The role of governments in shaping global economic
policy will expand in coming years.7 Technology
will be an important factor in this evolution
by facilitating the creation of new types of public
goods while helping to manage them more effectively.
This last trend is broad in scope and draws
upon many of the other trends described above.
Take the challenges of rising urbanization. About
half of the world’s people now live in urban areas,
and that share is projected to rise to 70 percent
by 2050. Creative public policies that incorporate
new technologies could help ease the economic and
social strains of population density. “Wired” cities
might be one approach. London, Singapore, and
Stockholm have used smart assets to manage traffic
congestion in their urban cores, and many cities
throughout the world are deploying these technologies
to improve the reliability and predictability of
mass-transit systems. Sensors in buses and trains
provide transportation planners with real-time
status reports to optimize routing and give riders
tools to adjust their commuting plans.