,,. Letters 11te Economist March 21st 2.
- is clear. Yet it is less clear solving serious problems and dency. 111.e weakening of judi-
A worldtumed upside down 'W'hethereniployeeswould at the same time protecting cial independence in Britain
Schumpeter(March 7th) con- share equally in those benefits. privacy, covid-19 or not. maythusha.veaknock-on
nec:tecl the coronavirus aisis to It may be prudent, froni the ASBJORN AMMITZBOLL PLUGGE effect of undermining judicial
the lesson of ftresilience and point of view of employees' Pho fellow independence in other places.
adaptation· offered bythe wellbeing, to reOect before Departmentof Coniputer For Hong Kong, the recent
strike on the London implenienting long-term. Science appointment of the heavy-
Underground in February 2014. remote-working policies. university of Copenhagen banded Xia Baolong as director
Sha.on La.room, Ferdinand Feeling part of a shared of the Hong Kong-affairs office
Rauch and I analysed the strike institutional culture can be - signals Beijing's tightening
and found that the partial meaningful and motivating. Centnl-bank staff grip on the city's administra-
closure of the network forced Flexible'WOiking may cut I read your short piece noting tion. A decline in Britain's
many commuters toexperi- commuting ti1nes and iniprove the high staffing numbers at judicl.alindependencetnay
mentwithnewroutes. For the work-life balance, but European central banks stoke concerns of opportunis-
many this resulted in shorter working remotely reduces the ("Labour hoarding", February tic attempts by Beijing to di-
travel times; they continued to valuable face-to-face connec- 22nd). Please consider that minish the power of Hong
use the new routes after the tion between employee, col- apart from the core functions Kong's judiciary. Even though
strike, thus gene1ating a leagues and company. Itwould .related to monetary policy, judicial independence requires
lasting benefit beashameif tlexibleworking banknotesandamency judges to be partial only to the
lhe current global experi- -wereweaponised against .management, the sir;e of law, Beijing expressed in a
mentwithaltemativeworlc employees for the sake of central banks varies depending white paper published in .20l
anangenients (less business saving on office costs. whether a single institution that it is a basic political
travel, increased teleworking) PATRICK KELLY also handles coinage, printing, requirement that judges in
might also bringlo~term Chief executive payment-system supervision, Hong Kong be patriotic. When
gains to businesses. Th.ere is MizenGroup public-debt management, Baroness Hale was appointed
another benefit. The covid-19 New York economic surveys, statistical to the city's Court of Final
crisis has brought about mass- collection. banking resolution. Appeal in .20J8, it came as no
education on hygiene. School- Working from home could and the supervision of bank- surprise that pro-Beijing law-
children are being taught how result in staff forking out ing, insurance and markets. makers voiced concemabout
to sneeze responsibly, touch- thousands in extra costs. An Then there is financial her handling cases in 'W'bich
ing one's face is becoming officeemployeewhoworksa consumerprotectionand the national interests may be at
frowned upon, and proper 40-hour-week for, say, 46 duties related to new chal- stake. If Mr Johnson has his
handwashingtechniquesare weeksayearwillspendan lenges, like fintech. way,ttrna.yspellanunprece-
enjoying theins minutes of extrai,840 hours at home. For instance, 'W'hen conipar- dented challenge to Hong
fame. Although oovid-19 might Think of the additional cost for Ing staffing levels at most Kong's independent judiciary.
unfortunately be here to stay, it heating and lighting a house European central banks with JUSTIN BONG-KWAN
may alsochangesodalnorms that is otheIWisevacant during the Fedenl Reserve, you Banister-at-law
(elbow bumps instead ofha.nd- the day, nottomention pow- should add staff at the PDIC, Hong Kong
shakes) and improve hygiene eting a computer during that OCC, SBC, NCUA, N'AIC, and
habits. If those changes stick, time and running a printer others, and of the regulatory -
wemayseefewercasesof flu (ink, paper). Firms also provide authorities in each state. All in Di1ital pluralitr
and other infectious diseases. extensive IT support. What all, this raises the central-bank Kudos to 7fte Economist for
Going forward, this could happens if your personal com- staff per inhabitant in the EU sticking to using data as a
improve health outcomes and puterbreaks down'i' Is that a and America to the same level. plum ("Data. data every-
lower associated costs. company cost or individual THIBR.B.Y DESANOIS where", February 29th).
Josephschumpetertaught cost? Then there are the small President Although I don'tunderstand
us to embrace disruption. items such as stationery, coffee standing committee of Euro- whythere isagnmmatical
Although the covid-19 crisis is and, dare I say it, toilet paper pean Central Banks Unions quarrel over this, I have found
making this very challenging, that are provided atthe office. Paris myself for years having to
at the moment it is prefemble MAR.GAR.BTO'BIUAN correct the young scientists
to embracing people. London - I've mentored. While we're on
TIMWILLBMS Juda-in Hoftl Kons the topic, bacteria and sera are
Washington, DC The problem 'W'ith China's lhe consequences of Boris also plurals, the singular forms
success in using surveillance Johnson restricting the power being bacterium and serum
Another lasting effect may be methods such as facial recog- and independence of the judi- (also media/medium, in con-
the reinvention of the office. nition and colour codes to ciary in Britain may be more texts other than the media
Schumpeternoted that firms tame covid-19 is that this could far-reaching than the erosion world The Economist inhabits).
may nO'W' find it is better to legitimise the extensive use of of a safeguard against GBOBGECROSS
encourage remote working, profiling tools ("Code red-, unchecked executive power New York
given how inefficiently office February 29th). One can easily ("Boris v the judgesu, February
space is used. Big British and imagine hO'W' massive survell- 22nd). Theprincipleofjudicial
American companies pay on lance and limitations to funda- independence in Britain lettel$arewelcomeanc:I should be
average $5,000 per employee mental rights like privacy underpins the legal systems of addnllSldto the Editor at
in annual rental costs, though could become the new norm. sonie former British colonies, ,...., The John Economist. Adam SU., The Adelphi LondonwczN61fT Building.
just half the desks are used Desperate times call for des- in which authoritarianism is £mail:lettel1@ee:Ol iomist.com
duringworkinghours. The perate measures, but democ- more appropriately described More leal!Bare-llable at:
potential benefit to companies racies face the dilemma of as a feature iatherthan a ten- Emnomllt.cam/11118n