Coping with Policy Complexity in the Globalized World

• Author: John C. Tsang
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12643
• Published date: 01 November 2016
• Date: 01 November 2016

840 Public Administration Review • November | December 2016

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 76, Iss. 6, pp. 840–841. © 2016 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.12643.

John C. Tsang has served as Financial

secretary of Hong Kong since 2007. He was

previously director general of the London

Economic and Trade Office, commissioner

of Customs and Excise, and secretary for

Planning and Lands, among other posts.

E-mail: kirkyip@fso.gov.hk

Perspective

I t is my great pleasure to join you all today. I am

tempted to start by saying “Ladies and Gentlemen,

I ’ m from the government, and I ’ m here to help,”

which Ronald Reagan jokingly called “the nine most

terrifying words in the English language.”

Of course, people who agree with Reagan ’ s remark tend

to think that government agencies are mostly ineffective

or simply useless, and would like government to stop

intervening, leave matters to the invisible and yet

capable hands of the free market in allocating the finite

and valuable resources, picking the rightful winners

from the pack through fair and open competition.

I appreciate the power of the free market, and I

take pride in Hong Kong ’ s shining track record in

upholding economic freedom all these years. The

International Institute for Management Development

called us the most competitive economy in the world

in 2016. No doubt, our unswerving commitment to

free market principles is one of the cornerstones of

Hong Kong ’ s sustained success as an international

commercial, trade, and financial center.

However, my four decades in public administration

make it clear to me that sometimes the almighty

hands of the market just fail to conjure up the

intended magic. I believe not even the most passionate

and the most ardent supporters of free-market

principles would demur too much on this score.

Here is what Bob Rubin, who was both a high-flying

banker and a distinguished public servant, had to say:

The two worlds are different enough that the

analogy can prevent a former CEO from being

effective in government. In a noticeable sense,

you don ’ t run your own show…. Goals differ in

government and the private sector. Government

has no simple bottom line but rather a vast

array of interests and priorities, many of which

exist in a state of tension or conflict. For that

reason, decision-making in government is vastly

more complex…. This complexity of goals

brings a corresponding complexity of process.

Of course, it is also true that time-honored methods

of public administration may well not be effective in

resolving the problems that governments face today,

especially in this pervasive digital age that comes with

perpetual uncertainty.

Indeed, the demands for transparency, predictability,

and accountability in delivering basic services,

combined with rising public expectations, hardly

allow any room for public servants to invest time and

resources in experimental learning.

Even more than policies becoming more complex, the

process of deliberating on these policies is becoming

more difficult. Thus, we need to look outside our own

experiences, to innovative ways beyond our familiar

surroundings and comfort zones in maximizing

social benefit for the entire community, to formulate

policies that effectively respond to the constant shifts

in economic and social conditions on a global scale.

This requires government to undertake thorough

analyses and assessments, think ahead, shape

constructive discourse, and create an environment

conducive to innovation and adaptation of new ideas

in the implementation of public policies—all while

endeavoring to ensure a sound regulatory regime in

place to protect the public interests without dousing

that essential fire of innovation and enthusiasm.

Easier said than done, of course, but that is the ideal

we are trying to achieve here in Hong Kong. First of

all, we have been providing all the basics, instilling

well-defined laws, and establishing a sound market

mechanism that can be effectively enforced in order to

offer certainty and security for all businesses as well as

all our citizens.

And we have been actively and consistently investing

in social and economic goods, including healthcare,

John C. Tsang

Hong Kong, China

Coping with Policy Complexity in the Globalized World

This Perspective is based on Financial

Secretary Tsang’s keynote address at the

University of Hong Kong—University of

Southern California—International Public

Policy Association Conference, Coping with

Policy Complexity in the Globalized World,

in Hong Kong, China on June 10, 2016.