Browse by: "2013"
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This review of regulation in Italy maps and analyses the core issues which together make up effective regulatory management, laying down a framework of what should be driving regulatory policy and reform in the future. Issues examined include improving regulatory management, institutional capacities for effective regulation, transparency and processes for effective public consultation and communication, processes for the development of new regulations and for the management of the regulatory stock, compliance rates, enforcement policy. appeal processes, the interface between different levels of government and interface between national processes and those of the EU.
Many governments seek to attract private finance for infrastructure through public-private partnerships (PPPs) in order to maintain investment at the same time as limiting public spending. Experience with PPPs has, however, been mixed. Some transport PPP projects have delivered major cost savings but many more have exceeded their budgets. PPPs are prone to overestimating revenues and when projects run into financial difficulty, risks have a tendency to revert to the
taxpayer.
The report examines the nature of risks and uncertainty associated with different types of PPP project and the practical consequences of transferring risks to private partners. It assesses the fiscal impact of PPPs and discusses budget procedures and accounting rules to limit the public liabilities they can create. The report also reviews the relative merits of tolls, availability payments and regulated asset base models for attracting finance for public infrastructure from private investors on a sustainable basis.
Boards of directors of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) play a fundamental role in corporate stewardship and performance. Over the last decade, OECD governments have sought to professionalise SOE boards, ensure their independence and shield them from ad hoc political intervention. In general these approaches have worked; yet, more remains to be done to meet the aspirational standards of established by the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises. This report seeks to shed slight on good practices drawing on national practices from over 30 economies.
Supreme audit institutions have a distinct role in supporting the development of a more strategic and forward looking state. This report assesses the role of Brazil's SAI – the Federal Court of Accounts (Tribunal de Contas da União or TCU) – in enhancing accountability and informing decision making within the federal government. The review focuses specifically on the audit of the Consolidated Year end Government Report (Prestação de Contas da Presidenta de República or PCPR). Although the TCU is a well respected independent government institution and completes the audit of the PCPR in line with constitutional provisions and international best practice, several challenges remain. Deepening TCU understanding of challenges and barriers affecting the use of its audit – especially by the legislature – is critical for enhancing accountability and informing decision making. Moreover, framing clearly and concisely the main findings will make the TCU work audit more accessible and elevate the imperative for action. Creating a more explicit and co-ordinated TCU communication strategy will also improve the value and benefit of the audit findings.
This Handbook is designed to raise the awareness of tax examiners and auditors of issues concerning bribery and other forms of corruption. It provides guidance on how to recognise indicators of possible bribery or corruption in the course of regular tax examinations and audits.
This brochure is published within the framework of the Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables established by OECD in 1962. It comprises explanatory notes and illustrations to facilitate the uniform interpretation of the Broccoli Standard. This brochure illustrates the standard text and demonstrates the quality parameters on high quality photographs. Thus, it is a valuable tool for the inspection authorities, professional bodies and traders interested in international trade of broccoli.
This book provides data on CO2 emission from fuel combustions from 1971 to 2010 for more than 140 countries and regions by sector and by fuel. Emissions were calculated using IEA energy databases and the default methods and emission factors from the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
More than five million new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year in OECD countries. Mortality rates are declining, but not as fast as for other big killers such as heart disease, and cancer survival rates show almost a four-fold difference across countries. In short, many countries are not doing as well as they could in the fight against cancer.
Cancer Care: Assuring Quality to Improve Survival surveys the policy trends in cancer care over recent years and looks at survival rates to identify the why some countries are doing better than others. It sets out what governments should do to reduce the burden of cancer in their countries. As well as an adequate level of resourcing, a comprehensive national cancer control plan appears critical, emphasising initiatives such as early detection and fast-track treatment pathways. Countries also need better data, particularly for patients’ experiences of care, in order to provide high quality, continuously improving cancer care.
This report sets out the shared view of 12 Eurasian countries on priorities and recommendations to improve their corporate governance and spur capital market development and economic growth. It analyses the structure, experience and prospects for Eurasian capital markets, and makes recommendations to support the development of liquid and vibrant capital markets as a key ingredient for economic growth. It underlines the critical role that corporate governance can play to underpin such growth. It reviews and notes the region’s rapid economic growth during the last decade and the need for equity capital to complement bank financing to maintain sustainable economic growth in the future.
This report examines the relationship between large business taxpayers and revenue bodies, five years on from the publication of the FTA’s Study into the Role of Tax Intermediaries. The study recommended that revenue bodies develop a relationship based on trust and co-operation. The report is based on a detailed examination of the practical experiences of countries that have established this type of relationship.
The report finds that the pillars of an improved relationship highlighted in the Study remain valid. However, it identifies some additional features that are equally important: the part played by the tax control framework used by a large business in providing an objective basis for trust is emphasised. It also suggests that “co-operative compliance” is a better description of the recommended approach than the original “enhanced relationship” label.
The report addresses some questions that have been raised about the compatibility of the new approach with certain legal principles and discusses the internal governance of these programmes within revenue bodies. The importance of making a sound business case for the approach and how to measure the results of co-operative compliance programmes is addressed. The report concludes with some thoughts about the future direction of the co-operative compliance concept.
This well-established publication provides detailed information on past and current evolution of the world coal market. It presents country-specific statistics for OECD member countries and selected non-OECD countries on coal production, demand, trade and prices. This publication represents a key reference tool for all those involved in the coal supply or consumption stream, as well as institutions and governments involved in market and policy analysis of the world coal market.
Colombia has undergone profound change over the last ten years and has made significant progress in implementing its governance agenda with policies that aim to strengthen its institutions and promote sustainable, inclusive growth in all regions of the country. The Public Governance Review therefore offers advice to help Colombia address its governance challenges effectively and efficiently over time. It provides an assessment and recommendations on how to improve its ability to set, steer, and implement multi-year national development strategy. The Review addresses centre-of-government co-ordination, evidence-based decision-making, multi-level governance and thematic issues related to whole-of-government strategic human resource management, e-government, and public procurement. Overall, strategic agility in managing an efficient and effective public administration that delivers sound policy to citizens and business in support of the country’s security, growth and prosperity, are key to ensuring that Colombia’s government can deliver policy in a way that advances the country’s long-term development, cohesion, competitiveness and prosperity agenda.
Public research is the source of many of today’s technologies from the GPS and MRI to MP3 technology. Public research institutions (PRIs) and universities are also an engine of entrepreneurial ventures from biotech start-ups to Internet giants like Google. Today, globalisation, open innovation and new forms of venture financing such as crowd funding are changing the way institutions promote the transfer and commercialisation of public researcher results.
This report describes recent trends in government and university level policies to enhance the transfer and exploitation of public research and benchmarks the patenting and licensing activities of PRIs and universities in a number of OECD countries and regions, including the EU, Australia, Canada, and the US.
Finally, it also showcases, based on case studies of leading institutions in Finland (Aalto Center for Entrepreneurship), Germany (Fraunhofer Institute), the Czech Republic (Technology Transfer Office of the Czech Technical University), Japan (open innovation in firms), United States (National Institutes of Health) a number of good practices for increasing the number of university invention disclosures, accelerate licensing contracts and promote more open innovation practices between universities and firms.
This study first analyses an old and recurring form of instability in the region: conflict over resources. A series of case studies examines the causes of these conflicts with reference to the associated regional challenges and response tools. Secondly, the study addresses terrorism, a relatively new dimension of insecurity. It outlines the development of AQMI and Boko Haram and then focuses on a comparative analysis of legal mechanisms to fight against terrorism. The argument holds that the congruence of these insecurities and the current violent crises present an unprecedented risk of destabilisation for West Africa and the international community.
The Baltic countries have experienced sustained emigration over the past decade, contributing to population decline and a loss of working-age population. The impact of this emigration is felt strongly in the labour market, the general economy and in social developments. How can countries deal with the impact of high levels of emigration? How to attract back emigrants? How best to benefit from the financial, social and human capital developed abroad? The Baltic countries are not alone in addressing these challenges, and this volume brings together the recent experience of Poland and Romania, as well as a wide range of OECD countries, in developing new policies to cope with emigration.
As manifested by an increasingly globalised media, a nuclear accident anywhere quickly becomes a potential concern for people everywhere. It is therefore of prime importance that nuclear regulators’ communication strategies take into consideration the expectations and concerns of the public and provide sound information not only for the people of the affected country, but also for citizens worldwide. Public trust is a key element in being able to do so effectively and of particular importance when there are consequences for people or the environment. International co-operation can play a fundamental role in helping to improve crisis communication on national and global scales in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency. These proceedings contain the papers, recommendations and conclusions of the workshop, which was attended by over 180 experts from 27 countries and 6 international organisations.
Many jurisdictions around the world are trying to retain or increase the share of cycling in urban traffic in order to benefit from the many health and transport efficiency benefits. Safety is a key concern and should be accounted for in these policies.
This report of the International Transport Forum's Cycling Safety Working Group monitors international trends in cycling, safety and policy, and explores options that may help decision makers design safe environments for cycling. Key messages relate to strategic goal-setting for cycling policy and managing crash risks while increasing health benefits. The report also discusses how to better capture crash and bicycle usage statistics. The safety impacts of a wide range of pro-cycling measures are examined in detail.
The Development Co-operation Report (DCR) 2013 explores what needs to be done to achieve rapid and sustainable progress in the global fight to reduce poverty. The world is on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people whose income is less than USD 1.25 a day. Nonetheless, we are far from achieving the overarching MDG goal of eradicating extreme poverty. While we have learned much about what works in terms of reducing poverty, “getting to zero” remains a challenge in the face of the intractable difficulties of reaching those mired in extreme poverty.
The report focuses on the very poor and will set out, in concrete terms:
• The nature and dimensions of poverty today
• What development co-operation – and the global partnerships it supports – can do in the fight against poverty
The DCR 2013 will focus on the positive experiences of countries, highlighting policies and approaches that have worked.
Few subjects are as controversial – and poorly understood – as globalisation. While in its broadest sense, economic globalisation is as old as trade itself, the recent financial crisis has amplified the complexity associated with the global interconnectedness of the world’s economies and its ramifications on our livelihoods.
This publication reviews the major turning points in the history of economic integration, and in particular the pace at which it has accelerated since the 1990s. It also considers its impact in four crucial areas, namely employment, development, the environment and financial stability: does globalisation foster development or create inequality? Does it promote or destroy jobs? Is it damaging to the environment or compatible with its preservation? Are we heading towards de-globalisation or can globalisation in fact enable recovery?
The Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2014: Beyond the Middle-Income Trap presents a medium-term (five year) economic outlook for Emerging Asia, a specific focus on the middle-income trap and an assessment of national structural policy reforms and medium-term development plans. The report highlights the fact that economies in the region will remain resilient in the next five years, supported by the growing strength of domestic demand. It also calls for greater efforts in the push for further economic integration in ASEAN, in particular in the areas of human capital development and poverty.