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Research for Policy Anne-Greet Keizer Will Tiemeijer Mark Bovens Why Knowing What To Do Is Not Enough A Realistic Perspective on Self-Reliance Research for Policy Studies by the Netherlands Council for Government Policy Series Editors J. E. J. (Corien) Prins, WRR, Scientific Council for Government Policy, The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands F. W. A. (Frans) Brom, WRR, Scientific Council for Government Policy, The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) is an independent strategic advisory body for government policy in the Netherlands. It advises the Dutch government and Parliament on long-term strategic issues that are of great importance for society. The WRR provides science-based advice aimed at: opening up new perspectives and directions, changing problem definitions, setting new policy goals, investigating new resources for problem-solving and enriching the public debate. The studies of the WRR do not focus on one particular policy area, but on cross-cutting issues that affect future policymaking in multiple domains. A long-term perspective complements the day-to-day policymaking, which often concentrates on issues that dominate today’s policy agenda. The WRR consists of a Council and an academic staff who work closely together in multidisciplinary project teams. Council members are appointed by the King, and hold academic chairs at universities, currently in fields as diverse as economics, sociology, law, public administration and governance, health and water manage- ment. The WRR determines its own work programme, as well as the content of its publications. All its work is externally reviewed before publication. The Research for Policy Series In this series, we publish internationally relevant studies of the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy. Many of the cross-cutting issues that affect Dutch policymaking, also challenge other Western countries or international bodies. By publishing these studies in this international open access scientific series, we hope that our analyses and insights can contribute to the policy debate in other countries. About the Editors Corien Prins is Chair of the WRR and Professor of Law and Information Technology at Tilburg Law School (Tilburg University). Frans Brom is Council secretary and director of the WRR office. He also is Professor of Normativity of Scientific Policy Advice at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/16390 Anne-Greet Keizer • Will Tiemeijer • Mark Bovens Why Knowing What To Do Is Not Enough A Realistic Perspective on Self-Reliance Anne-Greet Keizer Will Tiemeijer Netherlands Scientific Council Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy for Government Policy The Hague, Zuid-Holland The Hague, Zuid-Holland The Netherlands The Netherlands Mark Bovens Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy The Hague, Zuid-Holland The Netherlands ISSN 2662-3684 ISSN 2662-3692 (electronic) Research for Policy ISBN 978-94-024-1724-1 ISBN 978-94-024-1725-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1725-8 © The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) 2019. This book is an open access publication. 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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publi- cation does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature B.V. The registered company address is: Van Godewijckstraat 30, 3311 GX Dordrecht, The Netherlands Preface This book is a translation and adaption of the Dutch report ‘Weten is nog geen doen’, published by the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) in 2017. The report was presented to the State Secretary of Security and Justice, Klaas Dijkhof, on 24 April 2017. In it, the WRR recommends the Dutch government to take a realistic approach on people’s mental capacities when designing rules and institutions. On 22 January 2018, the government gave its formal response in a Memorandum to Parliament, in which it embraced a more realistic approach and announced that new policies will be subjected to a ‘capacity to act test’. More information is available on the WRR website: https://english.wrr. nl/topics/self-reliance. This publication was written by Anne-Greet Keizer, Will Tiemeijer and Mark Bovens. Together they formed a project group, chaired by member of the Council Mark Bovens and coordinated by Anne-Greet Keizer. The group was assisted by interns Gijs Custers, Rodinde Pauw, Rosalie Joosten, Vivian van Wingerden, Emma Hartholt and Maxime Hensels. The original Dutch publication has been adapted for an international audience, but not updated. This book is the product of an extensive process of consultation and analysis. In addition to studying the academic literature, we conducted more than 90 interviews with experts, policymakers and stakeholders. We are very grateful for their time and effort. Their names are listed at the end of the book. Special thanks go the experts who were prepared to read and comment at length on an earlier version of this book. The theoretical chapters were reviewed by Prof. Dr. Denise de Ridder and Prof. Dr. Jaap Denissen. In the final phase, part of the publications was discussed with Prof. Dr. Kees van den Bos, Prof. Dr. Wilco van Dijk, Prof. Dr. Michiel Scheltema and Mr. Reinier van Zutphen. The Hague, The Netherlands Anne-Greet Keizer Will Tiemeijer Mark Bovens v Contents 1 The Importance of Mental Capacities for Self-reliance ........... 1 1.1 A Realistic Perspective on Self-reliance .................... 1 1.2 Knowledge Alone Is Not Sufficient ....................... 3 1.3 The Growing Importance of Mental Capacities ............... 7 1.4 Structure of This Book ................................ 9 2 Self-reliance in Everyday Life .............................. 13 2.1 The Daily Challenge of Self-reliance ...................... 13 2.2 Health ............................................ 14 2.2.1 More Freedom of Choice and More Personal Responsibility ................................. 14 2.2.2 Health Challenges: Live Healthily and Be an Active Patient ...................................... 16 2.3 Personal Finance .................................... 22 2.3.1 More People with Problem Debt .................... 22 2.3.2 Financial Challenges: Display Healthy Financial Behaviour and Get Out of Debt .................... 25 2.4 Labour Market ...................................... 29 2.4.1 Flexible Work and Individual Responsibility ........... 29 2.4.2 Labour Market Challenges: Be Employable and Find and Keep Work ................................ 33 2.5 Conclusion: The Bar Is Set High ......................... 35 3 Determinants of Capacity to Act ........................... 43 3.1 Non-cognitive Determinants: Personality Traits .............. 44 3.1.1 Personality Models ............................. 44 3.1.2 Choosing Between Approach and Avoidance Temperament and Self-control ..................... 47 vii viii Contents 3.2 Non-cognitive Determinants: Beliefs ...................... 49 3.3 Relationship Between Characteristics and Mental Capacities .... 51 3.4 Conclusion: Different Prospects of Self-reliance ............. 55 4 Self-reliance and Situational Influences ...................... 63 4.1 The Influence of Acute Stress .......................... 64 4.2 Mental Fatigue ..................................... 68 4.3 The Psychological Effects of Poverty ..................... 76 4.4 Conclusion: Stress and Mental Exertion Have an Adverse Impact on Self-reliance ..................................... 77 5 Training and Intervention ................................ 83 5.1 Better Self-control ................................... 83 5.1.1 Self-control Training ............................ 84 5.1.2 Using Mental Techniques to Circumvent Self-control .... 87 5.1.3 No Unrealistic Expectations ....................... 89 5.2 Training in Domain-Specific Skills ....................... 89 5.2.1 Training in Health Skills ......................... 90 5.2.2 Training Focusing on Healthy