Browse by: "W"
Index
Title Index
Year Index
Eradicating poverty has long been one of the priorities of development co-operation. Yet, despite undoubted progress towards this goal, the strategies adopted at the international and national levels remain controversial. Poverty reduction is a complex issue, involving numerous players in a host of economic, social, political and environmental policy fields. The originality of this publication lies in its approach to identifying best practice, an approach which is as open and thorough as the state of the art will allow. How realistic is it to seek to cut extreme poverty by half by the year 2015? What are the most effective strategies employed by donors, be they development agencies or developed countries? What lessons can be learned from the experience of the developing countries? Clearly, these and many other questions are still unresolved. This publication approaches them by giving a broad overview of general poverty-reduction strategies and objectives. It also presents five particularly enlightening case studies on Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire, the State of Kerala in India, Malaysia and Uganda.
This report examines the current system of water abstraction and pollution charges in operation in Brazil. It assesses the current system’s implementation challenges and provides possible solutions. The report explores how water charges can be both an effective means for dealing with water security issues, and a tool for enhancing economic growth and social welfare. Specific analysis is put forward for three case studies in the State of Rio de Janiero, the Paraiba do Sul River Basin and the Piancó-Piranhas-Açu River Basin. The report highlights that water charges need to operate in conjunction with an effective water regulatory regime and concludes with an Action Plan based on practical steps and recommendations for its implementation in the short, medium and long-term.
Agriculture is expected to face increasing water risks that will impact production, markets, trade and food security - risks that can be mitigated with targeted policy actions on water hotspots. This report develops the hotspot approach, provides an application at the global scale, and presents a mitigation policy action plan. The People’s Republic of China, India and the United States are identified as countries facing the greatest water risks for agriculture production globally.
A global simulation shows that, in the absence of action, water risks in Northeast China, Northwest India and the Southwest United States in particular could have significant production, price and trade consequences. Agriculture water risks could also result in broader socio-economic and food security concerns. Farmers, agro food companies, and governments can all play a role in responding to water risks at hotspot locations. A three-tier policy action plan is proposed to confront water risk hotspots, encompassing targeted responses, adapted national policies, strengthened market integration and international collaboration.
Russia’s war against Ukraine and the international sanctions introduced against the former have had an unexpectedly mild impact on Central Asia, despite the region’s deep economic dependence on its northern neighbour. Notwithstanding high inflation, the five Central Asian states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – have so far shown surprising resilience to the economic headwinds: remittances registered record-high figures in the first half of 2022, national currencies quickly rebounded to pre-war levels after an initial drop, and an influx of skilled workers boosted demand for services and hospitality. However, as the medium-term effects of the sanctions against Russia, the global cost-of-living crisis, and China’s economic slowdown start to unfold, Central Asia is faced with lingering uncertainty. This publication provides an assessment of the short-term effects of Russia’s war on Central Asian economies and the policy responses provided. It also analyses the challenges ahead and formulates policy recommendations to make Central Asian economies more resilient and diversified.
This publication reviews migration policies in the main OECD countries receiving West African migrants and analyses the recent discussions within Europe. This report lists common approaches undertaken in Europe, Africa and West Africa and aims to shed light on decision makers’ strategic thinking. It provides the greater public with an objective understanding of this recent dynamic.
West African Perspectives: Resources for Development conducts a cross-cutting analysis of the main development challenges in the region and offers suggestions on how to meet them. It provides an overview of West Africa’s abundant resources , examining not only economic and natural resources but also human, social and cultural capital. Finally, it presents the perspectives of six prominent West Africans involved in the development of their region.
This paper outlines how these different challenges can limit, and sometimes prohibit, donors from working to strengthen the resilience of people, communities, and states and their institutions. The paper also proposes a menu of incentives that could be useful in different contexts to ensure political buy-in for resilience, to drive behaviour change by all actors, and to ensure that the risk analysis actually leads to the prioritization of resilience programming.
Women make a significant contribution to West Africa's food economy, perpetuating a long tradition of commerce and participating in cross-border trade and regional outreach. Their activities face numerous obstacles but also present important opportunities, highlighted in this report through an unprecedented relational and spatial analysis of social networks. The study focuses on the rice sector in the Dendi region (Benin, Niger and Nigeria) and on the regional governance networks that support women's entrepreneurship. It confirms that Nigeria occupies a privileged position due to its demographics and growing urbanisation. The report proposes the development of innovative public policies based on the reinforcement of the social capital of women and policy approaches that promote better integration of the initiatives undertaken by governments, international and non-governmental organisations to empower women and strengthen their resilience.
Women in Business 2014 summarises the progress made by the OECD-MENA Women Business Forum (WBF) since the publication of its first Women in Business report in 2012. In 2012, five groups of actions had been identified as priorities to be carried out by governments, international stakeholders, financial and business support organisations, as well as statistical agencies. In two years, the WBF has developed inputs for three of these areas of priority actions. The WBF’s contributions are growing along with its increased recognition as a hub which spurs concrete improvements in the business climate for women entrepreneurs in the MENA region.
Today, women’s entrepreneurship is all the more important as governments in the region are facing the colossal challenge of rebooting job creation to improve the well-being of a growing workforce and confidence in the economy. The economic prospects of MENA economies that are going through a political transition have improved but unemployment has increased, inflation is rising and public finances have deteriorated. In these countries, political uncertainties add to long term structural difficulties. In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the challenges still lie in the diversification of their economies.
This report examines how current legal provisions in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia are impacting women’s ability to fully participate in economic life, both as employees and entrepreneurs. It is based on a comparative analysis of the various rights set out in constitutions, personal status laws, labour laws, in addition to tax and business laws. The report recognises the considerable progress made – in particular in the aftermath of the 2011 uprisings – following the adoption of constitutional and institutional reforms to strengthen women’s status.
Yet ensuring sufficient opportunities for women remains a challenge in the six countries. The report suggests that this may be due to different factors such as: the existence of certain laws that are gender discriminatory, contradictions between various legal frameworks, lack of enforcement mechanisms, and barriers for women in accessing justice. Through targeted policies, countries can tackle these challenges, and help unleash women’s potential to boost growth, competitiveness and inclusive social development.
Wytyczne OECD dotyczące należytej staranności w zakresie odpowiedzialnych łańcuchów dostaw w sektorze tekstylno--odzieżowym i obuwniczym (zwane dalej Wytycznymi) mają pomóc przedsiębiorstwom we wdrażaniu rekomendacji dotyczących należytej staranności, zawartych w Wytycznych OECD dla przedsiębiorstw wielonarodowych (Wytycznych
OECD), w całym łańcuchu dostaw przemysłu tekstylno-odzieżowego i obuwniczego, tak by zapobiegać i przeciwdziałać potencjalnym negatywnym skutkom działalności przedsiębiorstw oraz ich łańcuchów dostaw.
Niniejsze Wytyczne mają wspierać cele Wytycznych OECD dla przedsiębiorstw wielonarodowych, by zapewnić zgodność działalności przedsiębiorstw w sektorze tekstylno- -odzieżowym i obuwniczym z polityką rządową, w celu wzmocnienia podstaw wzajemnego zaufania między przedsiębiorstwami a społeczeństwami, w których działają. Niniejsze Wytyczne mają także wspierać przedsiębiorstwa w realizacji zaleceń dotyczących należytej staranności zawartych w Wytycznych ONZ dotyczących biznesu i prawczłowieka. Są również zgodne z Deklaracją Międzynarodowej Organizacji Pracy (MOP) dotyczącą Podstawowych Zasad i Praw Pracy, właściwymi konwencjami i rekomendacjami MOP oraz jej Trójstronną Deklaracją Zasad dotyczących Przedsiębiorstw Wielonarodowych i Polityki Społecznej. Niniejsze Wytyczne, wraz z modułami dotyczącymi należytej staranności w określonych obszarach ryzyka, zapewniają przedsiębiorstwom kompletny pakiet potrzebny do prowadzenia odpowiedzialnej działalności i polityki zaopatrzenia w sektorze tekstylno-odzieżowym i obuwniczym. Niniejsze Wytyczne opracowano w drodze
wielostronnego procesu, przy głębokim zaangażowaniu zarówno krajów OECD, jak i niebędących członkami OECD, przedstawicieli biznesu, związków zawodowych i społeczeństwa obywatelskiego, pod nadzorem Grupy roboczej OECD do spraw odpowiedzialnego prowadzenia biznesu. Niniejsze Wytyczne mają mieć charakter praktyczny,
z naciskiem na wypracowanie konstruktywnych, opartych na współpracy metod rozwiązywania złożonych problemów. Niniejsze Wytyczne opierają się na wyczerpujących
raportach Krajowych Punktów Kontaktowych OECD ds. prowadzenia odpowiedzialnego biznesu (francuski i włoski KPK), opracowanych pod kątem wdrażania
Wytycznych OECD dla przedsiębiorstw wielonarodowych w sektorze tekstylno-odzieżowym i obuwniczym oraz stanowią odpowiedź na oświadczenia wydane przez niektóre
Krajowe Punkty Kontaktowe w czerwcu 2013 roku i w roku 2014 po tragicznej katastrofie budowlanej Rana Plaza w Bangladeszu.