industry

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The letter that demonstrates the disaster that is neoliberal financialised capitalism:

Published by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 26/03/2024 - 8:25am in

This was sent to all Cornish customers of South West Water [SWW] (but not those elsewhere). In passing, I should declare that I’m a shareholder of South West Water – they offered their customers what seemed to me at the time a very generous offer of £20 of shares or £20 off the bill. I... Read more

The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes Our Governments, and Warps Our Economies – review

In The Big Con, Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington claim that our overreliance on the consulting industry has negative consequences for society, inhibiting knowledge transfer and corporate and political accountability. The authors expose how consultancies’ goal of “creating value” may not align with addressing major issues such as climate change, arguing convincingly for greater transparency and a revitalised public sector, writes Ivan Radanović.

The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes Our Governments, and Warps Our Economies. Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington. Penguin Press. 2024 (paperback; 2023 hardback).

In their book The Big Con, Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington warn that relying on consultancies harms the public interest. Asking what happens to the brain of an organisation when it is not learning by doing because someone else is doing the doing, they conclude that societies must return public purpose in centre of attention.

The authors’ thesis is that overreliance on consultancies harms public interest, disables governments, and threatens democracy.

In 2021, the consulting industry was valued at over 900 billion dollars. Its ninefold rise since 1999 is the result of rising reliance of states on consulting agencies. The authors’ thesis is that overreliance on consultancies harms public interest, disables governments, and threatens democracy. They investigate this trend and how to reverse it.

The “Big Con” is the term Mazzucato and Collington use to mark the biggest auditing, accounting, and consulting agencies such as Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Accenture and others. The consulting market emerged during early industrialisation, when engineers, periodically recruited by major industrial firms, formalised their work. In the 1920s many consultants, among them James McKinsey, cooperated with American businesses. The popularity of management consultancy rose in 1970 when BCG introduced the matrix for mapping the profitability of business portfolio. After two years, this tool was used (and paid for) by more than 100 enterprises. American firms, on the wings of the Marshall plan and later IT management projects, have spread throughout Europe.

Golden years

The election of the right-wing populists Margaret Thatcher in the UK (1979) and Ronald Reagan in the US (1981) occurred after a decade of economic turmoil, led by the end of the Bretton Woods system and two major oil crises. The opinion that the responsibility for the turmoil lay in how states were run mushroomed. The neoliberal credo was that the only value creators in society are markets, and with Thatcher and Reagan, favour was refocused from the worker to the citizen-taxpayer.

The neoliberal credo was that the only value creators in society are markets, and with Thatcher and Reagan, favour was refocused from the worker to the citizen-taxpayer.

Contrary to the belief that the essence of neoliberalism is to slash public spending, Mazzucato and Collington suggest “it is more precise to describe it as public spending redirection towards the stronger role of the market” (49). In Thatcher’s era (1979-1990) government expenditure rose in real terms by 7.7 percent (43). In Reagan’s (1981-1989) federal spending rose by almost nine percent annually (43). From the US to Australia, thousands of neoliberal reforms such as privatisation, deregulation or outsourcing states had to be implemented, and advised. The authors show us that the annual public spending for consulting in the UK from 1979 to 1990 rose fortyfold – from 7.1 million to 290 million dollars. The 1980s saw the advent of a new management doctrine. In place of earlier stable forms of organisational life emerged the model of flexible “learning organisations” which view instability as an opportunity. The main goal becomes maximising value for shareholders. In the 1990s, that led to the popularisation of storytelling in politics and business. It is no longer a product or brand that is sold, but the story about value, challenges and business success through positive change, peddled by elite consultants or management gurus.

Creating the impression of value

Today, consultants are seen as experts who transfer know-how and utilise advanced management techniques to improve clients’ businesses. The enormous rise of consulting in the last four decades is explained by the “value” they create for states and companies. However, according to the authors, consultants do not always meet expectations and they seldom transfer knowledge. Created “value” is often unclear and depends on the perception of the client. Consultants hustle to create the impression of value.

Created “value” is often unclear and depends on the perception of the client. Consultants hustle to create the impression of value.

There are many examples where engaging consultancies has backfired for states. In developing countries such as Nigeria, Mexico and Angola, hiring consultancies was a condition of their IMF loan agreements (50). The authors focus on wealthy countries, arguing that even if contracting consultants experienced in the implementation of complex macroeconomic programmes could be justified in developing countries, it is less justifiable in developed countries, which should ostensibly have high competency in these areas.

Unmet deadlines, spiralling costs

Consultancies often fail to deliver on their promises. In 2010, Sweden started the construction project for a new university hospital in Stockholm which would be the most advanced in Europe. Its operations were to be grounded in “value-based healthcare”, a concept designed by management guru Michael Porter. Costs were initially valued at 1.4 billion euro, with the project set to be completed in 2015. City authorities opted for a public-private partnership which contracted consultants from PwC and EY who claimed they would ”maximise the value and keep the costs under control” (145). Representatives from the construction company Skanska stated that this model would “transfer the risk from the state and taxpayers to the private sector” (145). However, the costs immediately surpassed the projections because vital equipment had not been included in the budget The project, beset by problems, was passed to BCG, who had nine consultants working on its implementation while earning a monthly salary of almost 70,000 euros over six years. Another consultancy, Nordic Interim AB was then contracted for an additional 12 million euro, and when the hospital was eventually finished in 2018, costs a billion euros higher than the original estimate.

Absence of accountability

It is not all about money. Consultancies contribute to many undemocratic practices, maintaining what Acemoglu and Robinson named as extractive institutions. Often, they act as a mechanism for public wealth extraction, whereby states recruit consultants when they want to “hedge” the political risk of unpopular economic measures. The states maintain legitimacy, and consultants get their share of political influence. Authors emphasise the example of Puerto Rico, which faced bankruptcy in 2016. Then-President Obama initiated the creation of an Oversight Board to supervise the bankruptcy process. Keeping reputational risk low, Washington ensured that the majority of members of the Board were of Puerto Rican heritage. The Board did not hire a large staff, to avoid looking like it was setting up a parallel government. Instead, it brought in consultants. Instead of the state, McKinsey engaged in the privatisation of public enterprises, healthcare reforms “based on value”, slashing public spending and restructuring debt. Moreover, McKinsey owned $20 million of Puerto Rico’s bonds: consultants were set to profit from the very same debt they were helping to restructure.

Regaining control

Even though consultancies did not cause the maladies of neoliberal capitalism, they have profited from them. Without transparency and democratic permission, they erode the capabilities of states and enterprises. Because knowledge is not cultivated within state workforces and institutions, a dependency on the “expertise” of consultancies spirals.

[Consultancies] erode the capabilities of states and enterprises. Because knowledge is not cultivated within state workforces and institutions, a dependency on the “expertise” of consultancies spirals.

The last section of the book is about “climate consulting”. Omnipresent and long-term, climate change is ideal ground for consultants. Competition is fierce; consultancies’ “websites are replete with beautifully designed free reports on sustainability issues for every sector, from oil and gas to healthcare” (190). They promise solutions, pitching themselves as an avant-garde of change.

The key takeaway, according to Mazzucato and Collington, is that we must challenge the predominance of consultancies. With their ultimate goal of “creating value”, they advise both the fossil polluters and the governments mandated to reduce emissions. Moreover, states are catalysts of technological change for public good, while the private sector only invests in fundamental research when it becomes enticingly profitable.

Putting aside the authors’ techno-optimistic view – which holds that climate change mitigation is mostly a technical issue regarding innovations for green transition, which is being debunked – their final suggestions are valid. A new narrative and vision for the role of the state, recovering public capacities, embedding knowledge transfer into consulting contracts’ evaluation and mandating transparency are, undoubtedly, desirable. The book’s importance lies in how it reveals the political implications of the consulting industry. Whether we choose “green growth” or abandon the growth imperative, one thing is certain: democratically elected governments are key actors. Only they can mobilise the resources required for achieving “moonshot” missions, the most urgent of which is climate change.

Note: This interview gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, or of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Image credit: Alena Veasey on Shutterstock.

Royal Mail is not sustainable…

Published by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 26/01/2024 - 11:59pm in

As a private business, that is, I’m sure, true… And like so many other aspects of the British neoliberal state (including apparently – oh dear – the national ‘debt’, which only goes to prove the madness of neoliberal thought). Apparently the Royal Mail would be able to save £1-200m, if it gave up Saturday deliveries... Read more

Tata for ever…

Published by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 22/01/2024 - 7:49am in

Tata Steel’s owners are Sunak’s father-in-law’s best mates. Not for nothing did the UK refuse to continue the EU regulation preventing steel imports from outside Europe. I think it safe to forecast that in due course Britain will be importing lots of steel from India. Should we hope that it doesn’t have to come via... Read more

Refreshing candour for once

Published by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 20/01/2024 - 7:32am in

Apart from the rather offputting (to me) Edwardian Moustache this man speaks a lot of sense: Mind you, for what it is worth, I can actually tell him that his company’s inability to get electricity bills right means that I haven’t paid him for six months – and I still await the promised bills suitably... Read more

State investment would encourage business investment

Published by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 30/11/2023 - 12:26am in

News that Heathrow airport has changed ownership once more so that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund will get a £1bn stake and Ardian Private Equity will take up to 15% of the whole, suggests that foreign investment in the UK is doing alright… But should we be chasing foreign private investment as Sunak did in... Read more

The Women Who Made Modern Economics – review

Published by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/11/2023 - 11:04pm in

In The Women Who Made Modern EconomicsRachel Reeves highlights the work and ideas of women including Mary Paley Marshall, Janet Yellen and Beatrice Webb whose influence on modern economics is often underappreciated. Written from the point of view of the Labour Party’s policies and of Reeves’ own “securonomics”, the book takes a selective approach to the economists and policymakers it includes and the economic policies it champions, writes Tanushree Kaushal.

The Women Who Made Modern Economics. Rachel Reeves. Basic Books. 2023.

Rachel Reeves spoke at a public LSE event, The women who made modern economics, at 6.30pm on Monday 06 November. Watch it back on YouTube here.

Find this book: amazon-logo

Book cover of The Women Who Made Modern Economics by Rachel Reeves, red black and yellow font against a white backgroundThe Women Who Made Modern Economics starts with Rachel Reeves’ encounter with a family in Worthing, a town on the south coast of England. The mum and dad worked five jobs between themselves and still struggled to make ends meet and raise their kids. Reeves, current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party, weaves together stories and contributions of women economists along with anecdotes from her personal life and Britain’s political history to make a case for what Labour and Reeves herself would do differently if elected in the next British elections so that families’ lives and futures can be improved.

[Reeves] takes the reader through the works of women economists in ten chapters to show the different ways in which they tackled fundamental economic questions of their times and how they remain relevant even today.

Putting the focus of economics on the “family”, Reeves sets on a journey to argue for her own policy of “securonomics”, which rejects tax cuts and deregulation of the financial sector, and instead argues for strengthening infrastructure, education and labour supply. She takes the reader through the works of women economists in ten chapters to show the different ways in which they tackled fundamental economic questions of their times and how they remain relevant even today. In engaging with the life worlds and contributions of these women, Reeves traces the roots of the current Labour agenda in a long and rich intellectual history.

[Reeves] brings to light women’s unique scholarship, particularly in paying attention to the family and ordinary people’s lives in ways that few other economists were able to do.

This book claims three main purposes: one, to rewrite women into the history of economics as they have been repeatedly erased despite their many contributions to the discipline. Two, in addition to this recognition, she brings to light women’s unique scholarship, particularly in paying attention to the family and ordinary people’s lives in ways that few other economists were able to do. And three, she uses these works to advocate for more women in economics because of women’s unique decision-making skills. As Claudia Goldin’s recent Nobel Prize in Economics for her work on the gender wage gap shows, concerns around the family can no longer be delegated to a subset of “women’s issues”. Rather, these are central concerns of economics and reflect Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo’s appeal for economics to not be “removed from any real person’s life” (183).

Economists such as Beatrice Webb are a significant influence on Reeves’ own thought and policy, particularly her work on chronic unemployment and underemployment that recognise the ‘structural problems that meant men who wanted to work were denied the opportunity.’

Economists such as Beatrice Webb are a significant influence on Reeves’ own thought and policy, particularly her work on chronic unemployment and underemployment that recognise the “structural problems that meant men who wanted to work were denied the opportunity” (46). This theme returns in the chapter on Joan Robinson and her work on “disguised unemployment” that came three decades later. The work of Mary Paley Marshall, who was married to economist Alfred Marshall, revealed why firms and industries cluster in specific geographical regions due to economies of scale that emerge from congregation of manufacturers, suppliers and financiers in one area. Innovation of any kind is dependent on pre-existing infrastructures and specialisations that require long-term investment and development. Mary Paley Marshall’s input went into shaping Alfred Marshall’s publications but she remained vastly under-recognised, a theme that courses through the lives of several other women in the book. At the same time, Marshall herself belonged to a cluster of women who bolstered and facilitated each other’s thought and practice. In fact, all the women that Reeves discusses in this book found support and belonging in other women and shared solidarity.

The chapters on more contemporary women in economics bring women in economic leadership positions in conversation with each other. Reeves shows a clear preference for the policies of Janet Yellen, US Secretary of the Treasury under the Biden administration, for her policy agenda of growth by fostering new industries such as electric vehicles. The chapter on developmental economics shows different perspectives on the question of aid, with some such as Zambian-born economist, Dambisa Moyo arguing for a wholesale rejection of development aid and instead calling for greater reliance on capitalism to “lift people out of poverty” (177). In contrast, UN economist Sakiko Fukuda-Parr focuses on improving aid effectiveness instead of rejecting development assistance altogether. Finally, Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo looks for answers to questions of problems such as effects of aids in specific, social realities. She brings fieldwork into economics and grounds each research question in empirical case studies.

The book is written from the point of view of the Labour Party’s policies and of Reeves’ own “securonomics”, which also shapes the complexity rendered to each of the women economists.

The book is written from the point of view of the Labour Party’s policies and of Reeves’ own “securonomics”, which also shapes the complexity rendered to each of the women economists. For instance, while the chapter on Beatrice Webb, founder of the Fabian Society of which Reeves herself has been a member, is elaborate and overall largely positive, the chapter on Rosa Luxembourg, who was a communist-revolutionary, is less forgiving. Luxembourg’s internationalist-socialist argument is that capitalism did not collapse despite Marxist predictions because capitalists could always find new markets and exploit these through imperialist expansion. However, Luxembourg’s revolutionary response to this crisis of capitalist-imperialism is criticised in the book on grounds that revolutions more often than not have “led to a decline in the quality of life of ordinary workers” (96), and Reeves instead advocates for change to come through parliamentary elections such as that of Joe Biden in the US. This anti-revolutionary position prevents a more in-depth reading of Luxembourg’s scholarship and a careful assessment of her diagnosis of capitalism’s ailments. Another remarkable aspect of this chapter is the absence of any discussion on Britain’s own imperialist history in shaping its capitalist present. This stands in contrast with other chapters that discuss Britain’s contemporary politics and economy in much more detail.

Feminist readings will question the choice of the economists and those that weren’t picked, or even the politics of some of these women economists and if their proposed policies were indeed pro-women or not.

As the book balances multiple goals, the writing is often clunky and lacks transitions between different stories. Feminist readings will question the choice of the economists and those that weren’t picked, or even the politics of some of these women economists and if their proposed policies were indeed pro-women or not. Nevertheless, the fact that “there has never, in the eight hundred years that the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer has existed, been a woman in the role” (4), points to what most would characterise as a long-running and undemocratic inequality informing politics even today.

Note: This review gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, or of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The LSE RB blog may receive a small commission if you choose to make a purchase through the above Amazon affiliate link. This is entirely independent of the coverage of the book on LSE Review of Books.

Image credit: Left to right, images of Joan Robinson (via Punt, Anefo /Nationaal Archief, Netherlands), Mary Paley Marshall (via University of Bristol on Flickr) and Beatrice Webb (via Gregorysilva on Wikimedia Commons).

 

New Report Brings Shared Value to Aussie Miners

Published by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 05/11/2014 - 9:11am in