Browse by: "T"

Commodity trading presents specific and heightened risks of corruption due to the large amount of money involved in commodity trading transactions, which are source of important revenues for developing countries, and due to the sophisticated mechanisms used to channel corrupt payments. These include complex and opaque corporate structures, the use of off-shore entities, that render the identification of beneficial owners more difficult, the use of intermediaries (including briefcase or shell companies) and joint ventures with politically exposed persons (PEPs).

This report maps out corruption risks of cross-cutting relevance for the sales of oil, gas and minerals that can arise at several points in commodity trading transactions. It contributes to advancing the global transparency and accountability agenda in commodity trading, by improving understanding and raising awareness of corruption red flags and evolving corruption patterns across a wide range of stakeholders, including home jurisdictions of buying companies, trading hubs, host governments, state-owned enterprises and buying companies.

African agriculture is a sleeping giant. Agribusiness remains in its infancy in most sub-Saharan African countries. Many of them now pay higher prices for imported food products and struggle to keep inflationary pressures under control. Given the strong long-term prospect for world food prices, increasing the productivity of food crops becomes a top priority. It requires sizeable investments in irrigation, storage, transport infrastructure and logistics, as well as better access to markets for inputs (fertilizers, seeds, planting materials and credit).

While successful contract-farming schemes exist for export crops, they remain rare for food crops. Greater involvement of the private sector in designing and implementing such food-crop commercialisation programmes could develop viable local food industries. Existing international financing facilities such as the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) for Africa should get full use. Whether Africa can unleash the potential of commercial agriculture in the coming decades also depends in no small part on the continuous and effective support of the international development community.

The findings summarised in this volume can serve as building blocks for further international discussions on fostering agro-based private-sector development and lifting smallholders out of poverty.

This book presents an analysis of recent trends in migration movements and policies in OECD countries as well as in certain non-member countries. It includes a detailed description of the flows, the different channels of immigration and the nationalities of the migrants concerned.

In addition to this overall analysis, the reader will also find in this publication two sections on the recent developments in migration flows and policies in Asia and in Central and Eastern Europe; a special chapter devoted to family-linked immigration, the criteria to be fulfilled in order to take advantage of it and the legal systems which regulate family members' access to social welfare and the labour market; and a statistical annex containing the most recent available data on foreign and immigrant populations, foreign workers, migration flows and naturalisations.

This report presents an analysis of recent trends in migration movements and policies in OECD countries as well as in certain non-member countries. It includes a detailed description of the flows, the different channels of immigration and the nationalities of the migrants concerned.  This report also provides details of the significant changes that many host countries (such as Australia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United-Kingdom and Poland) have made to their legislation in order to obtain greater control over migration flows. Finally, this report also presents an inventory of policies implemented to improve the integration of immigrants and to extend international co-operation. 

Beside this overall analysis, the reader will also find etailed notes presenting the main migration characteristics of each country; an analysis of the economic and political implications of irregular immigration illustrating the different situations of irregularity, the methods employed to measure its extent, its impact on the labour market and the sanctions imposed on employers; and a statistical annex containing the most recent available data on foreign and immigrant populations, foreign workers, migration flows and naturalisations.

This analysis of the recent trends of migration movements and policies covers all OECD countries and certain non-member countries. It provides a comprehensive description of these flows, the different channels of immigration and the nationalities of the migrants concerned. This report also examines recent policy developments aimed at better controlling the flows, improving the integration of immigrants and extending international co-operation. Particular attention is given to the links between migration, free trade and regional economic integration.

This overall analysis is completed by thirty detailed country notes presenting the main migration characteristics of each country; a special comparative study on the temporary employment of foreigners describing the different categories of workers involved as well as the manner of their recruitment and the conditions of their stay in OECD countries; and a comprehensive statistical annex providing the most up-to-date data on foreign and immigrant populations, foreign workers, migration flows and naturalisations.

More than one-third of Official Development Assistance is spent annually on fragile and conflict-affected countries. Nonetheless, aid does not always flow promptly and effectively to where it is most needed, especially in countries recovering from conflict. The Accra Agenda for Action, recent peer reviews by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) and the UN Secretary-General’s report “Peacebuilding in the Immediate Aftermath of Conflict” agree: international engagement is less than optimal, especially in guiding and implementing transition financing processes.
 
While many determining forces in fragile and conflict-affected countries are outside donor control, decisions about which activities to finance and how to finance them influence these countries’ path out of conflict. This is because financing is about much more than the flow of resources: it affects behaviour, aid architecture, power and influence, priorities, and capacity development. And because it signals approval or disapproval, there is no neutral choice: a financing decision has consequences that go far beyond the timescale and scope of the funded activity.
 
This report will help OECD DAC members and partners to map out more effective, rapid and flexible transition financing. This includes improving current policies and practices in financial flows, implementing procedural and cultural changes in donor administrations, and maximising use of the instruments available for in-country transition financing. The report also addresses improving the operational effectiveness of pooled funding instruments, clarifying the link between funding instruments and national ownership, and adopting a new approach to identify and prioritise specific transition needs.

The prospect of further trade liberalisation sometimes attracts a noisy public discourse, particularly with respect to the possible implications for developing countries. This volume considers trade and development from an economic perspective, aiming to examine these emotive issues using empirical approaches and dispassionate analysis. What are the potential welfare impacts on developing countries from further liberalisation?  What economic adjustments would such liberalisation entail?  What policy options exist for developing countries seeking to seize on new market opportunities while responding to the associated structural challenges? Trading Up:  Economic Perspectives on Development Issues in the Multilateral Trading System delivers new insights from the latest OECD and World Bank research on these questions and related topics.

Developing and transition economies are seeking to accelerate their development by liberalising trade and investment, and taking advantage of the opportunities of the global market place. However, in the wake of recent financial crises, concerns have been expressed that some countries might turn away from open trade and investment. In fact, most crisis-affected countries are continuing to liberalise trade and investment, which they see as part of the solution to the crisis, not the cause.

This report reviews evidence of the benefits and challenges of trade and investment for development, drawing on experiences from economies in various parts of the world. Experience shows that open trade and investment have been beneficial for development, when accompanied by a coherent set of growth-oriented macroeconomic and structural policies, capacity-building, social policy and good governance. Further, countries like Korea and Mexico that have responded to economic crisis with liberalisation and structural reform have experienced positive results. All countries -- developed, developing and transition -- have a vital stake in a new Round of multilateral trade negotiations to prepare for the global economy of 21st century.

The development process can advance more rapidly than ever before in the new global economy. While opening their economies to trade and investment is a necessary condition for developing countries to achieve sustained high growth and reduce poverty, it is by no means a sufficient condition. Initiating a sustainable dynamic growth requires sound, market-oriented economic policies; appropriate social policy frameworks, including strong investment in human capital and adequate social safety-nets; and good governance. But, as shown by the Asian financial crisis, weaknesses in any of these basic foundations make even successful developing economies vulnerable to crisis.

OECD countries have a pivotal role to play in facilitating developing countries' efforts to fully exploit the benefits of open trade and investment. The key objective of this report is to identify how OECD countries can promote policy coherence by improving the framework for international investment and capital flows; addressing environmental concerns; facilitating participation of developing countries in the global information society; and enhancing the coherence of development co-operation policies. To be successful, policy coherence implies the broader agenda of consciously taking account of the needs and interests of developing countries in order for them to be effective rather than vulnerable and marginal players in the global economy.

Trade promotes economic growth, alleviates poverty and helps countries reach their development goals. However, developing countries – in particular the least developed – face difficulties in making trade happen and turning trade into economic growth. The Aid for Trade Initiative – launched at the 2005 World Trade Organisation conference in Hong Kong – aims at helping these countries to take advantage of trade opportunities and to reap the benefits of their integration into the world economy. The Initiative has been a success: it has not only raised awareness among both donors and developing countries about the role of trade in development, but also helped secure increased resources.

Trade for Growth and Poverty Reduction: How Aid for Trade Can Help explains how Aid for Trade can foster economic growth and reduce poverty, and why it is an important instrument for a development strategy that actively supports poverty alleviation. Unlocking this potential requires carefully designed and sequenced trade reforms. While developing countries have many trade-related needs, but financial resources and political capital for reforms are limited, it is an important priority to tackle the most binding constraints to trade expansion. This report describes the diagnostic tools available, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses, and suggests a dynamic framework to guide the sequencing of reform and donor support.

In a globalised world, where goods cross borders many times as intermediate and as final products, trade facilitation is essential to lowering overall trade costs and increasing economic welfare, in particular for developing and emerging economies. Facilitation efforts undertaken by various countries around the world also show that the benefits of such measures clearly compensate the costs and challenges posed by their implementation.