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Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

Central to the evolution of public policy, since all subsequent processes flow from it, is the question of problem identification — or, more broadly, the question of definition. The importance of definition derives not only from the need to address the "right" problem but from the often greater need not to address the "wrong" one, since the subsequent misallocation of resources can alter the nature of the problem itself. More is not always better, whether in reference to federal largesse, nuclear power generating capacity, or the length of the school day. In fact, as the articles in this issue of …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

Over the years, public policy issues have proliferated, and with proliferation has come the inevitable specialization. The result: fragmentation of effort and problems of communication not only between those who make policy and those who implement it, but between practitioners in general and the academic and research disciplines that complement them. Public policy constituencies have created their own languages, but too often the result is a confusion of tongues rather than a profusion of ideas.

The New England Journal of Public Policy is designed to create a profusion of ideas by providing a medium for practitioners, policy analysts, and academics …