Reading report week 3-2 : Tomohiro Kazama (M1)
World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends by The World Bank
Chapter 5 National priorities (part3)
Institutions: Connecting for a capable and accountable government
- In this section, a discussion is given on the policy direction that governments should take in the face of digitalization. While digital technologies are enabling governments to provide a variety of new public services, institutional design has not caught up and there is also a gap between the understanding of citizens.
- Governments are categorized into three levels, Emerging countries, Transitioning countries and Transforming countries, according to the degree of digitalization of administrative institutions. Then, as shown in Table 1, the policy directions that the government should take are examined for each category.
- In considering digital policy, it is important to consider about an alignment of the choice of digital technologies with their availability, skill requirements, and political incentives.
- In the following, the measures to be taken are briefly described according to the items in Table 1.
Emerging countries: Laying the foundations for institutions
-Emerging countries are countries which have weak institutions that may be falling in fragile situations. Decisions are made by some elites and their patrons, and it is not even possible to maintain security. Between 15 and 20 countries belong to this category.
In such a country, the first step is to prepare the foundation for the government to carry out its basic functions as soon as possible. Therefore, the digital solution to be considered here must be a simple, low-cost one that builds (or replaces) the foundation of government. Furthermore, the effects need to be so visible that the elite who run the country will like it.
There are two things that are key in these countries. Two things are key in these countries: mobile phones and digital population registers. The ways in which they can be used are organized into the following five points, and an agenda is summarized in Table 2.
World Bank Group. 2016. World Development Report 2016 : Digital Dividends. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23347 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
- Improve informational services to citizens – Even in developing countries, mobile phones are widespread. Services that use these services to improve the health and literacy rates of the people are actually being introduced. The Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, has set up a call center where mothers can ask questions about their children’s health.
- Strengthen the monitoring and management of service providers and facilities – As I mentioned earlier, in developing countries, some elites often hold the power, and therefore corruption is high. Monitoring mobile phones can help prevent these corruptions.
- Establish population registers – Giving citizens citizenship electronically will allow them to facilitate supportive measures and so forth thereafter. This will lead to building the foundation of the government. The first priority should be to enroll citizens in the digital platform, as a fancy system cannot be put to good use.
- Scale up nonstate provision of services – Outsourcing some services to the private sector will also speed up the process and reduce costs. Citizens have a wide variety of options available to them that vary in cost and what they are. However, outsourcing to the private sector can lead to uncertainty about where the responsibility lies, so the government needs to delegate and supervise responsibly.
- Improve electoral accountability – The use of digital technology in elections also solves several electoral challenges in developing countries. The use of digital technology in elections also solves several electoral challenges in developing countries. With a certain level of security standards, surveillance technology can be deployed at a low cost to help reduce corruption. But at the same time, they need to manage that information properly.
Transitioning countries: Building capable and accountable institutions
-Transitioning countries, whose situation is better than in emerging countries, still have mixed institutions characterized by pockets of pro-poor politicians and performance-oriented agencies. In these countries, it is important to spread the attitude of seeking efficiency that exists in one part of the country to the whole country. The policy directional points are summarized in Table 3.
World Bank Group. 2016. World Development Report 2016 : Digital Dividends. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23347 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
- Strengthen government delivery systems – These countries should expand on the digital identification systems and other systems they already have. In doing so, it is necessary to make a strong push for regulatory change and rationalization.
- Strengthen provider management through regular small-stakes monitoring – Many of the services provided by the government, such as education, therapeutic insurance, and policymaking, require workers to have considerable discretion. The sustained functioning of those services can be supported by digital technology. It can motivate workers, for example, by surveying the attitudes of workers from far away, receiving feedback and a small reward based on these information.
- Get regular user feedback on service quality – An effective point of digital platforms is that they allow information to move two-way and fast between policymakers and citizens. An effective point of digital platforms is that they allow information to move two-way and fast between policymakers and citizens. It is also possible and very effective to use this advantage to bring the voice of the citizens into the policy or to introduce the vitality of the private sector directly.
- Increase transparency in priority areas Transforming countries: Deepening collaborative institutions – The introduction of digital technology has the effect of increasing transparency and reducing corruption in transactions involving the government. Moreover, the number of stakeholders involved in those services and information is likely to increase (through private and public participation), making it easier to break down state monopolies. However, it has the potential to create a new platformer monopoly.
Transforming countries: Deepening collaborative institutions
– In a transforming country, many services are already being offered online automatically, and its government is running them responsibly. The problem in these countries is that some citizens, such as the poor, are less likely to use these services, and automation has led to less coordination between citizens and government. The policy directional points are summarized in Table 4.
World Bank Group. 2016. World Development Report 2016 : Digital Dividends. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23347 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
- Improve collaboration across government – Even if we put out a lot of electronic services, they will be useless if the public doesn’t take advantage of them. In fact, in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, traditional telephone service are preferred. In order to overcome this situation, information must be shared and integrated within government agencies to improve the user experience.
- Enhance participatory policy making – The data collected through digitization will make it easier for the government to actively provide the necessary services to its citizens. This is similar to Amazon’s ability to use customer data to introduce recommended products to you. This will reduce the national burden and further enhance the user experience.
Digital safeguards
- So far, we’ve discussed the great potential of digitalization. However, as you can imagine, there are some risks associated with digitalization. In this section, we will consider the dangers of digitalization and how to deal with them, focusing on social protection, taxation, and labor market systems.
- Digital technology is changing employment in a big way, forcing changes in social security and taxation systems as well.
Support technology adoption and level the playing field between workers and technology
– The number of people who work as freelancers or casual employees without working for a particular company is increasing steadily. There is an argument that companies should be sought some kind of protection because such a way of working runs the risk of weakening their position under the existing social security system. But in terms of accelerating digital innovation, we must not let mischief drive up the cost that companies pay for their labor. The changing forms of employment due to digital technology is a trend that cannot be reversed, and the employment system needs to accelerate these flows while protecting workers’ rights in a different way.
Balance the relaxation of job protections with stronger workers’ protections independent of work contracts – As I mentioned above, we should not ask companies to protect their workers in order to encourage digitalization. There is a need to protect workers’ rights in a stronger system that is independent of corporations. To do so, the current social security system, which is now tightly tied to labor contracts with large corporations and others, needs to be reformed. It separates the labor contract from the social security system. We should ensure that all workers are enrolled in the same social insurance system, regardless of where they work. By doing so, employment mobility will increase while protecting workers’ rights, and ways of working will become more diverse and digital.
The spread of COVID19 and support in Japan (My opinion)
In response to the spread of the COVID19 infection, the Japanese government has launched a variety of emergency support measures for businesses and individuals. In the process, the government decided to distribute 100,000 yen in aid to those living in Japan, and the procedure has been started. Now, it has been approved to accept applications online using My Number (National Personal Number System). This is probably the first time that My Number has been used online on such a large scale.
I used this online application system to apply via a dedicated application and received it quickly without any problems. In some areas, however, mistakes in manual data processing caused benefits to be sent out in duplicate, while in other areas it caused confusion for people who were not familiar with the application process.
It can be said that these problems were caused by the inadequate development of the electronic family register system in Japan. In order to send benefits smoothly in the event of a similar situation in the future, the system will need to evolve by linking personal numbers with various data from various government agencies, such as each individual’s bank account and income data. It is also necessary for the government to take responsibility for explaining the questions and concerns felt by the public, such as the issue of privacy, and to seek understanding of its effectiveness.
SECTOR FOCUS 5: Energy
- Access to an affordable power service picture is an essential element if all are to share in the reflection and move out of poverty. In order to realize such power services in a sustainable manner, the use of ICT is essential.
Changing energy business models with ICT
Mobile phones will play a major role in the adoption of ICT for energy in developing countries. Nearly 70 percent of people use mobile phones, compared to only 14 percent in the sub-Saharan region. Mobile phones create a demand for power, but also enable a variety of services.
When power demand is generated in places where there is no power supply due to the widespread use of mobile phones, it is the cell towers in the area that take on the role of the supplier. This will be addressed by expanding the generation capacity of the cell towers. With this, mobile phone penetration will lead to increased energy access. In addition, mobile phone penetration will lead to the expansion of various mobile phone services, leading to further increases in energy access. The positive cycle will lead to greater energy access.
ICT, the smart grid, and demand management
One method of managing the power grid using ICT technology is the smart grid. A smart grid is a technology that collects and analyzes data in real time from an interconnected power grid and manages the entire power system in a stable and optimal way. The introduction of each of these technologies will provide a variety of benefits, such as the ability to control demand by introducing electricity rates that fluctuate according to the balance between electricity supply and demand.
At present, smart grids are mainly introduced in OECD member countries, but the price of the necessary sensors has fallen due to increased demand, so it is expected that other developing countries will be able to introduce smart grids in the future. In addition, smart grids can be expected to promote the use of renewable energy in developing countries in the future, as they reduce the cost of installing renewable energy, which is subject to large fluctuations in supply.
Energy, open data, and the internet
With the introduction of smart grids and other ICTs, various types of data can be collected in large quantities. These data will allow for more in-depth energy policy guidance and a variety of commercial uses. In the United States and India, for example, consumers are moving to share their electricity usage data with suppliers. By doing so, the efficiency of energy supply and capital investment can be further improved and stabilized, and as a result, consumers can expect lower usage costs.