Public inaction represents a very real macroeconomic cost, even if it remains difficult to quantify in traditional budgetary debates. When structural reforms are postponed, existing imbalances tend to worsen mechanically. Public deficits widen due to rigid spending and insufficient revenue, while debt increases simply through inertia. In several African economies, the International Monetary Fund emphasizes that the lack of fiscal adjustment can lead, according to its scenarios, to a rise in the debt-to-GDP ratio of several percentage points in just a few years, solely due to interest payments and insufficient nominal growth.

Postponing decisions also directly affects investment. Regulatory, fiscal, or institutional uncertainty encourages businesses to delay their projects, which hinders capital accumulation and job creation. According to World Bank analyses, a prolonged increase in economic uncertainty can reduce private investment by the equivalent of 1% to 2% of GDP over a two- to three-year period. This contraction is particularly pronounced in countries where the state plays a central role in guiding the economy, as public policy hesitancy quickly spreads to the private sector.

In terms of growth, inaction acts as a silent negative shock. The lack of reform to subsidies, state-owned enterprises, or tax administration limits productivity gains and prevents a more efficient allocation of resources. Simulation models developed by regional African institutions show that a five-year delay in implementing structural reforms can reduce the annual potential growth rate by 0.5 to 1 percentage point. In the medium term, this gap translates into a cumulative loss of wealth far exceeding the immediate political cost of reform.

Public inaction also has a growing financial cost. Markets quickly price in the lack of credibility of economic policies, resulting in higher risk premiums. A deterioration in the perception of sovereign risk can lead to an increase in borrowing rates of 100 to 300 basis points, permanently increasing the debt burden. In already constrained budgetary contexts, this dynamic further reduces the state's capacity to finance social and productive investments.

Finally, the cost of inaction extends beyond purely macroeconomic indicators. By delaying reforms in education, healthcare, or governance, the state jeopardizes human capital and social cohesion. These effects, while less visible in the short term, weigh heavily on the development trajectory. Inaction thus becomes an implicitly costly strategy, transforming the status quo into a source of economic instability. From this perspective, delaying decisions often amounts to paying a higher price, both financially and socially, for what could have been addressed earlier.