Research for Policy – serie

This Open Access book offers a novel view on the benefits of a lasting variation between the member states in the EU. In order to bring together thirty very different European states and their citizens, the EU will have to offer more scope for variation.

This Open Access book offers a novel view on the benefits of a lasting variation between the member states in the EU. In order to bring together thirty very different European states and their citizens, the EU will have to offer more scope for variation.

This open access book follows the idea that security policy must be based on strategic analysis. What should a future-proof security policy that plots the course of defence policy entail? This book answers these questions and offers a comprehensive framework addressing among other things human security, national security and flow security.

This open access book follows the idea that security policy must be based on strategic analysis. What should a future-proof security policy that plots the course of defence policy entail? This book answers these questions and offers a comprehensive framework addressing among other things human security, national security and flow security.

This Open Access book from the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy explains how money creation and banking works, describes the main problems of the current monetary and financial system and discusses several reform options.

This Open Access book from the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy explains how money creation and banking works, describes the main problems of the current monetary and financial system and discusses several reform options.

This open access book offers an analysis of why preparations for digital disruption should become a stated goal of security policy and policies that aim to safeguard the continuity of critical infrastructure.

This Open Access book provides a thorough analysis of the quality of work in the Netherlands, and suggests policy proposals to promote and facilitate good work for more people.

This Open Access book provides a thorough analysis of the quality of work in the Netherlands, and suggests policy proposals to promote and facilitate good work for more people.

This open access book shows policymakers which initiatives work when responding to the increasing diversity in cities, towns and neighborhood's. It brings together a remarkable mixture of policy areas that touch upon issues of diversity, immigration policy, education, and labour policy.

This open access book shows policymakers which initiatives work when responding to the increasing diversity in cities, towns and neighborhood's. It brings together a remarkable mixture of policy areas that touch upon issues of diversity, immigration policy, education, and labour policy.

By clarifying what AI is (demystification), creating a functional ecosystem (contextualisation), involving diverse stakeholders (engagement), developing directive frameworks (regulation) and engaging internationally (positioning), societies can meaningfully influence how AI settles.

By clarifying what AI is (demystification), creating a functional ecosystem (contextualisation), involving diverse stakeholders (engagement), developing directive frameworks (regulation) and engaging internationally (positioning), societies can meaningfully influence how AI settles.

While this work focuses on the Netherlands, similar processes are at play across the developed economies, making it broadly relevant to policy makers, health care professionals and health care (policy) researchers grappling with the questions surrounding the sustainability of public health care.

This open access book analyzes how sound choices can be made in Dutch health care policies, and shows why they are necessary, urgent, and even inevitable. Analyzing the current functioning and funding of the Dutch health care system, this book shows how three dimensions of sustainability – financial, staffing and societal – are under increasing pressure. This study explores priority setting in health care and calls for well-informed, clear and sometimes uncompromising choices in the allocation of means and personnel. This is necessary in order to maintain accessible and high-quality care for all, and to improve public health.  Making balanced choices in health care is of particular importance to vulnerable groups whose voices may not be heard as readily or effectively in the public debate, and whose interests are more easily crowded out. Prioritizing in the domain of public health care is first and foremost a political responsibility, but also one for health care providers across the system and ultimately also for citizens. While this work focuses on the Netherlands, similar processes are at play across the developed economies, making it broadly relevant to policy makers, health care professionals and health care (policy) researchers grappling with the questions surrounding the sustainability of public health care.

This open access book is looking into ways to achieve just climate policy within a country. The authors of this monograph share a unique, timely and original vision: continuous support for climate policy is more likely to emerge when citizens find that the distribution of the bill for climate costs is fair.

This open access book is looking into ways to achieve just climate policy within a country. The authors of this monograph share a unique, timely and original vision: continuous support for climate policy is more likely to emerge when citizens find that the distribution of the bill for climate costs is fair. But what is a fair distribution of climate costs? This is an important question because financial costs of mitigation (reducing greenhouse gases), adaptation (adapting to climate change) and damage (compensating or compensating after weather extremes) increase significantly in the coming decades. Drawing on philosophy and ethics, the authors propose ten principles for achieving just distributions of domestic climate costs. Examples of such principles are individual responsibility, the polluter pays, greatest utility and capacity to pay. Yet what a fair distribution is, depends on, for example, political preferences and the policy issue at hand. Empirical research on designing climate policies, however, shows that distributive principles are not part of the political, policy, and public discussions. The authors therefore argue that explicit attention to principles of just distribution at the start of a policy process contributes to support for climate policy. This book provides tools to professionals and students to achieve justice in climate policy.

While this work focuses on the Netherlands, it tackles questions that countries face worldwide on how to minimise harmful business conduct and maximise good business solutions. This makes the book broadly relevant to policy makers, business leaders and researchers grappling with the impact of business on society today.

This is an Open access Book. In this report, the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) examines how the changing media system influences Dutch democracy. The ability of the media to fulfil their democratic functions is under threat. Analyses show that there is more information than ever, information that is available anywhere, anytime. In this context of abundant supply, journalistic content is squeezed to the margins.  Tech- and platform companies attract the majority of all digital advertisement revenues, which confronts national media with financial challenges. Local journalism is in dire straits. The public debate has become broader and more dynamic, but also more unsafe as journalists, scientists, and political actors are regularly confronted with online intimidation and harassment.The WRR recommends new media policies and advises the government (1) to actively and urgently implement the new EU rules for tech and platforms companies; (2) to ensure that content of public interest remains accessible and visible in the online domain; (3) to strengthen local journalism; and (4) to encourage users – including key players such as government and politicians – to acknowledge their own media responsibility in the new media system and operate in line with it.

This is an Open Access book which explores the physical and societal consequences of climate events such as heatwaves, drought, heavy rainfall and rising sea levels, and how they can lead to social disruption. The impact of climate events extends beyond damage and casualties. Climate disruption may result in people losing trust in the government and each other, in communities falling apart, as well as in increasing poverty.  Conversely, the social context partly determines how well people are able to cope with climate events. Those with a strong network or sufficient resources are generally less likely to encounter severe problems and more likely to recover from such disruptions. The book argues that Dutch climate adaptation policy currently pays too little attention to these social factors. The focus of Dutch policies and practices is on physical protection measures. Although these are essential, they are not sufficient. The authors argue that climate resilience in the Netherlands could improve if the government also invests in the country’s social infrastructure, which enables people to look out for each other, increases mutual trust, and offers perspectives for action.

This Open Access book argues for a more prominent position on political and policy agendas for European population ageing.  In the coming two decades, ageing populations will put significant pressure on pension systems, budgets, and economies in the European Union. Increasingly close integration between EU member states through political ties, trade and a common currency, means ageing in one country will have a direct impact on other member states. The book sketches four potential risks with cross-border implications: economic stagnation within the EU, high national debts and divergence, upward pressure on inflation, and socio-political tension within and between member states. In the report European Aging in Focus. Dealing with Pension and Budgetary Risks, the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) outlines three policy directions to anticipate and mitigate these risks: anticipate an ageing European Union and prepare society for it; steer at the EU level towards ageing-resilient socio-economic and pension policies; and protect at the national level against potential negative consequences of European ageing. While this book has a specific focus on the position of the Netherlands within an ageing Europe, it is of interest to policy makers and researchers across Europe interested in population ageing, associated pension and budgetary risks, and particularly in potential effects of these risks across national borders.

This open access book sets out to explain the reasons for the gap between “knowing” and “doing” in view of self-reliance, which is more and more often expected of citizens.