More specifically, it examines how the governance approaches and the sets of policy tools used to govern have altered with respect to four public policy sectors that represent core responsibilities of the modern OECD state: education, energy, environment and health.

Chapter 1: Introduction: the State and Public Policy after the Neoliberal Wave: Instruments and Governance Dynamics.- Chapter 2: Comparing the Country Contexts.- Chapter 3: The Education Policy Sector.- Chapter 4: The Healthcare Sector.- Chapter 5: The Governance of Energy.- Chapter 6: The Environmental Sector.- Chapter 7: Comparative Analysis.- Chapter 8: The Conclusions: the Changing and Unchanging State.

This book assesses how governance has evolved in six nations – England, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands – between 1970 and 2018. More specifically, it examines how the governance approaches and the sets of policy tools used to govern have altered with respect to four public policy sectors that represent core responsibilities of the modern OECD state: education, energy, environment and health. To structure this analytical approach, the book harnesses sociological institutionalism in the area of ‘policy sequencing’ to trace both the motivations and the consequences of policy-makers’ altering governance approaches and the resulting policy tools. Combining a comparative and international focus, this book will appeal to scholars and students of public policy and governance.Giliberto Capano is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Bologna, Italy.Anthony R. Zito is Professor of European Public Policy at Newcastle University, UK.Federico Toth is Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna, Italy. Jeremy Rayner is Professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Assesses how governance has evolved in six nations over the last five decades Examines how governance approaches have altered with respect to education, energy, environment and health Combines a comparative and international focus