Impact of COVID-19 on Administration and Policy Making

Hello Readers.

Following post is contributed by a good friend Shreyas Nayak. He is Electronics and Communication graduate from RVIT, Bengaluru and now preparing for Civil Services (UPSC) with Public Administration as his optional subject.

In this post, we have analysed the COVID situation and its impact on Administration. The post is divided into three broad titles: 

Part I: Impact of COVID19 on Public Administration

Part II: Impact of COVID19 on Indian Public Administration

Part III: Critical analysis of the relationship between COVID19 and Policy Making

Part I: Impact of COVID19 on Public Administration

Public administration is considered as a socially embedded process of relationship, dialogue and action to promote human flourishing for all. The Field of Public Administration straddles an academic component and an action/practice component, with each one significantly influencing the other; both seeking to promote the welfare of the people in the context of a welfare state. Public Administration, is the action arm of the State, is situated firmly in the context of the State and is, therefore, strongly influenced by its nature and priorities. This has led to the various reformations/re-inventions of Public Administration in the backdrop of Social ferment and the Nature of the State, be it the New Public Administration Movement of the 1960s in the face of American Societal Turmoil, or the NPM movement in the 1980s in the face of an inefficient state and creation of global interlinkages. This gives reason for one to believe that the ongoing COVID-19 Crisis, being labelled the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929, will cause major shifts in the nature of the state and by extension the nature of Public Administration. 

Public Administration as an academic discipline has traditionally responded to problems in Anglo-American societies. With the USA and Europe, being ravaged due to COVID, one can probably expect the following changes in the academic discipline of Public Administration: 

1. Fixing the broke and broken State: The financial stress being felt by the European Countries such as Italy,  and American Countries due to the Crisis, points to the bloated structures that are running huge deficits, while still being unable to rein in the Crisis, at the massive cost of human lives points to an existing paradigm of Public Administration that is broken and fast going broke. Some measure of re-emergence of Neo-Taylorism in this context seems inevitable. The issue is to figure out how to ensure maximum governance with the minimum government expenditure.

2. Re-emergence of the State: The failure of the American State to control the spread of COVID19 has exposed the hollowness of a minimal, corporate state. Ronald Reagan’s dictum, “Government is not the solution... Government is the problem”, has been up-ended by COVID-19.  

The administration has since done much to get involved and has tried to enforce social distancing norms, distributing Stimulus cheques, etc, in an attempt to become a proactive state. The results of this experiment could very well herald the Next big Paradigm of the Discipline. Success could lead to an intellectual consensus towards a Proactive State that is reminiscent of the NPS of yore, with a focus on democratic governance. Failure could lead to a re-emergence of demand for a state that is more efficient and less fiscally profligate. 

Either way, the consensus would be towards a State that has significant responsibility towards Serving its Citizens. Rather than trying to Satisfy them as Customers. 

3. Re-assertion of Sovereignty and the associated role of Bureaucracy: The de-globalization movement has been picking up steam since the mid-2010s. COVID19 could be the final nail in the coffin for the Globalization Frenzy of the 1990s to early 2000s. This could lead to stronger national boundaries for people as well as the flow of data, IP, etc. Global Governance Institutions like the WTO, WHO, G20, etc are now seen as rendered ineffective due to the Deglobalization rhetoric and evolving Geopolitical rivalries. The European experiment is also facing stress with countries choosing to assert sovereignty rather than pooling their resources.

This has major implications for the Bureaucracy that would have to adapt to a new situation with lower limits on their power, newer methods of negotiation and diplomacy in Global platforms, restructuring of processes that have so far been outsourced, etc. The result would be a Public Administration more influenced by its domestic ecology, an altered politics-administration balance and associated Institution-building in a fundamentally altered ecology. Would Public administration still be an instrument of Human Flourishing for all, or for just one’s citizens? How would the corridors of power change and the players inhabiting them respond?

While the course of the discipline of public administration is still up in the air, it is imperative that we examine the operation of Public Administration in India and how it could also affect the discipline and Practice of Public Administration in India. Check it out in Part- II.

Part II: Impact of COVID19 on Indian Public Administration

India, a densely populated country, with a poor track record of human development, has done well compared to the Developed Nations, with a lower case count and lower mortalities (as of the time of writing). India’s state capacity has never been comparable to the developed countries. Yet, the lack of state capacity has been sought to be made up by innovative instruments such as a Jan-andolan in the form of Lockdown, innovative use of e-governance, etc. India thus may have some valuable lessons to teach as well as learn based on how its Public Administration is responding to the crisis. Some lessons that may be gleaned are :

1. The role of an “overbearing” state: The Indian State has been criticised as draconian, for its overbearing attitude in the implementation of a nationwide lockdown and the use of surveillance measures. Yet, these measures are delivering results and therefore, the Role of the State is once again brought in sharp relief with the laissez-faire State of the Western Societies.

2. Flexibility in Bureaucracy: The COVID situation is unprecedented and therefore the traditional rule-bound, status-quo, hierarchical Bureaucracy is ineffective. The situation needs 

• Intra-governmental co-ordination across departments – the Home Ministry would need to take the views and solutions offered by the Health as well as Finance ministries before deciding on the relaxation of lockdown measures, for instance. This has led to adhocratic structures like inter-ministerial task forces, contact-tracing teams, etc
• Inter-governmental coordination – A nationwide lockdown needs the co-operation of States with the Union to resolve Issues such as repatriation of inter-state migrant labour, sourcing of surplus equipment across states. Inter-governmental coordination across countries for massive operations like the Vande Bharat and Samudra Setu Missions requires Bureaucracies that should be able to operate in loosely-defined organizations.
• Networking with private actors and civil-society: The realization that we are all in this together has dawned on everyone. There is no time for a Darwinian Competition for the survival of the fittest among the Government and the other sectors as envisaged by the neoliberal NPM paradigm. Thus, the state is focusing on mobilizing the co-operation of private medical facilities, manufacturers of equipment, etc for providing healthcare to all. The Civil Society Organizations have acted as an extended arm of the state in providing relief, spreading awareness as well as implementation arms of some Municipalities across the country. The state is thus the central, activator node in a vast network of governance.

3. e-Governance and State capacity: The State capacity is painfully low in India, be it financial, or otherwise. In this context, smart use of e-governance tools has allowed for capacity –multiplication of the State.

• The use of Aarogya-setu app is an example of innovative use of ICT that can allow for improved state capacity at near-zero marginal cost (privacy concerns notwithstanding). 
• Simultaneously, the use of PRAGATI platform for monitoring and evaluation of policies has allowed the response of the State to be reasonably fast. 
• Local bodies and state governments are also experimenting with a door-step delivery of essentials, with the use of e-governance backbones, thus reducing the need for coercive personnel to continue the lockdown. 
• The Supreme Court has proactively recognised the potential for a deluge of cases to come and is introducing e-Courts that use teleconferencing and ICT to continue justice delivery.

4. The Role of Trust in enhancing state capacity: The massive personal confidence and trust enjoyed by the Prime Minister have allowed for a situation where people are largely staying at home as much as possible, thereby reducing the possible stress on the overburdened Indian healthcare system. In contrast, the lack of trust in the State has caused many “covidiots” in the USA to come to the streets and protest against the lockdown, as it is viewed as a draconian measure that impinges upon their Fundamental rights. This causes much grief to a state that is already knee-deep in failure. 

5. Federalism and Decentralization of power

• With their revenue resources at an all-time low, states are more dependent on the Union than ever. The Union has also acted in a Unitary spirit in the way the lockdown was imposed under a Central Act, prohibiting states from relaxing their lockdowns prematurely, etc. While this has been against the spirit of federalism, it shows the utility in the Sui generis federalism of India. One need only to look at the Failure of USA to contain the spread of the pandemic due to the inability of the Union to impose its will on the states, for reference. 
• Simultaneously, a seemingly contradictory observation has been that states like Kerala and Karnataka, with reasonably empowered Local Self Governments, have shown greater success in managing the crisis by providing essential services and goods and stronger surveillance capabilities.
• These two trends thus highlight the need for Co-operative federalism and The principle of Subsidiarity to act in synergy rather than combative federalism.

6. The Specialist/Generalist Debate: The current crisis has demonstrated the need for specialists to deal with a situation that is decidedly beyond the ken of a generalist bureaucrat. The role of specialists in the ICMR, Indian Vaccine Institute, etc cannot be understated. Yet, at the same time, Specialization of any kind leads to parochialism. The medical professional would advise strict lockdown, high testing and complete shutdown of the economy till the curve is flattened and contained. It is for the generalist to intervene in this situation to take into cognizance, the possible issues that could arise- such as the migrant labour crisis, the effect on the livelihood of people, etc. The crisis has thus put into sharp relief the age-old debate and like the dispassionate Buddha, suggested for a middle path. The specialists should generalize and the generalists should specialize.

7. Citizen Welfare rather than consumer Satisfaction: With the slogan “Jaan hai toh jehaan hai”, the State has privileged the welfare of all citizens rather than dogmatically focusing on high GDP growth. This marks a shift from the neoliberal rolling back of state to a more welfarist state, in the spirit of “Yogaskhema” as suggested by Kautilya. A five-point ‘de-growth’ manifesto by 170 Dutch academics has gone viral amidst the heightened Internet buzz during the lockdown. Goals for human progress must be reset. The role of Public administration in ensuring a democratic, service-oriented administration is crucial in this context.

8. A new paradigm of Policymaking and implementation: While Policymaking has traditionally relied on the coercive authority of the state, the new policy imperatives during the lockdown are appealing to the good conscience of the people for enforcement, which has largely shown results. This opens the door for better policymaking by the use of behavioural economics and nudge theory, for the achievement of SDG targets.

Whether these lessons can apply to Public Administration in general or they are a product of unique circumstances, remains to be seen. The potential for change based on these lessons, however, is high. At the same time, Indian Public Administration has a lot to learn as well based on our experiences during these times and the public administration has scarcely been perfect, as we’ll see in Part- III.

Part III: Critical analysis of the relationship between COVID19 and Policy Making

This part shall be a pointed critique of some of the recent missteps and the lessons it can offer to policymakers.

Policymaking is not an exact science, despite the discipline of “Policy Sciences” making a claim to that status. It is nearly impossible for a central authority to formulate a policy which everyone will be happy with and even more difficult to formulate a policy that ensures the betterment of all. The lack of availability of information in a timely and adequate manner, personal biases, the role of ideology, black-swan events like market failures, etc all can reduce the potential benefit of a well-meaning policy. Then, of course, there are the usual vices in policy-making: Special interest groups and pressure groups, Self-seeking behaviour of the policymakers/bureaucrats in charge, policies that assume a law on paper will directly mean a change on the ground,  policies that do not provide the right incentives, etc. Policies have primary effects i.e the seen effects and secondary effects, i.e the unseen effects. The experience of the lockdown tells us that many pathologies inflict the policymaking structures in India and the unseen effects are scarcely taken into consideration.

Public Administration is very much part of the policy-making as well as implementation and evaluation. Thus, it is vital that the Public Administration learn these lessons, for effective functioning in the future.

1. Policies should ensure incentives for extracting positive action

Many a day goes by without one being confronted by the human tragedy of the thousands of people who were stranded in the urban centres where they were employed as migrant labour, away from their homes. Most of these people lived in unfamiliar environs, with no social safety net and no savings to speak of.  The way most states were caught unaware, by the magnitude of the problem can be traced to the faulty Inter-state Migrant Workmen Act, 1979. This act is well-intentioned as it seeks to ensure adequate payment of wages and registration of the migrant labour. However, it enlists the use of registered agents who can hire the Migrant labour, as well as imposing costs on the hiring company regarding the registration of the migrant labour. Thus, a company hiring migrant labour has to bear the burden of paying the same wages to migrants as domestic labour, as well as bear the cost of getting them registered. The whole point of migrant labour, for companies, is to get cheaper labour for the industries to reduce cost and increase competitiveness. Thus, the “rational” thing for both the migrant labour and the company is to not register the migrant labour at all as the act is a disincentive towards formalising the migrant labour. Therefore, the Administration has no concrete information about the labour and no way to prepare for such a contingency.  

The recent Supreme court Directive calling for free tests is another example of counter-productive policy-making (notwithstanding the apparent judicial overreach in the case), which would see labs shut down rather than operating at a loss. Similar problems have led to the issue of dwarf firms, black marketing of illegal arrack, etc

This experience teaches us of the need for policies that are cognizant of people as rational or partially-rational players in a game of maximizing individual utility. Public administration should get conversant with the language of Public Choice theory, game theory and the principles of behavioural sciences as well. Policymaking cannot assume Society as a chessboard where the policymaker has perfect control over all pieces. 

2. Policymaking should aim to uplift all involved rather than a few interest groups 

The lockdown has meant that most commerce has stopped as economic activity has ground to a halt and people are more careful with their money. This has hurt the common man immensely – everyone from farmers to manual labourers is hit due to the supply chain disruptions. 

In this light, the Centre had decided to liberalize e-commerce for restoring supply chains to some extent and get commerce back on track. Yet the very next day, this decision was rescinded in the name of protecting the “small shopkeeper’. Granted that giving e-commerce a free hand would have led to massive losses to the small shopkeepers. However, not allowing e-commerce is dis-incentivizing people from staying at home and forces them to come out, thus increasing the risk of community transmission. The win-win solution would have been to allow e-commerce with the conditionality of local sourcing and onboarding of local sellers on these platforms, as e-commerce players are mainly of the marketplace model in India. This would have allowed the State to have a double whammy of strengthening the lockdown, restoring supply chains and ensuring that the livelihoods of everyone involved could have been restored. Yet, the electorally significant voter group of shopkeepers won which led to a sub-optimal policy that partially undermined the lockdown effort. 

Therefore, policymakers should focus on creative solutions that aim to increase the size of the pie as much as possible rather than giving one group or the other a larger share, unless larger priorities like national interests are under question.

3. Policymaking should enable confidence rather than stoking insecurity by repeatedly flip-flopping

Let us come back to the migrant labour. The state of Karnataka repeatedly vacillated between sending them home, versus retaining them for reopening industries. Both of these are legitimate aims and need to be pursued. Yet the lack of certainty of course of action only stoked insecurity and panic among the migrant labours that caused minor clashes with the law and order machinery. The MHA has released over 400 advisories over the past 45 days, which is bound to cause more confusion than clarifying any doubts. Such flip-flopping and vacillation is a waste of precious resources and tends to reduce the legitimacy of the ministries in the eyes of the people. The policy flip-flopping has also proven to be unproductive in sectors like FDI, land- acquisition, ensuring tribal rights, etc. 

4. The existing Urban Paradigm is Unsustainable

The Stories of the migrant labourers, as well as their inhabitation in mostly slums, highlights the limits of the current paradigm of urbanization. The slums are overcrowded with inadequate WASH facilities, making steps like social-distancing, hand-washing, etc next to impossible. The people may or may not have ration cards, due to lack of portability of ration cards. They mostly have no social security to fall back on during times of crisis and have little access to healthcare facilities. This situation requires that the policymaking focus be shifted towards sustainable urbanization. The measures like the Smart Cities that have been languishing should be continued with full gusto. The nation needs social Infrastructure as much as Physical Infrastructure. The vision of “One nation ” Paradigm should extend to all facilities such as ration card, unemployment allowance, etc

5. Need for reforms in fiscal Policy and Financial Administration

The strong pressure being faced by the states in the crisis situation should be used as a springboard to reform the deadwood, such as introducing Accrual accounting, Introduction of budget reforms like zero-base budgeting, recognizing the gender aspect of the crisis and budgeting accordingly, as well as a comprehensive rejig of organizational structures across Departments to stop the Parkinson’s principle at work.

6. Policymaking should ensure that policies enhance Public opportunity rather than expanding opportunities for rent-seeking

Though the License Raj stands dismantled, the impulse for policymaking that expands opportunities for rent-seeking seems to never reduce. Consider the following – a state government directed that nobody should walk on the road without a mask, failing which, they will be fined. An admirably well-intentioned policy, it would seem. However, when such a rule is promulgated, people would rush to buy masks, causing a shortage in the masks available as most industries are not running to replenish the stock. Finally, the ones who cannot buy a mask are forced to pay a fine, without any solution for the health-hazard they face by having no mask. The policy thus does not do more than giving the enforcers an incentive to catch people without masks. The public administration should thus act in a way that increases public choice by incentivizing mask manufacturers to produce more.

7. The flailing State should Regain Balance

The Indian Public Administration has the misfortune of having the policy-implementation and policy-making be at odds. Therefore we hear of police beating up people who broke lockdown in search of food/work as the state has been unable to provide the resources needed by them. This gives the impression of a state that has its policy-making head disconnected from its implementing-arms, flailing about aimlessly. This is the precursor to a soft state and the only way to buck the trend is by standards of professionalism. How this is to be done is a different matter altogether tackled in great depth by the second ARC. 

The Indian Administration has responded remarkably and reinvented itself in response to Crises, whether it is the 1991 BOP crisis or the Kargil War. The COVID19 Crisis is thus an opportunity for the Administrative machinery to shake off the cobwebs and restore the sheen to the steel frame of India.