Reflections on Government Success and Failure: Then and Now

Abstract This discussion surveys changes in the world that might impact the ability to solve policy problems as outlined initially in Glazer and Rothenberg (2001. Why Government Succeeds and Why It Fails . Harvard University Press). While the basic premises of the original analysis hold, interrelated political and economic changes have occurred in ways that would produce a far different monograph than was authored roughly a quarter-century ago. Politically, four changes are highlighted: (1) growth in polarization; (2) rise of private politics; (3) heightened globalization; and (4) media diversification. Economically, three notable changes are discussed involving: (1) the changing nature of industrial organization; (2) the redesign of supply and value chains; and (3) the dramatic rise of artificial intelligence. While no universal statement can be offered, changes in these features, both individually and interactively, provide additional opportunities and new obstacles for policy successes to be realized and suggest areas for further scholarly investigation.