ABSTRACT

Welfare state bureaucracies the world over have adopted far-reaching digitalisation reforms in recent years. From the deployment of AI in service management, to the ‘opening up’ of administrative datasets, digitalisation initiatives have uprooted established modes of public sector organisation and administration. And, as this paper suggests, they have also fundamentally transformed the political economy of the welfare state. Through a case study of Danish reforms between 2002 and 2019, the analysis finds that public sector digitalisation has entailed the transfer of responsibility for key infrastructure to private actors. Reforms in Denmark have not only been pursued in the name of public sector improvement and efficiency. A principal objective of public sector digitalisation has rather been the growth of Denmark’s nascent digital technology industries as part of the state’s wider export-led growth strategy, adopted in response to functional pressures on the welfare state model. The attempt to deliver fiscal stability in this way has, paradoxically, produced retrenchment of critical assets and capabilities. The paper’s findings hold important implications for states embarking on public sector digitalisation reforms, as well as possibilities for future research on how states can harness technological progress in the interests of citizens – without hollowing out in the process.

摘要

近年来，世界各地的福利国家官僚机构都采取了影响深远的数字化改革。从人工智能在服务管理中的部署，到行政数据集的“开放”，数字化举措已经颠覆了公共部门组织和管理的既定模式。而且，正如本文所暗示的，它们还从根本上改变了福利国家的政治经济学。通过对 2002 年至 2019 年间丹麦改革的案例研究，分析发现，公共部门数字化需要将关键基础设施的责任转移给私营部门。丹麦的改革不仅仅以公共部门的改进和效率为名。公共部门数字化的一个主要目标是发展丹麦新兴的数字技术产业，作为国家更广泛的出口导向型增长战略的一部分，以应对福利国家模式的功能压力。矛盾的是，以这种方式实现财政稳定的尝试导致了关键资产和能力的缩减。该论文的研究结果对开始公共部门数字化改革的国家具有重要意义，以及未来研究国家如何利用技术进步为公民利益服务的可能性 - 而不会在过程中掏空。矛盾的是，导致关键资产和能力的缩减。该论文的研究结果对开始公共部门数字化改革的国家具有重要意义，以及未来研究国家如何利用技术进步为公民利益服务的可能性 - 而不会在过程中掏空。矛盾的是，导致关键资产和能力的缩减。该论文的研究结果对开始公共部门数字化改革的国家具有重要意义，以及未来研究国家如何利用技术进步为公民利益服务的可能性 - 而不会在过程中掏空。