In a recent contribution to the Dutch economics journal ESB, Coen van de Kraats, a postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus School of Economics, argues that the decentralised approach to tackling inequality of opportunities entails significant risks.
Although an increasing number of municipalities are including equality of opportunity on their coalition agendas, Van de Kraats notes that there is still very limited insight into what policies are actually implemented at the local level and how effective they are.
His analysis shows that municipalities where children face relatively poorer prospects are more likely to prioritise equality of opportunities. While this is encouraging, it is no guarantee of success. Differences in budgets, expertise and implementation capacity between municipalities mean that support for children can vary widely. As a result, there is a real risk that inequality of opportunities may actually increase, simply because the help children receive depends on the municipality in which they grow up.
Van de Kraats stresses that without better oversight of measures, spending and outcomes, the current decentralised course risks remaining little more than well-intentioned policy rhetoric. According to him, a more structured and evidence-based approach is needed to genuinely promote equal opportunities.
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Read here the ESB article (in Dutch).
For more information, please contact Ronald de Groot, Media & Public Relations Officer at Erasmus School of Economics: rdegroot@ese.eur.nl, mobile: +316 53 641 846.
