A Note on Efficiency at the Passport Office

This note was written on March 13, 2018, after I arrived home from the passport office in Yankin.

“

Anyone who’s been at the passport office in Yangon this year knows how horrible the wait is- multiple lines spanning the entirety of the floor space, humidity and temperature similar to a “lit” fraternity party, instructions are unclear on what documents they need, and what they do.

You may think it this service is free, hence all people of age 18+ in Myanmar are swarming over to the cities in hopes that they can catch the next plane abroad, to a better life. The reality is- the passport costs about 30000 ks. takes at least 2 whole dedicated days, in addition to ~2 weeks of wait time to complete if you don’t use “the fast lane”.

Problem: there are too many people applying for passports at the moment.

Fix: this is what we call excess demand in our field. 25000 on paper sounds expensive; it is approximately a quarter of the median monthly household income in Myanmar but it seems to be a price at which people are more than willing to pay. If they increase the price to 40000 ks, it creates an opening for people who would value the passport 15000 more to price out the ones that value it at or around 30000. Efficiency is improved because those that use their passports efficiently can now easily pay a slightly higher price, without having to wait in line with the other person who will likely never use their passports (and only got it because it is not costly). On the other end, this also keeps some workers inside the country. 

Problem: passports take too long to get

Fix: The only documents they need when renewing a passport are: old passport, household registry, National ID card, and multiple photocopies of all the former. What if the passport office equipped itself with 15 computers and a database. A desktop costs $300 and a server costs ~$3000. Outsource the processes to computer stores all around the country. Have people send in those documents for review through an online form that is reviewed on a computer. If there are any discrepancies on the application, reject it instantly and put the liability on the applicants. It’s not that hard to scan and upload a couple papers.

Problem: people who want to go “the fast lane”.

Fix: everyone already knows you can get your passport in a day if you pay ~$200. Why not just make it official? Have an official “express” service that charges 120,000 ks that can get your passport renewed in 5 days, and an “emergency” service that needs to be approved by the head of the office that can get you a passport the next day for ~300,000 ks. It saves us having to waste time and be subtle, and gives the government some extra revenue through utilizing a more gradient payment scheme. I personally spent around 30-60 minutes of an officers time just to do it the fast way, when I could’ve just given them the premium price over the counter, and he could’ve used that time to do actual work. Justify the higher cost as a efficiency price to process the application faster.

Problem: but we don’t have the money to make changes!

Solution: I’m sure it’s not hard to make your friends like Tayza or Zaw Zaw divest some of their equity and buy (Myanmar) government backed bonds instead of taking their cash off-shore. The extra revenue from a higher fee (like 40000) would be more than enough to cover for the initial investment.

Potential problem: you may be saying my solutions don’t leave any monies for the officers and that they need tips to survive.

Fix: 1. They chose a government job to make this country a better place, not for money.

2. If we save money for the government and improve efficiency, maybe the employees can get paid better. (Fucking genius)

Summary: switch the application to an online form. All people need to come in and do is:

1. deposit 40000 ks at the front counter. (Or more if you want it faster)
2. Obtain a unique application code, which is your identifier for the rest of the process.
3. Use that code to record your fingerprint and take a picture.
4. Go home (or to a Internet shop) and fill out the application online, uploading all documents.
5. If everything goes well, a pickup date will be set and the applicant just picks it up at the date.

This application increases efficiency twofolds- a higher cost disincentives people to leave the country, reducing brain drain and human capital loss. It also increases revenue from both the standard process, and the fast lane. There will be only one spot for payment collection, taking away the inefficiency of having to deal with add-on costs. Government can use this revenue to compensate the workers for their loss of illegitimate income. These fixes eliminate the long lines and unnecessary bureaucracy that is this current system.

To the policy makers: these are very doable, with only potentially positive results. If you don’t implement any of these, I take that you’re bluffing when you say you want development and change. Enjoy the free consultation. You’re welcome.

"