Book excerpt: 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.Focussing 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 decision-making process. Exercises and case studies allow readers to apply lessons learned to real situations.