Generations of Policy Instruments

Abstract

As argued in the previous chapter, the goals set in the public sector change periodically. This is understandable since it is expected, according to the theory, that one cannot give all societal problems maximum attention at the same time and therefore must neglect some problems and prioritize others. The central hypothesis is that the neglect of the same aspects in the policy-making process is evidenced simultaneously in different policy areas, and that it is the urgency of problems that arises out of this neglect that induces more fundamental changes characterizing successive policy generations.