Governments often ignore productivity

JAKARTA (JP): At present there are over 200 national governments in the world. They range in size from the huge bureaucracies of the U.S. and Russia, to the tiny assemblies of Vanuatu and Leichtenstein. Some of these are hereditary monarchies, still others came to power by strength of arms. Some are describe as Marxist, some as right wing. And all of them pursue their own agenda of political priorities according to the perceived necessities of their country.

Yet these priorities are often very similar. Most governments would cite at least some of the following as current, if not perennial, priorities: reducing inflation, creating jobs, lowering taxes, increasing tax revenues, creating jobs take-home pay, improving public services, improving infrastructure, improving public health, improving education -- and the list could go on.

It is interesting to note however, that productivity seldom makes it on to the list, or if it does, it is regulated to a place way down at the bottom. Yet every one of the priorities listed above could be achieved if the productivity of a nation's resources were increased.

Productivity, simply explained, is the ratio of input to output. What this essentially means for governments is how to produce the most from existing resources. Improvement of productivity can be the single most effective strategy for dealing with the most pressing priorities of any political entity, be it a city or a state, a village or a region.

So why are governments not paying more attention to productivity? The answer seems to lie somewhere between suspicion and ignorance.