ECA Economic Update, March 2021 - Governance

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00:00 Good morning,

00:01 uh,

00:02 Ashley.

00:02 Good morning to our viewers.

00:04 I'm joined today with Ashley Demmir Guchkund.

00:07 Uh,

00:07 she's the chief economist for the Europe

00:09 and Central Asia region of the World Bank.

00:12 Uh,

00:12 the World Bank just released a spring economic update for the region,

00:16 and,

00:17 uh,

00:17 this time the report has a special focus on governance,

00:20 a very important topic for the region.

00:22 So we're here to talk,

00:23 uh,

00:24 with Ashley about this topic.

00:26 Um,

00:27 tell us why did you decide to focus on governance this time?

00:31 We would be very interested to know.

00:33 Thank you,

00:34 Sona.

00:35 Well,

00:35 uh,

00:36 government quality is key to achieving inclusive,

00:40 sustainable growth and poverty reduction.

00:43 Now,

00:44 COVID-19 pandemic has actually underscored

00:48 the importance of this since it became very clear

00:51 that governments and their interactions with the civil society

00:57 play a very important role in addressing the challenges of such a crisis.

01:02 The success of measures like the mobility restrictions

01:06 to control the spread of the virus,

01:09 the deployment of vaccination programs,

01:12 providing relief to all the people and firms,

01:17 and devising ways of virtual learning for All these children that had to stay

01:23 out of school all depend on the quality of governance and citizen trust.

01:29 So of course,

01:30 even before the pandemic,

01:32 governments in Europe and Central Asia have

01:34 historically played a very important role in shaping

01:38 the development in their countries.

01:41 Because government expenditures account for about 40% of the region's economy,

01:48 the public sector is a very large employer.

01:50 It employs a quarter of the workers.

01:54 The Public sector attracts some of the best educated and more women,

01:58 so.

01:59 An efficient,

02:00 transparent,

02:01 accountable government is really fundamental to achieving development goals.

02:06 And given the growing role of governments as they

02:11 try to deal with this pandemic and its aftermath,

02:14 it's all the more important.

02:15 That's why we focused on governance.

02:18 Thank you.

02:18 That's,

02:19 uh,

02:19 of course,

02:19 uh,

02:20 important.

02:21 And what uh we learned is that uh the report actually

02:25 has an even a more narrow focus on data and digitization.

02:29 Please tell us why did you decide to focus on that and why is this important?

02:34 Yes,

02:35 among the different ways that governance can be improved,

02:40 data revolution and digitalization is really emerging as a promising strategy.

02:47 Of course,

02:48 data has become much more plentiful,

02:51 plentiful and cheap,

02:53 and

02:54 digitalization makes it possible to collect,

02:59 use,

02:59 and share this data for evidence-based policymaking.

03:03 When we talk about improving governance,

03:05 there are two different ways of doing that.

03:07 This can be achieved both by improving government capacity itself from within.

03:13 And also by improving government accountability,

03:19 which increases demand for better governance from the citizens,

03:23 and data and digitalization

03:26 can contribute to both.

03:28 Digital technology and data revolution really

03:32 offer the potential to increase efficiency,

03:35 increase transparency,

03:36 responsiveness,

03:38 citizen trust,

03:39 all of which directly improve the quality of government.

03:44 Great.

03:45 So it was going to be my next question.

03:46 How can data and digitization improve governance,

03:49 but you already answered it.

03:50 So,

03:51 um,

03:51 I want to understand,

03:52 so after all,

03:53 how is the region doing in this regard,

03:56 uh,

03:56 in terms of having good governance through data and digitization?

03:59 Can you tell us what you found out?

04:02 Yeah,

04:02 well,

04:03 much has been accomplished,

04:04 but more needs to be done.

04:07 For example,

04:08 21 of the 50 ECA countries,

04:11 including most of those in Eastern Europe,

04:14 Western Balkans,

04:15 and South Caucasus and Central Asia,

04:18 do not have high level coordination for data governance and management.

04:23 And 30 countries in the region lack a govtech institution supporting

04:29 interoperability and connectivity between government agencies.

04:34 Open government data commitments need to be taken seriously and implemented,

04:40 and many.

04:41 ECA countries do not have centralized web portals where individuals

04:46 can address the government with concerns or provide feedback.

04:50 Of course,

04:51 improving broadband internet coverage and news,

04:54 particularly in Central Asia,

04:56 needs to be a priority for meaningful digital connectivity.

05:01 Thank you,

05:01 Ashley.

05:02 Again,

05:02 a very important topic,

05:04 uh,

05:04 something that will help us with the recovery.

05:07 Uh,

05:07 very pleased to have you here today and thanks to our viewers for joining us.

05:11 Thank you.

05:11 Thank you.

05:12 Thank you,

05:12 Sona.

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transcript

Good morning, uh, Ashley. Good morning to our viewers. I'm joined today with Ashley Demmir Guchkund. Uh, she's the chief economist for the Europe and Central Asia region of the World Bank. Uh, the World Bank just released a spring economic update for the region, and, uh, this time the report has a special focus on governance, a very important topic for the region. So we're here to talk, uh, with Ashley about this topic. Um, tell us why did you decide to focus on governance this time? We would be very interested to know. Thank you, Sona. Well, uh, government quality is key to achieving inclusive, sustainable growth and poverty reduction. Now, COVID-19 pandemic has actually underscored the importance of this since it became very clear that governments and their interactions with the civil society play a very important role in addressing the challenges of such a crisis. The success of measures like the mobility restrictions to control the spread of the virus, the deployment of vaccination programs, providing relief to all the people and firms, and devising ways of virtual learning for All these children that had to stay out of school all depend on the quality of governance and citizen trust. So of course, even before the pandemic, governments in Europe and Central Asia have historically played a very important role in shaping the development in their countries. Because government expenditures account for about 40% of the region's economy, the public sector is a very large employer. It employs a quarter of the workers. The Public sector attracts some of the best educated and more women, so. An efficient, transparent, accountable government is really fundamental to achieving development goals. And given the growing role of governments as they try to deal with this pandemic and its aftermath, it's all the more important. That's why we focused on governance. Thank you. That's, uh, of course, uh, important. And what uh we learned is that uh the report actually has an even a more narrow focus on data and digitization. Please tell us why did you decide to focus on that and why is this important? Yes, among the different ways that governance can be improved, data revolution and digitalization is really emerging as a promising strategy. Of course, data has become much more plentiful, plentiful and cheap, and digitalization makes it possible to collect, use, and share this data for evidence-based policymaking. When we talk about improving governance, there are two different ways of doing that. This can be achieved both by improving government capacity itself from within. And also by improving government accountability, which increases demand for better governance from the citizens, and data and digitalization can contribute to both. Digital technology and data revolution really offer the potential to increase efficiency, increase transparency, responsiveness, citizen trust, all of which directly improve the quality of government. Great. So it was going to be my next question. How can data and digitization improve governance, but you already answered it. So, um, I want to understand, so after all, how is the region doing in this regard, uh, in terms of having good governance through data and digitization? Can you tell us what you found out? Yeah, well, much has been accomplished, but more needs to be done. For example, 21 of the 50 ECA countries, including most of those in Eastern Europe, Western Balkans, and South Caucasus and Central Asia, do not have high level coordination for data governance and management. And 30 countries in the region lack a govtech institution supporting interoperability and connectivity between government agencies. Open government data commitments need to be taken seriously and implemented, and many. ECA countries do not have centralized web portals where individuals can address the government with concerns or provide feedback. Of course, improving broadband internet coverage and news, particularly in Central Asia, needs to be a priority for meaningful digital connectivity. Thank you, Ashley. Again, a very important topic, uh, something that will help us with the recovery. Uh, very pleased to have you here today and thanks to our viewers for joining us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Sona.

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Interview Asli Sona part 2

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