Administrative delays are invisible productivity losses. When opening a legal entity takes two months instead of two days, or accessing a permit requires six visits instead of one form, the delay compounds across the entire economy: entrepreneurs defer business launches, firms postpone investments, and capital sits idle. The cost is not felt by the government agency, it is felt by the entrepreneur, the worker not yet hired, and the customers not yet served. Public sector performance, measured through the lens of productivity, is not merely a matter of citizen satisfaction; it is a multiplier on national output and growth.

Reframing government service delivery around productivity creates sharper incentives. Instead of asking "Did we serve the citizen adequately?", public organisations should ask "How much of the citizen's time and capital did we preserve or waste?". A slow, courteous service that delays business formation by weeks is a failure, regardless of the helpfulness of the staff. Speed, clarity, and digital-first design are not luxuries, they are productivity infrastructure.

Links: E-government infrastructure amplifies economic productivity