have any of you felt left behind this
year I mean just think about it
have any of you been left behind well if
you have this has been your year I mean
this has really been your year because
if you just look at the American
elections 63 million people voted for
Donald Trump now that’s a whole lot of
people a huge amount of people in Donald
Trump’s words and we are told they voted
so because they felt left behind that’s
a clear vote of just enchantment with
the American system with the American
democracy now look let’s look at the
brexit vote in the UK the vote that was
all about
UK leaving the EU 17.5 million people
voted for brexit and they also were
disenchanted with a system that’s a
clear vote of kind of a feeling of being
left behind now I ask you I mean is that
the end of what we’re seeing with people
being left behind well who knows I mean
we have the March elections in the
Netherlands coming in front of us with
GERD welders from the freedom party
who’s a clear anti-politics person we
have marine lepen in April standing for
elections in France with her at least
some polls are telling us going up so
it’s still left to sea but indeed I mean
this year has been a very interesting
year and a lot of us have come to ask
well is this the sign of American
democracy or peein democracies or
Western democracies failing us and
indeed that’s a big question and the
question is well how how could we
measure that what is the real indicator
of if our governance and governmental
systems are failing and one way to
measure government in general the fixity
of government how well government is
doing is how much is government spending
on us how much is public public money
going out of the
into making our lives better and indeed
if we look at the OECD data from the
recent two decades then we see that
public spending has definitely gone up I
mean if you look at the u.s. from 38
from 37 percent to thirty eight point
seven percent of the general GDP it’s
public spending if you look at
financially rid in Spain then you see
going up from 43 to forty-seven percent
of GDP so indeed public spending has
gone up but the big question has that
spending actually reached its goal is it
getting to us the people and indeed it
hasn’t in many areas and we should start
looking probably at the areas and the
first area I’d like to look at with you
is Community Housing an amenities and
when we look at housing and humanities
we see a decline of 0.7% in GDP
allocations to those very important
purposes and then if we look at
education for example what do we see we
see yet again 0.7 percent reduction in
GDP allocations for education so
actually public spending in education
has fallen and in some countries were
amazed to learn that tuition levels for
example for BA a bachelor’s degree to
retire Tory education has risen and even
significantly if you look at the UK for
example setting its first tuition fees
in 1998 well until 2012 almost risen by
tenfold
so reached the almost 9,000 pound mark
in 2012 and that caused quite severe
riots in the UK and a lot of students
being unhappy about that if we look at
public spending on health well what do
we see there is does it look better well
in in health in the last two decades in
OECD countries meaning developing
countries and did we’ve seen a
substantial augmentation in government
spending on health we’re getting older
people are living longer but does that
mean that money that money is really
getting to us are we feeling the
improvement in our health well the point
is here that although public spending
has risen private spending has risen
even faster so it means that actually
we’re taking out more dollars from our
pockets to put into our health so for
example if you look at the UK again
which has the oldest public health
system in the world then you see that
within those two decades private
spending on health has risen by 70% 70%
that’s a whole lot of pounds
so that’s probably I mean why people are
sensing that the benefits are not really
reaching directly at them and then
what’s happening to public trust I mean
public trust is in government is a
really important factor because
government policies government
regulations depend on our trust and we
need Trust in order for people to comply
with regulations in order for people to
comply with government policies in order
for people to pay taxes and what we’ve
seen is a lot of interesting indicators
that have shown that consistently trusts
in government is deteriorating so one of
those indicators is the Pew Research
Center data for 2016 which actually
tried to look at public trust along
since the 60s so if you look from
Kennedy administration’s Johnson
administration’s in the sixth 60s we had
about 70 percent trust of people in
government I mean 70% of people trusted
in their administration but then if you
look at Barack Obama’s administration
his last year in 2016
Trust has plummeted 20% only of people
in the u.s. actually trusted government
so that’s not a whole lot of people and
then you could look at something like
the Edelman Trust Barometer the
barometer has been surveying trust
levels
in 28 countries since 2012 and that
Trust Barometer when it was published in
2017 actually revealed to us that 20 out
of 28 of those countries people there
lacked trust in government so that’s
quite a blow to governments in those
countries and then if you look at a
Gallup poll from 2015 about trust in
osed countries only 40% on average
public of the public in those countries
trust government so Trust is indeed
deteriorating but in the deteriorating
because government has failed us is
government in such a miserable state
indeed so how to measure what has been
achieved by government well first of all
our changing societies are increasingly
global societies interconnected
societies they create all of those kind
of complex and sticky problems that are
really difficult to solve so that’s
probably one of the reasons potentially
one of the reasons why some of us feel
that it’s so difficult to just take a
problem of transportation and Tel Aviv
in Hong Kong or London those are really
complex problems that you need a lot of
different solutions put together in
order to solve those problems
another issue that always comes up is well in this modern society I mean
well in this modern society I mean bureaucracy needs so much knowledge so
bureaucracy needs so much knowledge so much know-how and capacity and doesn’t
much know-how and capacity and doesn’t always have that capacity right so I
always have that capacity right so I mean that’s that’s been another problem
mean that’s that’s been another problem that we’re seeing and well we have
that we’re seeing and well we have technologies most of us just hold it in
technologies most of us just hold it in our hand most of the day right so
our hand most of the day right so technology and communications is so
technology and communications is so widespread but still if you look at
widespread but still if you look at infrastructure for example how far has
infrastructure for example how far has technology actually infiltrated into in
technology actually infiltrated into in foster infrastructure or just
foster infrastructure or just public bureaucracies in general not that
public bureaucracies in general not that quickly has it so in corporations let’s
quickly has it so in corporations let’s look at corporations we’ve learned and
look at corporations we’ve learned and we know that corporations are very
we know that corporations are very central to our society is very central
central to our society is very central in our economies but it’s interesting to
in our economies but it’s interesting to learn how strong corporations have
learn how strong corporations have become in the last two three decades and
become in the last two three decades and indeed from an index just published last
indeed from an index just published last year by T&I 37 out of a hundred of the
year by T&I 37 out of a hundred of the world’s largest economies or
world’s largest economies or corporations so if you look at
corporations so if you look at corporations like BP like Exxon like
corporations like BP like Exxon like Volkswagen all of their revenues are
Volkswagen all of their revenues are larger than the GDP of many developed
larger than the GDP of many developed countries like Hungary like Finland like
countries like Hungary like Finland like Greece or Portugal so you have these
Greece or Portugal so you have these huge corporations and the corporations
huge corporations and the corporations well the stronger they get they have
well the stronger they get they have their interests and obviously with those
their interests and obviously with those interests at hand they capture a lot of
interests at hand they capture a lot of politicians they kind of beg their
politicians they kind of beg their interests come into the door and that
interests come into the door and that capture causes corruption obviously and
capture causes corruption obviously and that’s another reason for our failing
that’s another reason for our failing democracies but probably the most
democracies but probably the most serious problem we have at hand is the
serious problem we have at hand is the fact that we’ve lost interest in the
fact that we’ve lost interest in the problem so so many of us just don’t
problem so so many of us just don’t really care anymore about what happens
really care anymore about what happens in government we just you know we’ll
in government we just you know we’ll leave it to the politicians to deal with
leave it to the politicians to deal with that and that’s a serious problem so how
that and that’s a serious problem so how how can we measure that can we measure
how can we measure that can we measure interest in government well one way to
interest in government well one way to measure interest in government is voter
measure interest in government is voter turnout and if you look at voter turnout
turnout and if you look at voter turnout in the past three decades
in the past three decades then voter turnout on average insert in
then voter turnout on average insert in many countries has consistently gone
many countries has consistently gone down now it’s difficult to monitor
down now it’s difficult to monitor because voter turnout fluctuates between
because voter turnout fluctuates between election cycles between years but in
election cycles between years but in general there is this trend of decline
general there is this trend of decline motor turnout and that’s a definite
motor turnout and that’s a definite indicator of the fact that we are
indicator of the fact that we are showing less interest in our politics
showing less interest in our politics now the big question I mean seriously
now the big question I mean seriously when you think about it the
when you think about it the big question is what can be done right
big question is what can be done right so what can we do to make the future of
so what can we do to make the future of government look a bit different well I
government look a bit different well I would suggest just four simple steps
would suggest just four simple steps very easy so first one is let’s get more
very easy so first one is let’s get more people involved right if our problems is
people involved right if our problems is the disinterest in government we have to
the disinterest in government we have to get more people involved in interesting
get more people involved in interesting way in interesting ways in the act of
way in interesting ways in the act of government so take for example
government so take for example participatory budgeting have any of you
participatory budgeting have any of you heard of that well that happens to be
heard of that well that happens to be just the thing
just the thing participatory budgeting has been
participatory budgeting has been practiced in palaces like Porto Alegre
practiced in palaces like Porto Alegre Brazil I mean and if you can can happen
Brazil I mean and if you can can happen there it can probably happen elsewhere
there it can probably happen elsewhere meaning that people take part in the way
meaning that people take part in the way that local government or or regional
that local government or or regional government or even central government
government or even central government decide to allocate funding to different
decide to allocate funding to different areas to different projects and in that
areas to different projects and in that way they get involved and indeed when
way they get involved and indeed when research has tried to follow that
research has tried to follow that through and see what how that impacts
through and see what how that impacts people’s trust in government we we
people’s trust in government we we theorize of trust when people are
theorize of trust when people are actually participating in allocating the
actually participating in allocating the funding now another way could be
funding now another way could be wiki-like projects where we write laws
wiki-like projects where we write laws together would that be a great idea and
together would that be a great idea and that has happened in some cases and also
that has happened in some cases and also just getting more network of people both
just getting more network of people both laymen and experts to be involved in
laymen and experts to be involved in policymaking
policymaking so that can definitely happen the second
so that can definitely happen the second step the second step is let’s put
step the second step is let’s put technology to the test so we hear about
technology to the test so we hear about technology so much but technology in
technology so much but technology in government is less pervasive but some
government is less pervasive but some places have really made leaps and bounds
places have really made leaps and bounds and one place I want to give you as an
and one place I want to give you as an example is Patna India now that wouldn’t
example is Patna India now that wouldn’t seem like a likely place petha is
seem like a likely place petha is considered among the dirtiest metropolis
considered among the dirtiest metropolis in India but it’s developed an app that
in India but it’s developed an app that allows citizens to notify the local
allows citizens to notify the local government of any nuisances or problems
government of any nuisances or problems or violations of different regulations
or violations of different regulations like littering for example and people in
like littering for example and people in Patna have done that
Patna have done that and then the littering squads of
and then the littering squads of government or the anti litter squads of
government or the anti litter squads of government go in and try to take care of
government go in and try to take care of the problem and all of that is monitored
the problem and all of that is monitored through the app and people then get
through the app and people then get notified about how that’s been doing so
notified about how that’s been doing so that’s a very that’s a good example of
that’s a very that’s a good example of using technology in to changing people’s
using technology in to changing people’s both involvement and behaviors with
both involvement and behaviors with government another example is the use of
government another example is the use of the Internet of Things we could make our
the Internet of Things we could make our cities smarter so have you heard of
cities smarter so have you heard of things like trash cans giving notices to
things like trash cans giving notices to local municipality that they’re full or
local municipality that they’re full or pipes notifying government that we’re
pipes notifying government that we’re leaking and please take care of us so
leaking and please take care of us so those things are already happening and
those things are already happening and both smart cars and networks of solar
both smart cars and networks of solar panels across cities are happening as
panels across cities are happening as well and that of course should be
well and that of course should be augmented third let’s focus on the local
augmented third let’s focus on the local so Elinor Ostrom laureate prize Noor
so Elinor Ostrom laureate prize Noor Nobel laureate prize had already taught
Nobel laureate prize had already taught us that a lot of very globally oriented
us that a lot of very globally oriented problems can actually be better focused
problems can actually be better focused on or better adapted at the local level
on or better adapted at the local level and we do see that with climate change
and we do see that with climate change for example if you look at recent
for example if you look at recent activity on climate change with the
activity on climate change with the alliance of cities on climate and energy
alliance of cities on climate and energy 7100 cities have joined the alliance and
7100 cities have joined the alliance and they’ve been taking on even stronger
they’ve been taking on even stronger commitments to reduce carbon and their
commitments to reduce carbon and their carbon footprint then the countries that
carbon footprint then the countries that those cities belong to so local activity
those cities belong to so local activity it’s really important and lastly let’s
it’s really important and lastly let’s take our global communication networks
take our global communication networks to explore what works so we have our
to explore what works so we have our global networks at hand and although we
global networks at hand and although we have to do a lot locally still we can
have to do a lot locally still we can use that to learn and all it requires is
use that to learn and all it requires is just opening our minds so look at Ted
just opening our minds so look at Ted open your mind thank you
open your mind thank you [Applause]