In this comprehensive Handbook, international experts examine theoretical and empirical research to analyse a core element of the public policy process: implementation. Traversing numerous sub-disciplines and traditions including top-down and bottom-up approaches to public policy implementation research, the chapters present a synthesis of the state of scholarship and stimulate future thinking in the field.

The Handbook of Public Policy Implementation covers both mainstream approaches and newly emerging perspectives towards implementation. Placing emphasis on the intersection between politics and implementation, authors outline how policy success depends on practical application as much as it depends on design. Chapters link the policy process to the different branches of government, investigating various forms of policy implementation across international political systems. They dissect the organizational and individual levels of implementation, using examples from various countries as well as multilevel regimes such as the European Union.

Providing an informed overview of the breadth of research on policy implementation, this Handbook is a key resource for academics, researchers, and students of public policy, public administration and management, political science and sociology, and regulation and governance. It is also a crucial resource for policy practitioners and implementing agents.