János Bertók, Deputy Director for Public Governance and Administrative Reform at the OECD, told Portfolio that businesses’ main administrative burden arises from reporting obligations and permitting procedures rather than regulatory compliance itself. In the Simplifying for Success survey, 67% of firms identified reporting duties as a greater barrier, while tax-related burdens scored somewhat above 50%.
In practice, companies often must resubmit the same information multiple times, and multi-step approval processes complicate investment and infrastructure projects. Bertók says digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) can deliver quick improvements if public institutions organise, make accessible and enable effective reuse of their data.
Procurement: scale and strategic potential
Public procurement averages more than 13% of GDP in OECD countries and can represent roughly 30% of total public spending. For this reason procurement has become a strategic policy tool: environmental goals, innovation, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, social objectives and transparency can all be advanced through procurement choices.
Case studies from countries such as New Zealand and Finland indicate that some centralisation arrangements can improve value for money and budgetary efficiency. However, Bertók stressed such effects are not automatic: capacity, expertise and system design matter.
Cross-border procurement within the EU remains low relative to the single market’s size, partly because many procurements are local or regional by nature. Procurement is also increasingly used to support economic security and resilience amid shifting geopolitical priorities.
Corruption risk, transparency and limits of technology
Bertók highlighted that procurement is particularly vulnerable to corruption: billions move through these processes, and their complexity, number of actors and political interests increase risks. Digital tools, data analytics and AI can help identify risks, but they do not solve the problem alone. Institutional capacity, effective controls, genuine accountability and usable data are equally essential.
Budgetary pressure, public debt and trust
The OECD notes average public debt across member countries has risen above 110% of GDP and could reach about 113% by year-end in some G7 economies. Interest costs have increased: debt service rose on average from 1.9% of GDP to 3.5%. For example, US federal debt service recently approached one trillion dollars.
At the same time public trust is limited in many OECD countries: surveys show roughly four in ten people trust their government, public institutions or public policies, and trust is often lower among younger people. Corruption scandals and abuses of power sharply erode confidence.
Bertók says governments must simultaneously boost competitiveness, restore fiscal order, improve public services and reform their own operations. A first step is to identify and stop waste, fraud, corruption and inefficient spending rather than only cutting headline budgets.
Institutional toolkit and the role of evidence
Good governance, the OECD argues, means better decision-making, improved data use and strategic planning — not merely new infrastructure. Independent institutions such as supreme audit institutions and fiscal councils play a critical role in assessing long-term impacts and providing reliable information to policymakers.
Bertók prefers the term “evidence-informed decision-making” over a purely evidence-driven model: data should inform but not replace political decisions. Key questions are which data exist, how reliable they are and whether policymakers and the public can understand them.
Data access, capacity and data sovereignty
The OECD OURdata index shows Hungary lags in making data genuinely accessible and reusable: legal frameworks often exist but practice, methodology and analytical capacity are missing. It is insufficient to open datasets formally; they must be usable for institutions and researchers.
A decade ago cloud adoption was seen as a cure-all; today the strategic issues are data ownership, security and sovereignty — particularly in Europe.
Participation, communication and citizen engagement
Meaningful citizen engagement matters: participation must have real influence rather than be a box-ticking exercise. Tools such as participatory budgeting and Swiss-style direct democracy are examples of how local knowledge and priorities can be embedded into decisions.
Budget communication should also be tailored: citizens do not think in billions or GDP percentages but in how decisions affect their lives. Governments must therefore explain concrete impacts on health care, education, transport and taxes to make fiscal and governance choices understandable and politically sustainable.
Conclusion
OECD experience suggests digitalisation, AI and automation can rapidly reduce administrative burdens, but technology alone is insufficient. Better public spending requires institutional capacity, independent oversight, improved data practices and genuine citizen participation. Given the large share of GDP involved, public procurement is a particularly powerful area where well-designed strategies can enhance efficiency, integrity and economic resilience.
