Changing Relative Attention

Abstract

The theory presented in the previous chapter will be illustrated in this chapter as well as in the next two chapters. These chapters argue that one can distinguish five policy generations since the Second World War. In this chapter, the policy goals as formulated by the subsequent national governments in Europe are central. First, I discuss the terminology. Second, I describe whether the expected change in relative attention can be traced in OECD countries in general. Subsequently I present an in-depth analysis of such changes in one country, the Netherlands. I delve into the contents of the goals as formulated at the beginning of each period, the degree of goal achievement at the end of these periods and the shifts in goals in between different periods.