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The OECD organised a conference on FDI, in Shanghai, China, in December 2002. Some of the questions addressed in this book include: What lessons can be drawn from experiences with policies for attracting FDI, including strategies based on tax and other incentives? How can MNEs contribute to promote the developmental benefits of FDI? How can FDI and portfolio investments best complement each other in support of development? Are there effective ways to achieve synergies between FDI and official development aid in leveraging private investment for development projects in LDCs?
Illustrated with graphics and maps, the Atlas of Gender and Development gives readers a unique insight into the impact of social institutions − traditions, social norms and cultural practices − on gender equality in 124 non-OECD countries.
Gender inequality holds back not just women but the economic and social development of entire societies. Overcoming discrimination is important in the fight against poverty in developing countries and for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Tackling these inequalities is not easy: in many countries, discrimination against women is deeply rooted in social institutions such as the family and the law. These long-lasting codes of conduct, norms, traditions, and informal and formal laws determine gender outcomes in education, health, political representation and labour markets.
Governments in developed countries have long used, directly or indirectly through their tax systems, policies that subsidise or otherwise encourage the population at large to acquire assets such as financial savings, home ownership, retirement funds, education (human capital) or business capital. These policies seldom reach the poor. In fact, for the poor these policies often do not stimulate saving but rather discourage it. However, the evidence reported in this book is that the poor want to save, and can do so in modest amounts. In fact, they will do so, often with sacrifices greater than either policy makers or the more well-off might imagine. Extending asset-building policies to the poor can represent an effective attack on both poverty and economic and social alienation of the poor, because it has positive welfare effects that income support alone cannot provide.
This book establishes the context for a fruitful debate on the merits and demerits of asset building for the poor by setting out the basic ideas involved in asset-building programmes and proposals. It also outlines the social policy advantages that their proponents claim, and documents what the existing programmes and demonstration projects look like.Russia’s war against Ukraine is causing a humanitarian, social and economic crisis for the Ukrainian people. The consequences of this full-scale military invasion are disrupting the global supply of commodities, sharply increasing food and energy prices, and threating the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries with established commercial and financial ties with the economies of Russia and Ukraine appear to be particularly vulnerable.
Assessing the Impact of Russia’s War against Ukraine on Eastern Partner Countries investigates the exposure of Eastern Partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) to the economic shocks caused by the war, and in particular through the impact that the conflict is having on inflation, migration, remittances, investment and trade.
This report is published as part of the multi-country project “EU4Business: From Policies to Action – phase 2”, implemented in the Eastern Partnership with the financial support of the European Union within the EU4Business initiative.
Illicit financial flows (IFFs) such as tax evasion are a major policy challenge for developing and emerging economies, in particular as the COVID-19 pandemic has drained domestic resources. This report presents results from a joint project between the OECD and the National Treasury of South Africa, which assesses tax compliance and IFFs in South Africa. The report provides an overview of macroeconomic, tax and fiscal developments in South Africa since the global financial crisis. It discusses the concepts of IFFs, how they relate to the South African context and provides an overview of South Africa’s participation in multilateral initiatives to combat tax evasion. It also provides a quantitative analysis of tax compliance and IFFs over time amid a variety of tax transparency initiatives implemented in South Africa. Finally, the report examines the effectiveness of tax transparency initiatives such as voluntary disclosure programmes, and looks into income and wealth characteristics of applicants to these programmes.
This book demonstrates some of the pitfalls associated with services liberalisation but recommends perseverance and even acceleration of the reforms. Contributors call for orderly and rapid progress towards regional integration of the services sector, based on the gradual removal of the barriers to competition. The benefits will be increased FDI flows and domestic investment, with a subsequent contribution to growth and poverty reduction. This book is based upon the 2002 International Forum on Asian Perspectives organised by the ADB and the OECD Development Centre.
The rapid advances of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years have led to numerous creative applications in science. Accelerating the productivity of science could be the most economically and socially valuable of all the uses of AI. Utilising AI to accelerate scientific productivity will support the ability of OECD countries to grow, innovate and meet global challenges, from climate change to new contagions.
This publication is aimed at a broad readership, including policy makers, the public, and stakeholders in all areas of science. It is written in non-technical language and gathers the perspectives of prominent researchers and practitioners. The book examines various topics, including the current, emerging, and potential future uses of AI in science, where progress is needed to better serve scientific advancements, and changes in scientific productivity.
Additionally, it explores measures to expedite the integration of AI into research in developing countries.
A distinctive contribution is the book’s examination of policies for AI in science. Policy makers and actors across research systems can do much to deepen AI’s use in science, magnifying its positive effects, while adapting to the fast-changing implications of AI for research governance.
Each year, 740 000 people die as a result of armed violence. It increasingly exploits a link between conflict and crime and undermines our chances of reaching the Millennium Development Goals. This book will help aid donors - both policy advisors and programme staff - to transform good words into good programmes that can ultimately help reduce armed violence globally.
This report uses the OECD Principles on Water Governance as a tool for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and practical assessment of the performance of flood governance systems. It applies the Principles to flood-prone contexts to help strengthen governance frameworks for managing the risks of “too much” water. By 2050, 1.6 billion people will be at risk of flooding, affecting nearly 20% of the world’s population at an increasing rate and many times over with dire social, economic and environmental consequences. In this report, a checklist is proposed as a self-assessment tool for stakeholders in flood management, based on lessons learned from 27 case studies that feature practical experiences and highlight common features and key challenges in flood governance.
This publication responds to the need for practical guidance for evaluators, evaluation managers, and programme staff to incorporate a human rights and gender equality lens into the six OECD evaluation criteria: relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.
It aims to support evaluators and evaluation managers in the design, management and delivery of credible and useful evaluations that assess whether and how interventions contribute to realising human rights and gender equality – both, interventions with explicit human rights related objectives and those without. It also provides broader guidance to programme staff in applying the six criteria with a human rights and gender equality lens at the outset of an intervention and addresses the main considerations and challenges in doing so.
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is one of the main tools available to achieve integration of the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes. This Guidance volume explains the benefits of using SEA in development co-operation and sets out key steps for its application based on recent experiences. Twelve different entry points are identified for the practical application of SEA in development co-operation. For each entry point, the text provides a guidance note: a checklist of questions and hands-on case studies. Evaluation and capacity development for SEA processes are also addressed.
Relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability are widely used evaluation criteria, particularly in international development co-operation. They help to determine the merit or worth of various interventions, such as strategies, policies, programmes or projects. This guidance aims to help evaluators and others to better understand those criteria, and improve their use. It starts by describing what they are, and how they are meant to be used. Then the definitions and concepts underpinning each criterion are explained. Finally, examples provide the reader with concrete ideas for using them.
The criteria were originally laid out in the early 2000s by the Network on Development Evaluation (EvalNet) of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Although they have been widely used in evaluation, and beyond, this document is the first to comprehensively explore the concepts in detail, explain their intended use and offer practical guidance. It captures current thinking and best practice in evaluation, drawing on the inputs of internationally renowned evaluation experts from EvalNet and beyond.
The Sahara-Sahel has seen recurrent episodes of instability. However, the recent Libyan and Malian crises have intensified the level of violence. These episodes have restructured the geopolitical and geographical dynamics of the region. Cross-border or regional, these contemporary crises require new institutional responses. How can countries sharing this space - Algeria, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Tunisia and all related states such as Nigeria - stabilize and develop?
Historically, the Sahara plays an intermediary role between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Commercial and human exchanges are intense and based on social networks that now include trafficking. Understanding their structure, geographical and organizational mobility of criminal groups and migratory movements represents a strategic challenge. This book hopes to address this challenge and stimulate strategies for the Sahel of the European Union, the United Nations, the African Union or ECOWAS (Economic Community of the States of West Africa) in order to foster lasting peace.
The Atlas is based on an analysis of mapped regional security issues and development objectives to open the necessary dialogue between regional and international organizations, governments, researchers and local stakeholders tracks.
All on Board: Making Inclusive Growth Happen puts forth a new approach to economic growth that goes beyond traditional monetary indicators and includes dimensions that reflect people's well-being. It introduces an analytical framework to assess economic growth based on a measurement of multidimensional living standards. The report also presents win-win policies that can deliver stronger growth and greater inclusiveness in areas such as: macroeconomic policies, labour market policies, education and skills, infrastructure and public services and development and urban policies. It underscores the need to assess and weigh trade-offs and complementarities between and among policies, and the crucial role of good governance in implementing an Inclusive Growth agenda.
Climate change is altering the ecological and social systems that underpin human well-being and economic activity, and developing countries are particularly vulnerable to its impact on the growth and sustainable development prospects of every sector and community. Being part of the solution requires all providers of development co-operation to align their activities with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. However many still lack the mandates, resources, incentives and strategies to do so. This report outlines how providers can make changes at home, in developing countries and in the international development co-operation system, to help create low-emissions, climate-resilient economies, and how they can avoid supporting activities that lock the world into an unsustainable future.
History has shown that openness to trade is a key ingredient for economic success and for improved living standards. But simply opening the economy to international trade is not enough. Developing countries – especially the least developed – require help in building their trade-related capacities in terms of information, policies, procedures, institutions and infrastructure, so as to compete effectively in the global economy. Aid for trade aims to help countries overcome the supply-side constraints that inhibit their ability to benefit from market access opportunities. The almost 300 case stories show clear results of how aid-for-trade programmes are helping developing countries to build human, institutional and infrastructure capacity to integrate into regional and global markets and to make good use of trade opportunities. Together, these stories are a rich and varied source of information on the results of aid for trade activities – an indication of the progress achieved by the Aid-for-Trade Initiative.
This report analyses the evolution of Aid for Trade flows in a context marked by crises of unprecedented magnitude, with significant impacts on trade and investment. Under the theme “Empowering Connected, Sustainable Trade”, it shows that Aid for Trade was an important tool in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and can help address emerging challenges, such as the environmental and digital transitions while ensuring that no one is left behind. Recent data indicate that a shift is under way to put sustainability, including green transition and women’s empowerment, at the heart of Aid for Trade, and point to its potential to support an inclusive and sustainable recovery.
This edition analyses how trade can contribute to economic diversification and empowerment, with a focus on eliminating extreme poverty, particularly through the effective participation of women and youth. It shows how aid for trade can contribute to that objective by addressing supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastructure constraints, including for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises notably in rural areas.
The analysis is based on the views of 133 respondents – 88 developing countries, 35 donors, 5 providers of South-South trade-related support and 5 regional organisations – who participated in the 2019 aid-for-trade monitoring and evaluation exercise. They share the view that economic diversification is a gateway for economic empowerment, but also that empowerment is essential for economic diversification particularly when it enables youth, women and micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises to engage in international trade.
This edition of Aid for Trade at a Glance focuses on trade connectivity, which is critical for economic growth, inclusiveness and sustainable development. Physical connectivity enables the movement of goods and services to local, regional and global markets. It is closely intertwined with digital connectivity which is vital in today’s trade environment. Yet, the Internet remains inaccessible for 3.9 billion people globally, many of whom live in the least developed countries.
This report builds on the analysis of trade costs and extends it into the digital domain, reflecting the changing nature of trade. It seeks to identify ways to support developing countries – and notably the least developed – in realising the gains from trade. It reviews action being taken by a broad range of stakeholders to promote connectivity for sustainable development, including by governments, their development partners and by the private sector. One message that emerges strongly is that participation in e-commerce requires much more than a simple internet connection.
Chapters were prepared by the World Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and Business for eTrade Development.
The Aid for Trade Initiative has allowed for the active engagement of a large number of organisations and agencies in helping developing countries and especially the least developed build the infrastructure and supply-side capacity they need to connect to regional and global markets and improve their trade performance. The new development paradigm under the post-2015 Development Agenda requires an integrated approach to ensure that the aid for trade achievement leads to inclusive and sustainable development outcomes. Embedding trade cost at the centre of the Aid for Trade Initiative provides an operational focal point for such action among a broad collation of stakeholders.
The 2015 joint OECD/WTO publication Aid for Trade at a Glance focusses on how reducing trade costs will help in achieving inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The publication contains contributions from the Enhanced Integrated Framework, the International Trade Centre, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the World Bank.