Authorized Authorized

OVERVIEW
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Box O.12 Can continuous monitoring and small sanctions improve
provider performance?
Traditional monitoring systems are expensive and complex.
New technologies lower these costs, allowing rewards or
punishment to be more immediate and frequent. The idea
comes from criminal justice innovations. Usually lawbreakers
face a low probability of being caught, but a large punishment.
When people face a high probability, but fines are
lower, violations become rarer. The idea could be extended
to public service monitoring. In Niger, a well-designed
monitoring system enabled by mobile phones motivated
teachers because they felt their far-away superiors cared
about their work and looked out for them.
Sources: Romer 2013; Aker and Ksoll 2015.
digital engagement with citizens also increases. As long
as access is not universal, there is a risk of leaving those
unconnected behind. But citizen feedback systems
have reduced problems such as petty corruption or poor
services in the Dominican Republic, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
As one Kenyan water utility manager said, “By
introducing an automated complaint management
system we took a noose and put it around our own
necks. We are now accountable!”
Deepen collaboration and participatory
policy making
Even in countries with advanced e-government
systems, their use remains surprisingly low. Many
citizens prefer traditional ways of interacting with
the government such as phones or mail, so parallel
systems remain in place and savings go unrealized.
Providing incentives such as faster tax refunds for
e-filing or greater convenience through simplified
and closely integrated services across agencies
increases their use. Estonia’s X-Road framework integrates
services from all parts of government as well as
private or civil society groups according to protocols
that govern data exchange and security standards. 34
Practically any transaction—from paying the parking
meter to voting in national elections—can be done
from a smartphone. Tangible benefits for citizens
will lead to universal use of e-government services,
making such platforms also suitable for broad-based
participatory policy making.
collection of identifiable information creates privacy
and security concerns. Automation changes work in
ways that challenge existing social protections and
reveal the inadequacy of existing labor laws. And scale
economies create antitrust concerns. Digital safeguards
that mitigate these risks become increasingly
important as the digital transformation proceeds.
Developing privacy policies
The flood of data collected on the internet brings many
benefits to consumers and citizens but also raises the
risk of abuse through cybercrime, discrimination,
or manipulation. As of 2014, some 107 countries had
privacy laws, but only 51 of them were developing
countries. The basic principles of privacy law are well
established. They should give users more control
(and perhaps co-ownership) over their data and make
Figure O.24 Digital safeguards in the WDR’s
framework
Information
deluge
DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGIES
Informalization and
job displacement
Winner-take-all
economy
Digital safeguards
Strengthening analog complements will ensure a
high social and economic return from digital investments.
But a downside risk remains. Returning to
the Report’s framework (figure O.24), large-scale
PRIVACY
POLICIES
Source: WDR 2016 team.
SOCIAL
PROTECTION
ANTITRUST
POLICIES