Institutions need to shed time warp mindset
These systemically vital entities, by using the same responses, are getting left behind Special to Gulf News
and other disciplines. Then there are the persistent slippages in skill acquisition programmes.
As a result, there has been a notable erosion of trust in the effectiveness of public institutions. And the damage to their credibility risks further undermining their effectiveness and perpetuating a vicious circle set in motion by their failure to generate high and inclusive growth.
Our understanding of how public institutions should adapt and reform is still evolving. As such, a complete solution is yet to emerge. But a few imperatives are already clear.
Limit harm, including by resisting the natural inclination to promulgate increasingly ineffective, albeit established approaches, entities, and mindsets.
Be much more open to the lessons that can be learnt from external disrupters, and be willing to revisit the underpinnings of processes and entire business models.
Enhance public-private interactions, not just for direct content, but also as a way to broaden the scope for greater cross-fertilisation of best practices.
Improve methods of public communications, lest continued information failures, ageing channels, and the cumulative erosion of trust compound operational shortcomings.
Up to now, too many inherently influential institutions have lagged in identifying and implementing reforms. This has amplified the disappointment, alienation, and marginalisation felt by segments of the population vis-a-vis governments that do not hear or respond to a deeply entrenched fear of economic insecurity.
It is a phenomenon that has been many years in the making, that cannot be eliminated overnight, and that increasingly fuels social and political disruptions.
Institutions matter, especially in a period of economic, political, and social fluidity. The longer it takes to restore confidence in key public and, to a lesser extent, private institutions, the greater the impediments to our well-being and that of our children.
The writer, the Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, is the author of “The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse”.