Public policies in Hong Kong: monoliths or bundles?
Updated: 2012-12-06 06:28
By Kui-Wai Li(HK Edition)
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Recent incidents concerning public policies in Hong Kong have generated diverse public views. For example, the introduction of the HK$2 public transport travels for the elderly was well received, but not the provision of HK$2,200 to the elderly with asset qualification. Similarly, the introduction of an additional tax on property transaction in order to cool the property market has been accepted but when the government introduced the concept of more property development in the northeast New Territories, there were public demonstrations.
No single public policy can be a stand-alone policy. The execution of each and every public policy is bound to have some spillover and related impact on related concerns. Thus, if public policies are being introduced and executed singly, they paradoxically are no different from the building of monoliths, whereby their execution, sustainability and survival depend a lot on public sentiment. If these monoliths happened to be publicly unpopular, the government may lack room, time and space to maneuver. The public's negative sentiment may even backfire, evaporating the government's hard-earned goodwill.
The mounting of monoliths is no good strategy for the provision and execution of public policies in Hong Kong. As all public policies are inter-connected, they must come in bundles, so that policy clusters can be formed. The formation of public policies usually takes time and is carried out in sequence, with policies executed one after another.
Public policies can be chained so that some come earlier than others, but the public is made aware of the direction, width, coverage and impact. Typical examples include housing development, which is not just public housing or a reduction in private property, but a chain of activities that range from land supply and deployment, environmental concerns, construction and manpower utilization, sales practices and so on. Similarly, the administration of public policies will require work in various government departments that take care of feasibility studies, estimations, financial implications, social realities and legalities.
It is thus more appropriate to think that public policies may take some years to deliver, as some activities can be done within a short time, but others need extra time, while more can be planned given the longer time horizon. Moreover, though often divided, public opinion and suggestions can help the government to formulate new public policies. Public opinion can be used as a means to test the "workability" of certain public policies. Ultimately, it is the government that decides, but public participation and contribution can boost the aims of the policy, and an effective dialogue can help to alleviate the potential conflicts and vested interests of different population groups.
All public policies serve as building blocks, meant to improve the fabric of the economy. Equally, most public policies involve some cost and benefit, except that some will benefit from the policy, while others may have to bear the cost. Typically, all redistributive policies would benefit the needy, while the tax paying sector of the population would lose out. On the contrary, public policies should produce more able individuals so as to reduce the size of the needy population. Growth should be given a higher priority than equity.
Each public policy could impose cost to some and benefits to others, but with a bundle of policies, the different cost and benefits could even out. The loser in one public policy could be the gainer in another. As such, public outcry against government bias could be lessened, thereby alleviating public pressure and minimizing discontent.
One government department could cross-fertilize their ideas, priority and feasibility of their work with other departments, or even in cooperation with the business sector and the appropriate sector of the public. To reduce pollution, for example, the government has levied a charge of 50 cents on plastic shopping bags. The consequence is that there is increased usage of different types of environment friendly shopping bags. On road transport, the government can encourage bus companies to switch to electric buses, and smaller vehicles on congested roads in urban areas. Thus, instead of singly arguing on the charge of 50 per plastic bag, or how a beach in Tai Po could be improved, a more comprehensive green theme could be developed so that some improvements are accomplished in a short time, while others will be conducted in the future.
There is no perfection in any public policy, but there are effective policies that improve our lives. Surely a strong and effective leadership is a pre-requisite in public policy execution, but the relevance, timeliness, impartiality, transparency and impact of any public policy is equally important. Given an increasing more vocal Hong Kong public, it is time to switch the mindset of the leadership and civil servants, so that they can come up with bundles of policies that cluster around certain societal outcomes.
The author is an associate professor of the Department of Economics and Finance, City University of Hong Kong.
(HK Edition 12/06/2012 page3)