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This seventh edition of Government at a Glance arrives more than a year into a global health emergency that has turned into an economic and social crisis. Governments have been central to the response to and management of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have implemented measures -- often unprecedented and impressive in scale and speed -- to support people and businesses and mitigate the impact of the crisis. This publication provides internationally comparable evidence on the public sector’s performance prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as a special focus on changes made to government processes to respond to the pandemic. It finds great variation in countries’ preparedness for the crisis, as well as in their capacity to adjust public governance processes to address change. This report begins the work of drawing lessons for governments to build resilience and improve the management of future crises.
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The COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest shock to many OECD countries since World War II, has tested the ability of governments to respond to a crisis at speed and scale. For the most part, governments have done a remarkable job in unprecedented circumstances to protect lives and provide financial support to businesses and citizens. From lockdowns to a slow loosening of restrictions as vaccinations gather pace, one of the biggest lessons of the crisis is that governments will need to respond to future crises at speed and scale while safeguarding trust and transparency – and, indeed, the very underpinnings of democracy.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the role of public governance but has also acutely tested it. Governments had to act swiftly and adapt processes and resources to keep societies and economies afloat. While countries have generally responded to the crisis at scale and speed, not all have adjusted their public governance processes to the same degree. In some cases, transparency and public trust may have been affected. Governments must use the lessons of the crisis to become fit to meet tomorrow’s public governance challenges.
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OECD governments have responded at unprecedented scale and speed to the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic, and the economic and social effects of the measures to contain it, are the largest shock most OECD countries have experienced since the Second World War. They have been required to implement policy and operational responses of unprecedented scale, speed and scope to contain the pandemic. Health care systems have had to be extensively scaled up to treat the ill. Efforts to slow transmission rates have required restrictions on civic freedoms and economic activities on a scale rarely seen in democratic states in peacetime. The restrictions on economic activity have generated major disruption to incomes and employment, requiring governments to provide massive fiscal support for citizens and businesses.
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