What Are Citizens Getting From Public Agencies?
All too often we hear of government programs that cause inefficient and wasteful allocation of goods and resources. Consider the example of the Australian government home insulation program (HIP), which was designed to prop up business in the wake of the global financial crisis, providing rebates to insulate the ceilings of 2.2 million houses at a cost of (AUS) $ 2.7 billion. As well as claiming that the scheme would create jobs, the government sought to boost its "green" credentials, insisting that home energy bills would be cut dramatically. Countless problems plagued the HIP; houses caught fire, thousands of cases of fraud were claimed, numerous installation companies went bankrupt, and a number of deaths and injuries occurred (despite multiple safety warnings from regulatory agencies). A lack of effectiveness in the program design, administration, and delivery arrangements and a poor management structure for dealing … Read More

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