The Call for Innovative and Open Government
An Overview of Country Initiatives
This report presents an overview of country initiatives concerning efficient, effective public services and open and innovative government. It focuses on four core issues: delivery of public services in times of fiscal consolidation; a more effective and performance-oriented public service; promotion of open and transparent government; and strategies for implementation of a reform agenda. These issues were discussed at the OECD Public Governance Ministerial Meeting held in Venice, Italy, in November 2010, hosted by the Italian Ministry for Public Administration and Innovation.
Chile
If we define service delivery as government expenditure in education, health, social security, etc., the 2008-09 global crisis did not affect service delivery. In contrast to other OECD member countries, the fiscal balance rule followed by Chile for several years allowed the country to expand government expenditure during the crisis (in 2009, Chile’s fiscal deficit reached 4.4% of GDP, which is significantly lower than the OECD average.) As such, in the case of Chile, the crisis did not force fiscal consolidation. Actually, acting counter cyclically, Chile’s fiscal expenses during 2009 increased by 16.9% in order to boost employment, reactivate the economy and support social services.