ABSTRACT
Policy tools, or the instruments or techniques used by government in order to implement policy goals, have a special place in considerations and studies of policy design. This chapter explains the main elements of a theoretical and methodological taxonomy which can help clarify the different types of policy portfolios which are currently often ignored or improperly juxtaposed in the literature on the subject. This was done in an effort to provide the basis not only for better designs but also for improved considerations of the formulation processes and actors involved in such complex policy-making efforts. The chapter examines that complex policy mixes inherently involve interactions between the different instruments of which they are composed, in the form of either conflicts or synergies. These can be defined as horizontal, between different types of instruments, policies or governments, or vertical, between different levels of goals, policies and government.
