PROBLEM DEFINITION, AGENDA ACCESS, AND POLICY CHOICE

Problem definition is fundamental to public policymaking, intertwined as it is with the political process throughout the activities of issue initiation, program design,and legislative enactment. Yet problem def inition remains an immature analytic construct, productive of only a m odest amount of scholarship that is lacking a coherent shared framewor k. Seeking to address this deficiency, this article systematically exa mines the origins, elements, and consequences of problem definition, r elating this discussion to previous literature in the area, current po licymaking developments, and future research needs.