an eye to reducing their number to a small set of alternative courses of action that can be laid out for decision-makers at the next stage of the policy process. Exactly which instruments will be selected, of course, depends on the nature of the problem context, who is conducting the analysis, how it is conducted, and what ideas about appropriate and possible government actions the analysts bring to the discussion. Policy formulation is thus a complex matter featuring a wide range of possible choices and mixes of policy instruments into potential policy options or alternatives.