International Journal of Political Science and Development
 

International Journal of Political Science and Development

Vol. 2(10), pp. 237 –247, November, 2014.  

DOI: 10.14662/IJPSD2014.045

ISSN: 2360-784X

Research Paper

How, in what way(s), and the extent to which party politics impact on Local Government (LG) policy in Jamaica remain largely unexplored. Limited studies done on party politics in Jamaica show that it is often assumed that partisan politics is highly important for explaining public policy outcomes. Conversely, most policy studies have completely ignored party politics as an influential factor on public policy outcomes which consequently overtime has resulted in a rise in the negative politicization of LG policies that continue to worsen the economic and social fabric of the poor. This political impact on LG initiatives has significantly contributed to Jamaica's continued state of underdevelopment, unemployment, increased crime, corruption, and shattered infrastructure. The lack of Central and Local Governments’ continuity, transparency and sporadic accountability with policies, programmes and projects (PPPs) continue to be problematic. It is against this background the researcher conducted an empirical study to analyze the link between party politics and public policy; particularly those PPPs that were established and implemented during selected LG histories in Jamaica when Central and Local Governments were controlled by two different political parties. The collection and analysis of data surrounding various claims were informed by the constructivist grounded theory methodology.

Keywords: Party Politics; Public Policy; Jamaica; Local Government; Elite Theory; Top-Down Model; Power; Ideology; Institutions; Structure; Constructivist Grounded Theory
 

Cite This Article As: Daley G (2014). THE ‘POLITICS’ OF PUBLIC POLICY IN JAMAICA. Inter. J. Polit. Sci. Develop. 2(10): 237-247

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