resort to the first option. they, therefore, fall in the trap of patron - client relationship or mai - bap relationship that makes them permanently subservient to the well - to - do and influentials of their areas. they lose their autonomy and the decisions are made on their behalf by these elite groups. this loss in autonomy is translated into electoral support at the time of the elections for this elite class. thus, powerlessness and loss of autonomy perpetuate poverty even when incomes may rise in the short run. this state of affairs will continue to prevail until we bring about major reforms in our institutions particularly civil service, judiciary and police. their orientation and mind set have to change and their performance should be evaluated on the basis of their providing access to the poor and common citizens. in essence, it is a matter of good governance not only at the highest level but at all levels of the public institutions – legislature, judiciary and executive. the legal system and financial rules in the bureaucracy are also highly complex and full of obfuscations. even if some well - meaning top officials are committed to bringing about some changes, the administrative machinery down the hierarchy is so cumbersome and anachronistic and the financial rules are so outdated and restrictive that good policy intentions are seldom translated into action. what is the way forward to end this powerlessness and lack of access of the poor? good governance should therefore start with a review of the structure, processes, practices and rules and regulations of our administrative machinery and then bring about revisions wherever required. there are some positive changes that are taking place or are underway. devolution to local governments, civil service reforms, police reforms and judicial reforms are being implemented and the sooner they take firm root the encumbrances on the poor of this country will be eased. media – both electronic and print – have become more vigilant. they should undertake more in - depth investigative reporting and expose the malpractices prevalent in the system and ensure that the poor have better access to delivery of public services and institutions. non - government and civil society organizations have become quite active in the fields of education and health care. some of them are providing quality services without imposing severe financial burden on the poor. private - public partnership should be strengthened to scale up these activities whereby the government provides the facilities and finances while the private and not - for - profit sector delivers the services to the poor. financial system is one of the most potent instruments

most important european catalyst for growth, the single market, is still untapped. the single market has been very successful in facilitating trade in goods. hence, competition in this area is intense. the mark - ups that firms are able to charge in addition to their costs due to market power are low and are comparable to those in the us, for example. when it comes to services, however, the picture looks different. mark - ups are higher, on average, than in the us. it is probably safe to say that the services directive has fallen short of expectations. completing the single market for services therefore holds the promise of substantial economic gains. this could be achieved by finally establishing the “ country of origin ”, as is already the case in the common market for goods. this principle states that a firm should no longer be hampered by regulation in the importing country if it has already complied with the national regulations in its home country. the same goes for bringing the single market into the digital age. when it comes to the digital economy, fragmentations still abound, in particular with regard to legal issues such as privacy and data protection, content and copyright, liability of online intermediaries, epayments and electronic contracts. the eu is still comprised of 28 individual digital markets rather than one single digital market. this is holding back innovation, growth and, ultimately, jobs. studies3 suggest that establishing a harmonised and well - regulated digital single market holds the same potential as the introduction of the original one, raising gdp by as much as 4 %. in germany, for example, this could imply an additional 427, 000 jobs over the period 2015 to 2020. some steps have already been taken towards a true single market for the digital economy, but we are not there yet. continuing along this path to the end would provide a major boost to european competitiveness. it is therefore more than worth the effort. another push to eu gdp could potentially stem from an eu - us trade agreement. the us is the eu ’ s biggest export market and its third most important import partner for trade in goods. the ties between the two regions are even closer in terms of service trade. given the already low average tariff rates, non - tariff barriers are probably the greatest stillexisting impediment to bilateral trade. in the first round, the effects on trade and gdp, european commission ( 2013 ), “ the euro area ’ s growth prospects over the coming decade ”, quarterly report