Here are a few links that have been sent to me re: policy relevance since the reps thread, there are some both ways
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11624
http://www.prisonplanet.com/how-government-cash-created-the-climategate-scandal.html
http://personal.inet.fi/tiede/markku.sotarauta/opetus/markussen.pdf
http://www.iheid.ch/webdav/site/political_science/shared/political_science/3452/walt.pdf