9. Conclusion: A call for increased and improved analysis of
policy tools and policy mixes
Policy instruments are a highly promising topic of research in public
policy, not only for those interested in policy design but for those
interesting in policy-making and policy processes as a whole.
There is room for substantial improvement in our knowledge of policies
when focusing on policy instruments. There are still many lacunas and
gaps that need to be filled and in this paper, we have focussed on those
issues we consider crucial in moving policy instrument research forward.
As we have shown, there is much we already know, but much that remains
to be studied, some of which needs more empirical research while other
topics require more theoretical clarity and scholarly agreement.
According to the situation we have presented, policy instruments
research has much to offer for improving our understanding on how
policies develop and could be better designed. Once this work has been
done this approach to studying and understanding public policy-making
will be placed on much firmer ground and generate many insights of use
to both scholars and practitioners in the field.