The Study of Morality Policy : Analytical Implications from a Public Policy Perspective

Abstract

Morality policies generally refer to issues in which political conflicts are shaped by debates over first principle; i.e., value conflicts are more important than instrumental considerations of policy design. Yet there is still a remarkable lack of scholarly attention on morality policies, in particular with regard to general implications for the study of public policy. To stimulate further research in this area, the article discusses different concepts of morality policy and suggests a distinction between different morality policy types. Moreover, distinctive features of morality policy content and effects are discussed. The article concludes with sketching out promising areas of future research in this field of inquiry.