Public sector

65%

of CEOs were concerned about governments’ responses to fiscal deficits and the debt burden. This figure was 76% for CEOs in Western Europe.

15th Annual CEO Survey

Public sector industry insights

Global recovery appears not only fragile but also unbalanced. Economic uncertainty and volatility continue to impact on business confidence to invest and grow. Governments need to provide political leadership to help turn this around and lay the foundations for a stable and lasting global recovery with fiscal austerity the order of the day.

Dealing with deficits. 65% of CEOs are concerned about governments' responses to fiscal deficits and the debt burden. For many governments (particularly in developed economies) the first priority is to deal with current (and avoid future) deficits. Prioritisation, making tough choices and doing more for less (or increasingly the same for less) is the key to success.

Enabling growth. 48% of CEOs believe the global economy will decline further in the next 12 months: indeed, only about 1 in 7 (15%) CEOs believe the global economy will improve in the next year. There is no doubt that governments have a second key role: to create the right conditions for growth.

Public Sector - CEOs identify Government priorities to foster growth

Tackling the talent crunch. 54% of CEOs are extremely or somewhat concerned about the availability of key skills as a business threat to growth (similar in importance as a threat to an increasing tax burden). Governments need to act to tackle the talent crunch both in the private and the public sectors.

Quotes

Frederik Rosengreen

Sweden

We had budget deficits and debt in the beginning of the 90s, we thought it was a huge amount, we were close to 70% of the national gross product in debt but compared to other European countries and it took Sweden 20 years to come where we are today and for some countries it will take at least 10 to 15 years to make a recovery.

John Bradley

Australia

In terms of public sector performance, we’re considering opportunities to refocus service delivery through a structured innovation agenda, which seeks new user-focussed ways of delivering services rather than purely a cost cutting exercise...

Idris Jala

Malaysia

The government must encourage and provide a viable environment for the private sector to become the growth engine of the nation’s economy. Increasing government spending to spur economic growth is clearly not sustainable and recent events in Europe have clearly shown the need for ‘good’ growth…

Svein R. Kristensen

Norway

We need to ensure more transparency, work against corruption and create regulatory predictability…