Browse by: "2017"

Following years of unsustainable economic policies, Argentina has undertaken a bold turnaround in policies, which has helped to stabilise the economy and avoid another crisis. Building on this reform progress should help lay the foundations to raise the material living standards and well-being of all Argentinians, including the most vulnerable. This Survey discusses the challenges ahead and the policy options to address these challenges. Improvements in the areas of regulation on product markets, labour markets, competition, taxes, infrastructure, education, trade policy and financial markets would strenghten investment and productivity, which are the basis for sustainable income gains. Some of these reforms will involve adjustment costs as jobs will be lost in some firms and sectors and created in others, but well-designed policies can protect the poor and vulnerable from the burden of adjustment. A current focus on strengthening the social safety net and efforts to improve the quality of education are part of such policies, as is labour market support for affected workers. The benefits of stronger growth will depend on improving the distribution of income, which is currently very unequal and leaves one third of the population in poverty, with more at risk of falling into poverty. Efforts are also underway to reduce inequalities in the access to quality education. Public transfers to reduce inequality and poverty will continue to play an important role, together with stronger efforts to curb labour market informality.

SPECIAL FEATURES: PRODUCTIVITY; INCLUSIVE GROWTH

Over the last two decades, South Africa has accomplished enormous social progress by bringing to millions of citizens access to key public services. Nevertheless, growth has trended down markedly recently due to constraints on the supply side. Low growth has led to the stagnation of GDP per capita, and persistent high unemployment and inequalities.

The economy faces many structural challenges while high inflation limits room for monetary policy support  and high public debt constrains public spending. South Africa needs structural reforms that would boost the potential of the economy, in particular, broadening competition, limiting the size and grip of state-owned enterprises on the economy, and improving the quality of the education system.

Greater regional integration could provide new opportunities for growth by expanding market size. South African firms are well placed to benefit from deeper integration. However, lowering tariffs and non-tariffs barriers on trade, developing regional infrastructure and harmonising regulations are needed to foster regional integration.
More entrepreneurs and thriving small businesses would contribute to inclusive growth and job creation. Barriers to entrepreneurship include bureaucratic procedures and licensing, which are also an ongoing burden on small firms. An education system that better equippes students with basic and entrepreneurial skills would grow the pipeline of entrepreneurs. A better evidence base is crucial for more effective financial and non-financial support programmes to boost start-up rates and small firms’ growth.

SPECIAL FEATURES: DEEPENING REGIONAL INTEGRATION; BOOSTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Le Luxembourg affiche de solides performances économiques, grâce au dynamisme du secteur des services, à des politiques budgétaires saines et à une ouverture aux talents internationaux. Le rythme des créations d’emplois est soutenu et bénéficie non seulement aux résidents, mais aussi aux travailleurs transfrontaliers et aux migrants. Le secteur financier, très développé, fait l’objet d’une supervision satisfaisante, mais afin de réduire sa dépendance à l’égard du secteur financier, le gouvernement a préparé une stratégie pour une « troisième révolution industrielle » s’articulant autour des nouvelles technologies numériques et des énergies renouvelables.

Pour offrir les compétences requises dans ces nouveaux secteurs il sera en conséquence important de continuer d’améliorer le système éducatif, en mettant l’accent sur la formation continue. Il faudrait faire en sorte que l’offre de compétences coïncide mieux avec les besoins du marché du travail. Cela supposerait de réorienter les politiques du marché du travail en mettant l’accent sur le financement de programmes de formation visant à faciliter le redéploiement de la main d’œuvre plutôt que sur le soutien à la création d’emplois. Le Luxembourg bénéficie de la présence des immigrés, qui sont un atout pour l’économie du pays. Des difficultés d’intégration subsistent toutefois, en particulier en ce qui concerne les personnes issues de pays n’appartenant pas à l’UE, qui sont plus souvent au chômage. La maîtrise de la langue étant une condition préalable indispensable à une intégration réussie, l’offre publique de cours de langues devrait être encore développée. Des réformes de l’enseignement ont été entreprises pour rendre la scolarité plus équitable, aussi pour les enfants d’immigrés. Pour favoriser l’égalité hommes-femmes, le Luxembourg s’emploie à faciliter l’accès aux services de garde d’enfants et à rendre la fiscalité plus favorable à la parité.

THÈMES SPÉCIAUX : RENFORCER LES COMPÉTENCES ; AMÉLIORER L'INTÉGRATION DES IMMIGRANTS

Luxembourg’s economic performance is robust thanks to its dynamic services sector, sound fiscal policies and openness to global talent. The pace of job creation is strong and benefits not only residents but also cross-border workers and immigrants. The large financial sector is well supervised, but to reduce reliance on the financial industry the government should further develop its long-term strategy focusing on new digital technologies and renewable energy.
Supplying the skills needed in these new sectors will require further improvements in the education system, with a focus on lifelong learning. Better alignment of skills with labour market needs would entail reorienting labour market policies from supporting job creating towards funding training programmes to facilitate the reallocation of labour. Luxembourg benefits from immigrants who play a successful role in the economy. Integration challenges remain, though, especially regarding people from non-EU countries, who suffer from high unemployment. As language proficiency is a key precondition for successful integration, public supply of language courses should be stepped up further. Education reforms seek to make schools more equitable, also for the children of immigrants, and equality between men and women is being promoted by easing access to childcare and making taxation more gender neutral.

SPECIAL FEATURES: BOOSTING SKILLS; IMPROVING THE INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANTS

Austria is a stable and wealthy economy and growth has picked up following the 2016 tax reform and the recovery of export demand. Employment has expanded, driven by rising participation of women and elderly and by immigration, although hours worked per worker have declined. Nonetheless, like in most OECD countries, productivity has slowed. Boosting potential growth requires reforms in a broad range of areas.

Austria’s transition to a digital economy and society is progressing but is slower than in the most advanced economies. A whole-of-government approach should help embrace change and facilitate the flourishing of innovative businesses, work practices and lifestyles throughout Austria. Digitalisation will redesign production processes and alter the relationships between work and leisure, capital and labour, the rich and the poor, the skilled and the unskilled. Under the aegis of the “Digital Roadmap” they issued earlier in 2017, policy makers will need to ensure equality of opportunities in the race with technology, and find the appropriate level of redistribution of the gains associated with digitalisation to foster social cohesion.

SPECIAL FEATURES: DIFFUSING DIGITAL INNOVATIONS; LABOUR MARKETS IN THE DIGITAL ERA

Iceland is the OECD's fastest growing economy. It has made a remarkable turnaround from the crisis, helped by booming tourism, prudent economic policies and a favourable external environment. Iceland has an egalitarian society with strong trade unions, very low inequality and high gender balance. Nevertheless, as a very small open economy Iceland is prone to boom and bust cycles. Prudent fiscal and monetary policy are warranted in the current economic boom.

The spectacular growth in tourist numbers has provided new jobs, boosted tax revenues and attracted currency inflows, but there are some growing pains with social pressures emerging. Growing tourist numbers are putting pressure on the environment, infrastructure and housing. Furthermore, the strengthening króna has created difficulties for other internationally-exposed sectors.

Iceland is the most highly unionised OECD country and the wage-bargaining system has contributed to high living standards and an inclusive society. Nevertheless, recent disruptive strikes and high wage awards have intensified inflationary pressures and threaten competiveness. Fostering trust among the social partners and increasing wage coordination would make collective bargaining more effective and help sustain the benefits of the system for future generations.

SPECIAL FEATURES: SUSTAINABLE TOURISM; EFFECTIVE LABOUR RELATIONS
 

This report on the funding of school education constitutes the first in a series of thematic comparative reports bringing together findings from the OECD School Resources Review. School systems have limited financial resources with which to pursue their objectives and the design of school funding policies plays a key role in ensuring that resources are directed to where they can make the most difference. As OECD school systems have become more complex and characterised by multi-level governance, a growing set of actors are increasingly involved in financial decision-making. This requires designing funding allocation models that are aligned to a school system’s governance structures, linking budget planning procedures at different levels to shared educational goals and evaluating the use of school funding to hold decision makers accountable and ensure that resources are used effectively and equitably.

This report was co-funded by the European Commission.

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