Latent target groups—A methodological contribution of social identities to policy design research

Abstract Research on policy design underscores the importance of accurately identifying target groups to effectively design policy measures that change individual behavior, address societal problems, and achieve policy objectives. However, empirical research on the composition and characteristics of target groups is rare and primarily draws on a commonly used typology to highlight the social construction of target groups. Tying in with and adding to this strand of research, this article brings forward the conceptual idea to use a perspective on social identities to shed light on the internal heterogeneity of target groups. It combines this with a methodological call for applying Latent Class Analysis (LCA) in policy design research to identify latent target groups that are based on different social identifications and exhibit different preferences for policy measures. We argue that capturing these latent target groups empirically is relevant to designing policies effectively, as these target groups are driven by different identities; therefore, they behave differently and favor different policies. This has implications for policy design research and the design of policies itself.