Public administration and the field of public policy studies in the USA and Brazil

Abstract

This paper discusses the presence of public policy as a subject of the public administration discipline in Brazil and the USA. The US experience is included due not only to the role the USA played in founding the discipline, but also to the influence it exerted on the establishment of the field of public policy studies in Brazil. Emphasis is given to turning points within public administration discipline, which resulted in the inclusion of public policy as its subject. It also discusses the impact of changes in the political regime on the Brazilian development of the field of public policy.