hierarchy: Swedish Energy Research Policy,’ European Journal of Political Research 10 (06): 131–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yin, Robert (1980). Studying the Implementation of Public Programs. Boulder: Solar Energy Research Institute.Google Scholar