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Cutting red tape and improving business conditions have become a priority in OECD countries. This study of the Netherlands, one of the front runners in the field, is the first OECD review of a national programme for administrative simplification. The report describes the key features of the Dutch programme including the measurement of burdens, the use of incentives and targets, and whole-of-government co-ordination. The OECD assessment of the success of the Dutch programme is based on comparisons with other countries, and on evidence of the economic impact of reforms. The report explores options for future work on administrative simplification relevant to OECD countries, highlighting the need to communicate better with stakeholders, cover compliance costs for business more broadly, and look at burdens on citizens and administrations.
Government workforces are ageing even more rapidly than the rest of society. This raises specific challenges and opportunities. An ageing public service increases fiscal burdens while decreasing immediate capacities to deliver services. In the long run, however, it also offers a strategic opportunity to downsize the public sector workforce if necessary and to change employment conditions and the management of government employees where this is deemed reasonable. This book reviews the experience of 9 OECD member countries in this field. It presents some conclusions on strategies that countries could implement in order to adjust their human resource policies to the wider ageing challenge.
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are recommendations to international business for conduct in such areas as labour, environment, consumer protection and the fight against corruption. The recommendations are made by the adhering governments and, although not binding, governments are committed to promoting their observance. This Annual Report provides an account of the actions the 39 adhering governments have taken over the 12 months to June 2007 to enhance the contribution of the Guidelines to the improved functioning of the global economy. This edition of the annual report focuses on corporate responsibility in the financial sector.
Over the last decade, societies have come to realize the extent to which corruption and bribery have undermined their welfare and stability. Governments, the private sector, and civil society alike have consequently declared the fight against corruption to be of the highest priority.
As Asian markets are now increasingly integrated in the world economy their domestic insolvency systems need to meet the expectations of international investors and lenders. Many Asian jurisdictions are responding by reforming insolvency laws, introducing new procedures and strengthening institutions, but others are much less active. This conference proceedings includes papers showing how far various Asian countries have come in building effective and predictable insolvency systems and shows to what extent their systems provide confidence to investors and lenders.
The Baltic Sea Region is rapidly becoming one of the world’s more competitive regions. The region is capitalising on its strengths and making the most of its diversity to stimulate innovation, build a strong pool of skilled labour and foster entrepreneurship. A deep spirit of co-operation and integration has led the Baltic Sea countries to set up ambitious governance frameworks to pursue economic development objectives jointly from Oslo to St. Petersburg. Yet major challenges at the local level lie ahead for the Eastern shores of the Baltic, where economic transition still needs to be accompanied by more innovative strategic planning, new forms of governance and dynamic civic entrepreneurship. Policies will need to be made more adaptable and capacities will need to be strengthened if prosperity and living standards are to increase on the Baltic Rim.
Fortunately, the Baltic Sea Region includes some of the world’s most innovative countries. From Denmark to Finland, the Region possesses a breadth of experience in facilitating policy co-ordination, adjusting policy to local conditions and involving business and civil society in shaping policy measures. There is a great deal that other countries can learn from this experience in setting up partnerships, regional strategic frameworks and other forms of governance. The learning process has already started, with the Baltic Rim becoming a unique laboratory for governance. This book analyses the new governance developments in the Baltic States and Northwest Russia and provides suggestions on how to speed up this progress. It is essential reading for all stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region and for those elsewhere wishing to apply emerging lessons to their region of the world.
This joint OECD-World Bank stocktaking exercise of social accountability (SA) initiatives in OECD member countries contributes to the global exchange of policy relevant knowledge. The stocktaking exercise produced 40 templates detailing social accountability initiatives in 27 OECD countries and the European Commission. Cases were selected on the basis of their focus and level, and potential transferability of their policy lessons.
Public works contracts mean big business. From road-building to high-tech communication infrastructure, public procurement averages 15% of GDP in OECD countries--substantially more in non-OECD economies--and it is a major factor in the world trade of goods and services. Given the growing complexity of bribe schemes in today’s globalised markets, the problem is how to identify corruption in public procurement so governments can work toward effective prevention and apply sanctions if necessary. This report provides insights on all three fronts. Based on contributions from law enforcement and procurement specialists, the report describes how bribery is committed through the various stages of government purchasing; how bribery in public procurement is related to other crimes, such as fraud and money laundering; and how to prevent and sanction such crimes. The typical motivations and conduct of the various actors engaging in corruption are also highlighted, as well as ten case studies.
The days when it was thought that the development process could and should be managed by governments alone are long past. The challenge today is how to involve other parts of society such as the private sector and NGOs. This book details the activities of the private sector in developing and emerging economies and demonstrates how these activities are inter-related with government policies. Understanding these activities and public-private interactions is indispensable for the private sector to play its full role in a nation's development process. To this end, several case studies provide concrete examples from Africa, Asia and elsewhere.
Ce volume fournit des informations quantitatives sur les titres d’emprunt d’État pour les 30 pays membres de l’OCDE en vue de répondre aux besoins analytiques des utilisateurs tels que les pouvoirs publics, les spécialistes de la gestion de la dette et les analystes de marché. Les statistiques sont présentées selon un plan d’ensemble normalisé pour permettre une comparaison entre les différents pays. Les notes par pays donnent des informations sur les émissions de titres d’emprunt dans chacun des pays, ainsi que sur le cadre institutionnel et réglementaire dans lequel s’inscrivent la politique de gestion de la dette et les techniques de vente.
Cutting red tape to improve business conditions has become a priority in OECD countries. This pilot study measures and compares administrative burdens in the transport sector across eleven member countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Turkey. The aim of the exercise is twofold: to identify good practices and provide input for national simplification strategies, and to develop and test a method for cross-country comparison. This report is published in English only. However, a French translation of the executive summary has been included in this volume.
Economic globalisation and the subsequent intensification of inter-city competition have profoundly changed urban governance. This is particularly evident in the field of urban spatial development. The change is often described as a shift from a managerial mode of governance to a more entrepreneurial mode, strongly characterised by risk-taking, innovation, a strong orientation toward the private sector and a strategic approach which focuses on economic growth. This study reviews the challenges that urban entrepreneurialism must overcome to maintain and strengthen its relevance in the 21st century. Urban policy planners are expected to address an increasingly wide range of objectives, including social, environmental and cultural issues as well as economic ones.
The harmful effects of corruption on social welfare, political stability and economic development are well known. Combating corruption has gained high priority throughout the world. In Asia and the Pacific, 23 countries have in the framework of the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific endorsed an Anti-Corruption Action Plan that guides reform efforts in their respective countries. While significant progress has been achieved under this regional instrument, the battle against corruption is far from being won.
To address this challenge and build capacity in a number of particularly crucial areas, the ADB/OECD Initiative's fourth regional anti-corruption conference has brought together more than 150 senior representatives of governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and the international development partner community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December 2003. The present publication offers an insight into the most recent national anti-corruption strategies of Asian and Pacific countries, as well as an overview of preventive and enforcement policies and practices developed in the region, with special focus on the management of conflict of interest, measures aimed at curbing corruption in public procurement, corporate ethics, whistleblower protection, forensic accounting and mutual legal assistance.
Corruption in public procurement has become a major issue in the Asia-Pacific region as elsewhere in the world. As a result of corruption, private mansions are being built instead of bridges; swimming pools are dug instead of irrigation systems; funds destined to run hospitals and buy medicines find their way into the pockets of corrupt officials; economic growth is held back; and public trust in government is undermined.
Governments in Asia and the Pacific have recognized the urgent need to fight corruption in public procurement. To identify risk-areas in their public procurement frameworks and to foster reform in this field, member governments of the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific have reviewed the mechanisms and safeguards in place.The Indian Ocean tsunami that hit South and Southeast Asia in December 2004 was one of the worst natural calamities of recent times, the scale of the devastation to coastal communities across the region almost incomprehensible. As befits a disaster of such magnitude, the humanitarian response was massive. In the course of the relief operations, however, Asian governments and donors increasingly expressed the need for measures to prevent corruption amid widespread concern that significant amounts of tsunami aid may be being diverted to unscrupulous hands.
In response to growing concerns about corruption, the ADB-OECD Anti- Corruption Initiative for Asia-Pacific and Transparency International organized an experts meeting on corruption prevention in tsunami relief operations hosted by the Government of Indonesia. The meeting, which brought together the six worst-affected countries—India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand—aimed to identify concrete priority measures to be taken by each stakeholder, including governments, donor agencies, civil society and private sector organizations involved in aid delivery and reconstruction work, to prevent and curb corruption in service delivery and procurement related to tsunami relief.
This publication synthesizes the meeting’s most important deliberations and conclusions, providing a useful resource for the wide range of individuals and organizations working to ensure equitable tsunami assistance. It assembles the issue papers and the conclusions and framework for action developed as a result of discussions and presentations by experts.
This book captures the legal and practical challenges of mutual legal assistance and extradition, as well as solutions for improvement, discussed during a March 2006 training seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Experts from 26 Asia-Pacific countries and countries party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention attended this ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific seminar on “Enhancing Asia-Pacific Cooperation on Mutual Legal Assistance, Extradition, and the Recovery and Return of the Proceeds of Corruption”.
Prosecution of corruption is a particularly difficult endeavor and successes in this field still too rare. The detection rate is often low due to the lack of verifiable information that is received from public servants or other citizens. Particular difficulties arise when an investigation involves prominent politicians and wealthy businessmen, or when dealing with international bribery cases that require the assistance from foreign jurisdictions in order to collect evidence. Shortcomings that are at the root of these problems can be found at legislative level; in addition, many law enforcement agencies are technically not apt to deal with complex crimes such as corruption in an appropriate manner.
Considering the need for capacity building that countries of the Asian and Pacific region have expressed for capacity building in this reform area of the Action Plan, the ADB/OECD Initiative organized a master training seminar on Effective Prosecution of Corruption.
This document assembles the seminar’s background papers and case studies, and the experts’ and participants’ views on the key topics that formed the basis for discussion at the seminar. As such, the publication aims to make the expertise exchanged and acquired during the seminar accessible to a broader public and thus to contribute to the overall aim of combating corruption in the new millennium.
Over the past few years, most Asian jurisdictions have substantially revamped their laws, regulations and other corporate governance norms. However, enforcement remains a significant challenge and “an unfinished agenda”. This publication offers a unique snapshot of how corporate governance is being enforced in Asia. It provides policy makers, judges, investors, board members and stakeholders with cases studies and analysis that illustrate how regulators deal with enforcement in practice.
This report is a review of Kazakhstan’s legal and institutional framework for fighting corruption, in accordance with the framework provided by the Anti-Corruption Network for Transition Economies, based at the OECD. The review examines: (1) national anti-corruption policy and institutions currently in place in Kazakhstan; (2) national anti-corruption legislation and preventive measures to ensure integrity of civil service; and (3) effective financial control.
The review process is based on the OECD practice of mutual analysis and policy formulation. The main input for the review was the self-assessment report prepared by the government of Kazakhstan. An international group of peers then provided an expert assessment and draft recommendations. Finally, a review meeting (attended by national governments, international organisations, civil and business associations) discussed the report and its expert assessment, and endorsed the recommendations for Kazakhstan.
This publication contains all the recommendations, as well as the full text of the self-assessment report provided by the government of Kazakhstan. Thus, it provides an important guide for the country as it develops its anti-corruption actions, and it will serve as a useful reference for other countries reforming their anti-corruption policies, legislation and institutions.
While these recommendations are not legally binding, they represent Kazakhstan’s commitment to fighting corruption. Implementation of these recommendations will also help the country meet its legally binding obligations under the United Nation’s Convention on Corruption and the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. The results of this review will also be used to regularly monitor Kazakhstan’s progress in implementing the recommendations.
Despite concern about the negative impacts of globalisation on the economies of OECD regions, notably the loss of manufacturing jobs and enterprise relocation, this report presents evidence that region-specific advantages – embedded in specialised firms, skilled labour and innovation capacity – remain a significant source of productivity gain for firms, even for the largest multinational enterprises. A new geography of production is emerging, based around both old and new regional hubs in OECD and non-OECD countries. National and regional governments in OECD countries are looking for ways to ensure that regions maintain a competitive edge in industries that generate wealth and jobs. This report looks at how different regions are responding to these challenges and the strategies they have adopted to support existing competitive advantages and to transform their assets to develop new competitive strengths.