The Accessibility of Target Populations

Until the mid of the eighties environmental policies in the Netherlands were characterized by a separate approach to each environmental sector, a very low participation of policy target populations in the policy making process, optimistic and therefore ambitious goals, and direct regulations (permitting) as a dominant policy instrument. These policy characteristics seem to be related to a lack of orientation of policy makers on policy target populations (a weak commitment) and on a lack of structured contacts between both (a weak interrelatedness). In more theoretical sense we might expect that in a combination of weak interrelatedness and weak commitment there is a tendency among policy makers to hardly resist ambitious goals and to force behavioral changes by means of a regulatory stick. On the other hand, a combination of strong commitment and strong interrelatedness probably will lead to resistance of policy makers to goals which require ambitious behavioral changes of the target group. This is more the case for a target group serving policy making institution, for example a ministry of agriculture which has to incorporate environmental policies. In such a situation a preference is expected for instruments that support the target group by stimulating innovations and by creating conditions which will help the target group to maintain its economic strength (Bressers and Kuks, 1992).