Reflection and debate initiates academically inspired discussions on issues that are on the current policy agenda. |
Zoekresultaat: 71 artikelen
De zoekresultaten worden gefilterd op:Tijdschrift Beleid en Maatschappij x
Reflectie & debat |
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Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 2 2019 |
Auteurs | Miguel Heilbron |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Dossier |
De Europese vakbeweging en de vormgeving van sociaal beleid |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2019 |
Trefwoorden | Social Europe, European Union, Social policy, Trade unions, ETUC |
Auteurs | Drs. Saskia Boumans |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
The European project currently faces not only an economic crisis, but a moral one as well. The economic growth model of social justice combined with market-oriented policies, also referred to as the European social model has lost much of its meaning after ten years of austerity and financial calamities. In 2012 ECB President Draghi says in the Wall Street Journal that the European social model is “gone”, a thing of the past. While only a couple of years later the European Pillar of Social Rights is put in place. What is happening with ‘Social Europe’? And how do trade unions, as a historical motor of social policy in the member states, relate to the European social model, especially since the financial crisis. This article deals with the position of trade unions vis-à-vis European social policy and the European institutions. The European social model, economic governance and the collective bargaining system are discussed as examples of post-crisis European social policy. It will be argued that although the European Commission gives institutional space to social policy and to a role for trade unions, it has always been subordinate to economic integration. And moreover that the recent economic crisis is used at the European level to obtain almost complete control over social policy in the member states. |
Dossier |
De aanpak van belastingontwijking door de EU: gerichte maatregelen zonder structurele verandering. |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2019 |
Trefwoorden | Tax, EU/European Union, Corporate taxation, Tax avoidance, Tax policy |
Auteurs | Indra Römgens |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
According to the outgoing European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, the European Union (EU) has made more progress in tackling tax avoidance and evasion in the last five years than in the twenty years before that. This article argues that although several targeted measures have indeed been adopted, such as automatic exchange of tax rulings and limitations on interest deductions, this has not led to a structural change in EU corporate tax policies, nor in underlying power relations. The article discusses the politics of a number of recent policy developments related to tax avoidance and evasion by transnational corporations. It argues that the adoption of targeted measures, and the simultaneous stalling of more comprehensive approaches – in terms of tax transparency or a common consolidated corporate tax base – can be explained by recent tax controversies, international politics, and the dynamics within and between EU institutions. Particular attention is paid to the role of the European Parliament that is formally limited, but still houses progressive forces that have continuously pushed for a clampdown on tax avoidance. Finally, the article pleads for more transparent EU decision-making, specifically concerning discussions with and within the Council, in order to improve the democratic legitimacy of EU corporate tax policies and processes. |
Artikel |
De opkomst van voedselbeleid: voorbij de tekentafel |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 4 2018 |
Trefwoorden | Food policy, Food system, Agricultural policy, Policy integration, Policy instruments |
Auteurs | Dr. Jeroen Candel |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
To address a range of interconnected food-related challenges, Dutch policymakers have invested in the development of integrated food policy in recent years. This article discusses this development in two parts. The first part contains a detailed description of the main events and lines of thinking that characterized the food policy process. From this description it becomes clear that food policy has been gradually developing towards a separate institutionalized policy domain. In the second part, this development is analysed from a policy integration perspective. This analysis shows that although considerable steps towards strengthened policy integration have been made, the Dutch ‘Food agenda’ does not yet proceed beyond symbolic levels. This particularly shows in the absence of concrete policy goals and in a policy instrument mix that has not been adjusted to strengthen consistency and effectiveness. In addition, the involvement of relevant ministries gradually decreased after the initial stages. The article concludes that the food policy process has arrived at a critical juncture: the next steps of the new government will prove decisive for whether food policy integration intentions will advance beyond the drawing board. Political and administrative leadership are identified as key conditions for such further steps to occur. |
Dossier |
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Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 3 2018 |
Trefwoorden | Housing, Financialization, Private investors, Buy-to-let, Private rent |
Auteurs | Jelke Bosma MSc, Dr. Cody Hochstenbach, Dr. Rodrigo Fernandez e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij. |
Dossier |
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Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 3 2018 |
Trefwoorden | Buy-to-let, House price bubbles, Private rental sector, Housing policy, International trends |
Auteurs | Dr. ir. Maartje Martens |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
The Socialist Party commissioned this academic study into the scale and impact of the recent rise of buy-to-let transactions in Dutch urban housing markets. The study focusses, however, on the rise of private rental housing. This definition of buy-to-let is challenged in this review, as is the impact of the recent rise of buy-to-let on the Dutch owner occupied housing market. |
Artikel |
Slanker maar topzwaar, meer vrouwen maar vergrijsd: het veranderende gezicht van de rijksoverheid 2002-2015 |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2018 |
Trefwoorden | Cutbacks, Government spending, Civil servants, Public service, Open data |
Auteurs | Dr. Dimiter Toshkov, Eduard Schmidt MSc en Prof. dr. Caspar van den Berg |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article analyses the transformations of the Dutch civil service over the last 15 years, during which numerous cutbacks and reorganizations took place. While existing research predominantly focused on changes in the total number of civil servants, we examine how the distribution of civil servants changed in terms of rank, gender and age. We theorize four methods for shrinking the government apparatus, and for each method, we identify the possible consequences for the composition of the central civil service in terms of hierarchical make-up and of age. Our results indicate that the total number of civil servants only slightly decreased, but the decrease affected differentially the various ranks of the civil service. While at the lower ranks the number of civil servants decreased strongly, at the upper ranks the number actually increased slightly. The number of women in the civil service increased, also in the higher echelons. Regarding the age distribution, we found considerable changes, with the modal age shifting upwards with up to ten years. Altogether, the civil service has become slightly smaller, more gender-balanced, and significantly more senior (both in terms of ranks and age). The results of this study show that it is important for researchers and practitioners to look beyond the trends in the total number of civil servants and explore the deeper changes within the civil service. |
Artikel |
Campagneactiviteiten en -financiering van lokale partijen in Nederland |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 3 2017 |
Trefwoorden | electoral campaigns, campaign financing, independent local lists, party subsidies, local elections |
Auteurs | Justin Bergwerff MSc en Dr. Hans Vollaard |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Electoral campaigning and its financing at the local level have been hardly studied in spite of the growing political significance of municipalities in the Netherlands. Local parties have been barely studied either, even though they gained more than 30 percent of the seats in the local elections of 2014. They have done so without any public subsidy, whereas subsidized national parties can and do support their local branches. This article examines which campaign activities local parties used to attract voters, how these activities were funded, and whether local parties perceived subsidies necessary and desirable. A survey among local parties held just after the local elections of 2014, indicates that their campaigns are by and large a traditional, low-cost affair. They are often not labor-intensive nor technology-intensive, despite the electoral effectiveness of micro-targeting and canvassing. Contributions from local councilors constitute the main source of finance. The survey also shows that transparency of campaign financing can count on widespread support among local parties. They also prefer a level playing field between local parties and local branches of national parties by providing both public subsidies or none, which is an important contribution to the discussion on the current legislative proposals on party financing at the local level. |
Artikel |
De flexibele onderneming: een kwestie van competitie én imitatie |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 2 2017 |
Auteurs | Fabian Dekker |
Samenvatting |
In recent decades, the Dutch labour market has become more flexible. Flexible labour contracts enable firms to adjust employment to a changing market environment and to competitive pressures. Almost without exception, academic studies on the drivers behind the use of flexible labour contracts at the company level, are motivated by competitive pressures. However, companies may be susceptible to institutional pressures as well. Based on a survey among more than 650 managers in the Netherlands, we conclude that firms are vulnerable to institutional (mimetic) forces. This finding has several implications for policy-making and labour flexibility research. |
Casus |
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Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2017 |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Gabriël van den Brink |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In this feature authors discuss recent research findings that are of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij. |
Artikel |
Het aantal zelfstandige bestuursorganen in Nederland 1993-2013 |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2017 |
Trefwoorden | Agencies, Organizational demography, Public management reform, Population ecology, Dutch government |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Sandra van Thiel en Jesper Verheij MSc |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In several countries the number of semi-autonomous agencies is under attack. The Dutch government has also presented plans to reduce the number of so-called ZBOs (zelfstandige bestuursorganen). But do public organizations like ZBOs actually die? Using population ecology theory we formulate a number of hypotheses on the survival and reform of ZBOs. These hypotheses are tested using secondary data on the number of ZBOs in The Netherlands in the past two decades. Results show that the absolute number of ZBOs has increased rather than decreased. Only seldom does a ZBO die. But ZBOs do experience many changes during their lifetime, such as mergers. The politicians’ plans seem targeted at improving their overview of all ZBOs. Whether the implementation of the plans will lead to that remains to be seen. Experiences in other countries do not confirm these expectations so far. |
Artikel |
Welvaart gemeten, verdeeld en verduurzaamd |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 4 2016 |
Trefwoorden | Welfare economics, Asymmetrical information, Situational contracting, Political theory, Behaviourism |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Dik Wolfson |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This paper shows how interactive governance can be helpful in dealing with information asymmetries in the design and administration of public policy. It describes the checks and balances of a properly incentivized mechanism design of contextual or situational contracting that reveals information on diversity in demand for public intervention, deals with complexity, creates commitment to the public cause and disciplines uncooperative behavior. The contractual mode, moreover, discloses the actual trade-offs between rivalling criteria of good governance such as individual freedom, efficiency, distributional concerns and sustainability, deepening our insight in who gets – or pays for – what, when, where, how and why, as the key issues of policy analysis. Evidence from early applications is combined with suggestions for rolling out this new mode of relinking public policy, implementation and external control. |
Discussie |
Media en politiek: over simpele vragen en genuanceerde wetenschappelijke antwoorden. |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 3 2016 |
Auteurs | Prof. Dr. Rens Vliegenthart |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Reflection and debate initiates academically inspired discussions on issues that are on the current policy agenda. |
Artikel |
Het verband tussen publiek belang en ontwerp bij het internet der dingen |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2016 |
Trefwoorden | public economics, big data, Privacy, industrial design, agency theory |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Frank Den Butter en Ir. Gijs Den Butter |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
The Internet of Things generates a wealth of data (big data) about personal behaviour, which can be used for marketing purposes. It brings about both benefits and costs in terms of societal welfare. Various forms of government intervention are needed to safeguard the public interests associated with these welfare effects. These public interest relate, on the one hand, to public availability of data and information, to repairing informational asymmetries, and on the other hand to providing personal security and privacy protection. This article discusses, from the perspective of the principal/agent approach to regulation, how the design of applications and systems in the Internet of Things can best be shaped. The example of the smart thermostat Toon® of the Dutch energy provider Eneco shows how an intensive collaboration between designers and software engineers may contribute to both proper data protection and to provide an incentive to save energy. |
Casus |
Vermogensongelijkheid: trends en verklaringen |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2016 |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Nico Wilterdink |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
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Artikel |
Naar een oplossing voor het afwikkelen van massaclaims op de financiële markten: inzichten uit een responsieve evaluatieEen reflectie op het toepassen van de methodiek voor responsieve evaluatie op een controversiële en juridisch complexe kwestie |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 4 2015 |
Trefwoorden | Mass claim disputes, financial markets, collective settlement, responsive evaluation, constructivist inquiry |
Auteurs | Mr. Bonne van Hattum en Dr. Anne Loeber |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
The discussion on how to resolve mass disputes stemming from faulty financial products among banks, insurance companies and other stakeholders in the Netherlands ended in deadlock. While diligent action is considered imperative, parties shy away from discussing options for settling damages suffered by consumers for fear of triggering mass claims themselves. To contribute to a new framework for resolving mass disputes, a responsive evaluation was conducted between 2011 and 2015. In such evaluation, the way stakeholders make sense of the situation serves as an organizing principle in knowledge production. This article discusses the methodical challenges implied in adapting the methodological guidelines for such inquiry to fit the ill-structured, controversial and complex legal issue and its highly politicized context. Because of a careful handling of confidentiality in the inquiry and a focused selection of participants on the basis of their proximity to the issue, the evaluation resulted in insight in options for resolving mass disputes that are supported by various parties. Furthermore, the evaluation itself served, it is argued, as a vehicle to overcome the deadlock by sensitizing stakeholders to the fact that they all aspire similar practical objectives and all acknowledge the need for cooperation on the issue. |
Artikel |
Keuzemogelijkheden binnen en tussen pensioenregelingen: niet voor elk wat wils |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 2 2015 |
Trefwoorden | Tweede pensioenzuil, Solidariteit, Keuzemogelijkheden, Preferenties, economische theorie |
Auteurs | Dr. Lei Delsen |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Surveys show that Dutch people want more options with regard to the own pension. Can freedom of choice be combined with collective organised solidarity within supplementary pension schemes? To answer this question the article discusses the pros and cons of options of workers and employers within and between pension schemes. The theoretical and empirical consequences of choices in the Dutch supplementary pension schemes are reviewed. The neo-classical economic theory, the neo-institutional theory and behavioral economic theory are applied to supplementary pensions. In addition, lessons are learned from the experience in the Netherlands with choices within pension schemes and with choices in other areas. Only a very small minority will use the new options in the supplementary pension schemes. Unlike the neoclassical economic theory, the neo-institutional theory and behavioral economic theory recommend to extend the compulsory supplementary pension to all employed persons. The welfare gain of more choices is questionable. Lifting the mandatory participation will affect the relative success of the Dutch pension system: large numbers of insured workers and relatively cheap and a relatively high pension as a result of this supplementary pension. |
Casus |
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Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 2 2015 |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Bas Ter Weel |
Auteursinformatie |
Discussie |
Drie wensen voor 2015 |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2015 |
Auteurs | Mr. Pauline van der Meer Mohr |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Reflection and Debate initiates academically inspired discussions on issues that are on the current policy agenda. |
Artikel |
De Verblijfsregeling Mensenhandel in de praktijk: over oneigenlijk gebruik en niet-gebruik |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 4 2014 |
Trefwoorden | human trafficking, public policy, crime policy, policy misuse, non-take up |
Auteurs | Dr. Jeanine Klaver en Prof. dr. Joanne van der Leun |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In line with international and national legislation, the Netherlands offers certain services, including a temporary residence permit, to third country nationals who have fallen prey to human traffickers. Over the years, concerns have been often expressed about the perceived misuse of this regulation by foreigners who aim at legalising their stay. Based on interviews and file analysis the present article seeks to provide insight into to what extent it is possible to measure this misuse and the policy implications of the findings. In addition, the authors take into account non-use of the programme. The article confirms existing worries about misuse, provides indicators for misuse, but also concludes that at the level of individual cases practitioners cannot discern misuse from rightful use. At the same time, there are also groups that fall outside the reach of the programme. The article concludes with some policy recommendations on the basis of the findings. |