Boemerangbeleid
Authors:   , Rodriguez Rivas-Stellaard Sharon Debby 
Published: February 2023

Summary

The dissertation Boomerang policy: On persistent tragedy in appropriate education and
youth care policy, reports the findings of a study regarding the nature and causes of
persistent policy failures in the aforementioned policy areas. The dissertation starts
with the observation that policy evaluations tend to focus on pressing issues at
hand in the here and now. This might be problematic for issues that are present
during (much) longer periods of time, risking the nature and causes of these issues
to be insufficiently understood, with potential consequences for subsequent policies.
Given the recurring nature of the issues in both policy fields, the author
stresses the importance of a long-term analysis, which is constructed using institutional
theory (Chapter 1).

Persistent policy failure is clarified by comparing the policy intentions of four decades
of reform policies with their outcomes as recorded in formal policy evaluations.
This leads to the main research question: are there deeper and more fundamental
causes underlying the pattern of ineffective reform policies? This research question presents
methodological challenges, as the classic issue of few cases, many variables,
arises. A method focusing on hypothesis testing is commonly known to be the
answer to this challenge. Because this study aims to unravel long-term processes,
the theoretical propositions are portrait as historical narratives. Internal validity is
strengthened by describing and comparing multiple competing historical narratives
to explain policy failure (Chapter 2).

Based on competing perspectives within institutional theory, as well as a comprehensive
field study, four historical narratives have been constructed. They
hypothesize the causes of persistent policy failure from a) a logic of path dependence,
b) a logic of appropriateness, c) a logic of calculation, and d) a logic of interference
(Chapter 3).

The logic of path dependence, and the logic of appropriateness, emphasize that the
initial institutional design of a policy field, can have serious implications for the
success rate of reform policies. Therefore, Chapter 4 briefly outlines a historical
background starting at the twentieth century until the beginning of the 1980s,
which should make it possible to discover the potential impact of these logics.
This is followed by an empirical reconstruction of the policy reforms that have
taken place over the past forty years (mid-1980s through the present). After each
policy episode, the historical narratives are played out against each other to
explain the impact of the policy. This shows that the explanations are not mutually
exclusive, but that the combination of perspectives leads to a rich(er) understanding
of complex policy processes. Chapter 5 discusses the developments in the field
of education, Chapter 6 those in youth care.

The analysis leads to the following conclusion: repeatedly, new initiatives for policy
reform appear to be driven primarily by the unintended consequences of the
preceding reform. Policy operates like a boomerang. Thinking and action patterns
responsible for the origin of the policy problems, are repeated to fix those problems.
As a result, both policy fields are constantly evolving, while the underlying
social misery remains constant. The conclusion entails a reflection on the scientific
and socio-political significance of this insight, and a plea for ‘chronological policy
awareness’ addressed to administrators, policy makers and politicians (Chapter 7).