As the coalition considers how to develop a growth strategy, it would do well to call in
Paddy Ashdown and hear about the ‘Bulldozer Initiative’ he launched while in Bosnia working for the United Nations. Not a highway programme, the Bulldozer Initiative was instead one of the smartest
pro-business schemes I have seen. And something like it is now needed here.
The brainchild of a French businessmen and based on the ideas of Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, it involved building a partnership between politicians and businessmen to identify specific legislation and regulations that prevented companies from expanding their businesses and creating more jobs. The steering committee, made up of businessmen, politicians and officials, set itself the task of having ’50 reforms enacted within 150 days’.
Through media outreach and a travelling roadshow, the steering committee known as the Bulldozer Committee – invited entrepreneurs to submit suggestions for reform.
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