The above comment has just been made by a senior government official at the Task Force conference in Bergen.

How right he is.

And he followed up by saying that if the three premises of economics are wrong — there is imperfect information, high transaction costs and irrationality — then making clear what we’re saying combats these failures by reducing asymmetry of information is vital.

And transparency he says is key — and reiterates a point I make often — this is because we will all be better off with it. But this requires a change in broader mindset which government won’t deliver.

Which is why he says what we’re doing in the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development is so vital. As a continuing presence, investing in this space, we provide the vital counterbalance to governments based on reaction to issues when the underlying failure is systemic.