Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48Recent decades have shown the public’s support for government plummet alongside political leaders’ credibility. This downward spiral calls for an ex- ploration of what has gone wrong. The questions “What is government good at?” and “What is government not good at?” are critical ones – and their an- swers should be the basis for good public policy and public administration. In What Is Government Good At?, Donald Savoie argues that politicians and public servants are good at generating and avoiding blame, playing to a segment of the population to win the next election, embracing and defending the status quo, adding management layers and staff, keeping ministers out of trouble, responding to demands from the prime minister and his office, and managing a complex, prime minister–centred organization. Conversely, they are not as good at defining the broader public interest, providing and recog- nizing evidence-based policy advice, managing human and financial resources with efficiency and frugality, innovating and reforming itself, being account- able to Parliament and to citizens, dealing with non-performers, paying sufficient attention to service delivery, and implementing and evaluating the impact of policies and programs. With wide implications for representative democracy, What Is Government Good At? is a persuasive analysis of an approach to government that has opened the door to those with the resources to influence policy and decision- making while leaving average citizens on the outside looking in. Donald J. Savoie holds the Canada Research Chair in public administration and governance at the Université de Moncton and is the author of numerous books including Whatever Happened to the Music Teacher? How Government Decides and Why. Political legacy is a concept that is often tossed around casually, hastily de- fined by commentators long before a prime minister leaves office. In the case of the polarizing Stephen Harper, clear-eyed analysis of his tenure is hard to come by. The Harper Factor offers a refreshingly balanced look at the Conservative decade under his leadership. What impact did Harper have on the nation’s finances, on law and order, and on immigration? Did he accomplish what he promised to do in areas such as energy and intergovernmental affairs? How did he change the conduct of politics, the workings of the media, and Parliament? A diverse group of con- tributors, including veteran economists David Dodge and Richard Dion, im- migration advocate Senator Ratna Omidvar, Stephen Harper’s former policy director Paul Wilson, award-winning journalists such as Susan Delacourt, and vice-provost of Aboriginal Initiatives at Lakehead University Cynthia Wesley- Esquimaux, make reasoned cases for how Harper succeeded and how he fell short in different policy domains between 2006 and 2015. Stephen Harper’s record is decidedly more nuanced than both his admirers and detractors will concede. The Harper Factor provides an authoritative ref- erence for Canadians on the twenty-second prime minister’s imprint on public policy while in office, and his political legacy for generations to come. Jennifer Ditchburn is the editor-in-chief at Policy Options magazine. Graham Fox is president and chief executive officer for the Institute for Research on Public Policy. 1 0 M Q U P S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S June 2017 978-0-7735-4863-3 $24.95T CDN, $24.95T US, £20.99 paper 6 x 9 382pp 4 tables, 2 diagrams eBook available P O L I T I C A L S T U D I E S • P U B L I C A D M I N I S T R AT I O N S P E C I F I C AT I O N S October 2016 – available 978-0-7735-4870-1 $34.95T CDN, $34.95S US, £29.99 cloth 6 x 9 320pp 10 diagrams eBook available C A N A D I A N P O L I T I C S • P U B L I C P O L I C Y The Harper Factor Assessing a Prime Minister’s Policy Legacy edited by jennifer ditchburn and graham fox A balanced analysis of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s legacy and his impact on Canadian public policy and institutions. n e w i n p a p e r What Is Government Good At? A Canadian Answer donald j. savoie A thorough examination of where government succeeds and where it fails. WINNER: Donner Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Public Policy Writing by Canadians WINNER: New Brunswick Book Award for Non-Fiction