Browse by: "2016"

This follow-up to the 2001 OECD Territorial Review of Bergamo monitors progress over the past 15 years and reassesses the main development challenges the region faces. Globalisation has intensified international competition in Bergamo’s traditional manufacturing sector, and the global financial crisis has exacerbated some of the structural weaknesses of Bergamo’s traditional industrial sectors. The region needs to upgrade production processes to generate more added value in economic activities to remain competitive. The review offers recommendations to help Bergamo transition to higher value-added and more technologically intensive activities. In particular, it calls for: a development plan supported by all local actors; a strategy for improving the skills of the adult population through education and training programmes; stimulating innovation systems; attracting foreign direct investment; and, finally, strategies for boosting the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Costa Rica is one of the first countries to involve the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the state in the design and implementation of its national open government agenda. The OECD Open Government Review of Costa Rica supports the country in its efforts to build a more transparent, participatory, and accountable government as an essential element of its democracy. This review provides an overview of the current national institutions, legal framework, policies and initiatives that underpin the implementation of open government principles, with a focus on policy co-ordination, citizen participation, and open government policies at the local level. It includes a detailed and actionable set of recommendations to help the country achieve its goal of creating an open state.

Perspectives on Global Development 2017 presents an overview of the shifting of economic activity to developing countries and examines whether this shift has led to an increase in international migration towards developing countries. The report focuses on the latest data on migration between 1995 and 2015, and uses a new three-way categorisation of countries. It describes the recent evolution of migration overall as well as by groups of countries according to their growth performance.It analyses what drives these trends and also studies the special case of refugees. It examines the impact on migration of migration policies as well as various sectoral policies in developing countries of origin as well as of destination, and studies the impact of migration on these countries. The report also develops four illustrative future scenarios of migration in 2030 and recommends policies that can help improve the benefits of migration for origin and destination countries, as well as for migrants. Better data, more research and evidence-based policy action are needed to prepare for expected increases in the number of migrants from developing countries. More needs to be done to avoid situations that lead to refugee spikes as well as to foster sustainable development.

This report provides an in-depth, evidence-based analysis of open government initiatives and the challenges countries face in implementing and co-ordinating them. It also explores new trends in OECD member countries as well as a selection of countries from Latin America, MENA and South East Asia regions. Based on the 2015 Survey on Open Government and Citizen Participation in the Policy Cycle, the report identifies future areas of work, including the effort to mobilise and engage all branches and all levels of government in order to move from open governments to open states; how open government principles and practices can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals; the role of the Media to create an enabling environment for open government initiatives to thrive; and the growing importance of subnational institutions to implement successful open government reforms.

An estimated 22% of the world’s largest firms are now effectively under state control, this is the highest percentage in decades. These firms are likely to remain a prominent feature of the global marketplace in the near future. The upsurge of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as global competitors has given rise to concerns related to a level playing field.  Some business competitors and observers claim that preferential treatment granted by governments to SOEs in return for public policy obligations carried out at home can give SOEs a competitive edge in their foreign expansion. The OECD has taken a multidisciplinary approach, looking at the issue from the competition, investment, corporate governance and trade policy perspectives.  The report aims to sort fact from fiction, and develop a stronger understanding, based on empirical evidence, on how to address growing policy concerns with regard to SOE internationalisation. The report concludes that although there is no clear evidence of systematic abusive behaviour by SOE investors, frictions need to be addressed, in view of keeping the global economy open to trade and investment.

Young men and women in the MENA region are facing the highest youth unemployment levels in the world and express lower levels of trust in government than their parents. Since young people 15-29 years old exceed 30% of the working-age population in most MENA countries, governments urgently need to develop and implement strategies focused on fully engaging youth in the economy and society. This report is the first of its kind to apply a “youth lens” to public governance arrangements. It provides recommendations for adjusting legal frameworks, institutions and policies to give young people a greater voice in shaping better policy outcomes.

This report examines the Province of Córdoba, Argentina, and provides recommendations for the design of a regional competitiveness strategy as well as the governance structure needed to implement it. Over the past decade, Córdoba has experienced sustained economic growth and widespread improvements in the standard of living. However, the provincial economy is at a pivotal point: it is still highly reliant on traditional manufacturing and commodities, a model that may no longer be sufficient for the future. Córdoba’s challenges and opportunities are the same as those found in many OECD regions and require a renewed development strategy, one that builds on key assets and focusses on closing crucial infrastructure gaps. Investments in skills, research, and innovation are essential to propel the province into higher-value-added segments of production chains. At the same time, Córdoba needs to shift from a sectoral approach to an integrated, activity-focused strategic plan, in which the entire territory (cities and regions) becomes a platform for innovation and fosters new economic opportunities.

El Estudio sobre la Gobernanza Pública del Perú analiza las áreas clave de la gobernanza pública del país e identifica diferentes oportunidades para mejorar la performance del Estado en la prestación de mejores políticas y servicios para todos los ciudadanos. Para ello, examina dimensiones como la capacidad de coordinación del Centro de Gobierno, la planificación estratégica basada en la evidencia y los procesos de descentralización para mejorar la coordinación entre todos los niveles de gobierno. Asimismo, evalúa la gestión del servicio civil y los marcos legales y regulatorios para implementar políticas de gobierno digital, gobierno abierto y transparencia. Finalmente, el Estudio provee recomendaciones para apoyar al gobierno en su objetivo de mejorar la agilidad del Estado para establecer, dirigir e implementar una estrategia nacional de mediano plazo para lograr un crecimiento inclusivo y próspero.

This OECD Public Governance Review of Peru analyses key areas of public governance in Peru and identifies opportunities for improving the performance of the state in delivering better outcomes for all citizens. It examines co-ordination from the centre of government, evidence-based strategic planning and the decentralisation process to improve co-ordination across levels of government. It assesses the management of the civil service, legal and regulatory frameworks to implement digital government, and open-government and transparency policies. This review provides recommendations to assist the government in its objective of bolstering the state’s agility to set, steer and implement a national medium-term strategy for achieving inclusive growth and prosperity for all.

Un manejo macroeconómico prudente y reformas estructurales recientes han ayudado a Colombia a resistir los efectos de la crisis financiera global. El Gobierno de Colombia ha puesto un énfasis particular en la simplificación de trámites que impactan a empresas y ciudadanos. Además, ha puesto en marcha diversas iniciativas para hacer a la administración más transparente y accesible para los ciudadanos.  Sin embargo, después de varios años en operación, este enfoque debe ajustarse para abordar los antecedentes de la regulación. Colombia aun carece de una política de mejora regulatoria con un enfoque de gobierno completo y requiere repensar el diseño institucional para una implementación coherente de diferentes herramientas regulatorias. También necesita adoptar un enfoque sistemático para controlar y revisar la justificación y la lógica detrás de los trámites y, sobre todo, de las regulaciones. Finalmente, como en muchos otros países, el desarrollo y aplicación de una política integral de gobernanza regulatoria para los gobiernos subnacionales y la coordinación multi-nivel son temas pendientes.

This report examines Israel’s performance in stimulating SMEs and entrepreneurship and makes recommendations for government policy. A dual economy has gradually emerged in Israel, in which high rates of successful technology-based entrepreneurship contrast with low average productivity and growth in traditional SMEs. Israel has excellent framework conditions and programmes for technology-based start-ups and SMEs in areas such as R&D, high-level skills generation and venture capital finance. These strengths need to be maintained. At the same time, more needs to be done to spread success to all types of SMEs and all groups of the Israeli population. This report recommends a range of new and expanded interventions for example in access to credit, broad innovation, workforce skills development, management support and entrepreneurship education. It recommends underpinning these actions with a national SME and entrepreneurship policy strategy and new arrangements for inter-ministerial co-ordination.

In 2014, Spain launched a set of administrative reforms called “The CORA reform” as part of broader fiscal reforms. The CORA was a comprehensive and ambitious programme to create conditions for a more transparent public administration closer to citizens and businesses. The reforms were the subject of an OECD Public Governance Review undertaken in 2014. This progress report, the first of its kind, analyses how the OECD recommendations in the 2014 review have been implemented so far at the national level. In addition, it describes how the autonomous communities Galicia and Murcia have implemented the recommendations, and discusses the challenges that remain for achieving effective co-ordination and closer collaboration between the central and the regional levels in the area of public sector reform.

A major challenge facing the Republic of Buryatia, subject of the Russian Federation, is how to balance the task of protecting Lake Baikal – a unique water object and ecological system included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage Areas – with the need for dynamic and sustainable socio-economic development of the republic.  This requires streamlining and improving water policy jointly with economic, administrative, information and other policy instruments. The recommendations in this report aim to help achieve this objective. They include the introduction of abstraction charges for irrigation water as a  natural resource; enhancement of state support to the water sector; and improvement of economic instruments for managing risks of water-related hazards (such as compulsory insurance and differentiated land tax rates in flood prone areas). A few innovative instruments are also recommended for pilot testing such as establishing limits for discharges of certain hazardous substances in a pilot area (e.g. Selenga river basin) and progressive development of market for tradable quotas for discharges of the “capped” pollutants; and introducing a charge (tax) on toxic agricultural chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) and synthetic detergents so that to create incentives for the reduction of diffuse water pollution.

How can governments reduce workforce costs while ensuring civil servants remain engaged and productive? This report addresses this question, using evidence from the 2014 OECD Survey on Managing Budgeting Constraints: Implications for HRM and Employment in Central Public Administration. The results clearly illustrate the complex challenges facing civil services, such as how to reduce size and cost while still attracting and retaining high-calibre professional talent. The first part of this report shows that the pressure on central public administrations to reduce costs has required many OECD countries to make cuts that have likely resulted in negative impacts on the workforce regarding trust, motivation and commitment. Overall, 67% of countries surveyed have implemented a pay freeze since 2008. The second part explores how a number of OECD countries are using employee surveys as a leadership tool to better manage employee engagement, which is linked to better job performance, organisational commitment, productivity and public sector innovation. Employee engagement can be a powerful counter balance to austerity-driven measures.