Sharif advocates use of OECD Better Life Initiative for better Hong Kong public governance
Valid and appropriate indicators are important for policymakers to execute policies and evaluate these policies following implementation. To measure the good governance in highly developed economies such as Hong Kong, basic indicators such as annual GDP and government expenditure are not enough. Naubahar Sharif, associate professor of Division of Social Science and Division of Public Policy of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, suggested that the good governance in Hong Kong is measured by “whether governance models respond effectively to society’s changing needs and successfully deliver in ways that support its citizens’ livelihoods”. He believed the “Better Life Initiative”, a methodology developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) , can understand and evaluate a more complete picture of the well-being of Hong Kong’s citizenry. If the indicators used in the "Better Life Initiative" are taken as seriously and used as widely as GDP and government expenditure, for instance, they could serve as useful tools for the government to both better understand why some citizens express dissatisfaction and identify areas needing attention.
Read the full article "Good governance comes from using the right indicators" on China Daily on 8 May 2019.
