Browse by: "2010"

Ce Guide a été élaboré pour faciliter la mise en œuvre concrète des Lignes directrices de l’OCDE sur le gouvernement d’entreprise des entreprises publiques dans les domaines de la transparence et de la reddition de comptes. Il propose aux responsables de l’action publique des solutions viables ainsi qu’une feuille de route décrivant pas à pas comment aborder les difficultés, les risques et les obstacles qu’ils sont susceptibles de rencontrer. Il contient en outre des exemples concrets de bonnes pratiques pouvant servir de référence et de source d’inspiration. Le Guide apportera une aide aux responsables gouvernementaux, aux entreprises dont l’État est actionnaire et à d’autres parties prenantes souhaitant évaluer les pratiques existantes et appuyer les réformes.

Dans la plupart des pays, l’amélioration de la transparence et de la reddition de comptes dans les entreprises publiques soulève un certain nombre de défis complexes. Les relever, ce qui sera une tâche plus facile grâce à ce Guide, sera une étape décisive du processus visant à faire en sorte que les entreprises publiques soient convenablement dirigées et économiquement saines.

Governments are seeking to channel research funds into universities and other institutions in ways that support high-quality research in strategically important areas and bolster effective knowledge diffusion. These issues of steering and funding have even more relevance in light of the current  financial crisis and economic downturn which have seen severe fiscal pressures fall on many countries.

This publication presents a collection of papers presented at an OECD workshop on performance-based funding of public research in tertiary education institutions. It takes stock of current thinking and practice around performance-based funding of public research in tertiary education institutions, as a tool to help governments meet their research goals. These funding models are essentially systems of ex-post evaluation of research outputs and outcomes from universities and other tertiary institutions, and are generally based on peer review, bibliometric or other quantitative indicators. Their results are used to inform government decisions about how much and which institutions to fund.

The contracting out of government functions and services to external providers is an established practice in many developed and developing countries. On the one hand, it can offer essential support to states that have to deliver basic services urgently; on the other, it risks bypassing governments and undermining their long-term recovery. The OECD’s Partnership for Democratic Governance was formed in 2007 to gather evidence on this issue.

This handbook does not take a view for or against contracting out; nor is it a technical manual. The handbook is for field practitioners and government policy makers in countries that are either emerging from conflict or are otherwise considered to be fragile. Its aim is to help them make more informed choices about the types of contracting that are best suited to their country. It is a tool to assess whether contracting out might be a possible way forward – either temporarily or over a longer period of time – for delivering a core service (such as basic education, healthcare, water and sanitation) or a government function (such as managing public finances and human resources). The handbook illustrates these points with the aid of case studies ranging from Afghanistan to Haiti and Liberia.

As the hubs of economic activity, cities drive the vast majority of the world’s energy use and are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Because they are home to major infrastructure and highly concentrated populations, cities are also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, warmer temperatures and fiercer storms. At the same time, better urban planning and policies can reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and improve the resilience of urban infrastructure to climate change, thus shaping future trends.  

This book shows how city and metropolitan regional governments working in tandem with national governments can change the way we think about responding to climate change. The chapters analyse: trends in urbanisation, economic growth, energy use and climate change; the economic benefits of climate action; the role of urban policies in reducing energy demand, improving resilience to climate change and complementing global climate policies; frameworks for multilevel governance of climate change including engagement with relevant stakeholders; and the contribution of cities to “green growth”, including the “greening” of fiscal policies, innovation and jobs. The book also explores policy tools and best practices from both OECD and some non-member countries.  

Cities and Climate Change reveals the importance of addressing climate change across all levels of government. Local involvement through “climate-conscious” urban planning and management can help achieve national climate goals and minimise tradeoffs between environmental and economic priorities at local levels. The book will be relevant to policy makers, researchers, and others with an interest in learning more about urbanisation and climate change policy. 

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are recommendations to international business for conduct in such areas as human rights, labour, environment, consumer protection, the fight against corruption and taxation.  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 taken by the 42 adhering governments over the 12 months to June 2010 to enhance the contribution of the Guidelines to the improved functioning of the global economy.
 
Ten years after the 2000 revision of the Guidelines, work is starting on an update of the Guidelines to ensure their continued role as a leading international instrument for the promotion of responsible business conduct.  This edition focuses on three core issues for consideration during the update: supply chains, human rights, and climate change.

Located on the southern coast of China, Guangdong is the country’s most populous and rich province. It has 95.4 million inhabitants and provides one-eighth of the national GDP. A key development feature of Guangdong has been “processing trade”, which has allowed companies to profit from importing materials, assembling goods and exporting them via Hong Kong, China.

The recent economic crisis has had a strong impact on the province, although Guangdong also faces in-depth structural problems. Growing labour costs and strain on land availability have increasingly challenged the province’s traditional model of development, as have new competitors in China and abroad. Meanwhile, regional disparities within the province have increased, with a high concentration of economic activities and foreign direct investment in the Pearl River Delta area, an agglomeration of nine prefectures of 47.7 million inhabitants that represents 79.4% of the province’s total GDP.

This review assesses Guangdong’s current approach to economic development. The province is focusing on industrial policies primarily aimed at heavy manufacturing industries (e.g. automobile, shipbuilding, petrochemicals) and supported by investment in hard infrastructure transport projects and energy supply, along with the implementation of the “Double Relocation” policies intended to move lower value-added factories to lagging regions through incentive mechanisms like industrial parks.

The review discusses how some principles of the OECD regional paradigm could help Guangdong. It also addresses the huge environmental challenges that the province is facing and explores the opportunity for developing a green growth strategy. Strategies to improve Guangdong’s governance are analysed as well, with particular attention paid to co-ordination issues within the Pearl River Delta.

The Territorial Review of Guangdong is integrated into a series of thematic reviews on regions undertaken by the OECD Territorial Development Policy Committee. The overall aim of these case studies is to draw and disseminate horizontal policy recommendations for regional and national governments.

The spectacular success of several well-known new ventures in technological fields, which in little more than a decade have jumped from the state of start-ups to that of top international businesses, has pointed to innovation as a key factor in the high growth of firms.  These high-growth enterprises often drive job creation and innovation, so policy makers are increasingly making such companies a key focus. Specifically, how can government policy foster the creation of more high-growth enterprises; what are the growth factors, and how can they be leveraged; what are the appropriate ways to provide such support?

To help answer these questions, this report presents findings from two new research studies: (1) reports from 15 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Tunisia) that provide interesting insights into the operations of and challenges faced by high-growth enterprises; (2) a policy survey by the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, which reviewed more than 340 programmes that policy makers in 24 countries have put in place to support the growth of enterprises. 

Some of this report’s findings may surprise: any firm can be a growth company; growth is almost always a temporary phase; high-growth small firms are funded mostly by debt, not equity. These and many more insights are summarised and analysed, providing policy makers with ideas on how to power growth at the firm level.

Plan Avanza, Spain’s national Information Society strategy, has created a strong momentum for furthering information society (IS) policy in Spain, mobilising close to EUR 9 billion over four years from national, sub-national and non‑governmental stakeholders.  

But what have these important investments contributed to wider societal goals such as public sector modernisation and increasing citizens’ trust in government; creating job opportunities and preparing a future work force for a competitive, globalised economy; supporting economic reform; improving citizens’ welfare and promoting equity? This report takes inventory of the Plan’s main achievements thus far and its remaining challenges for the future, reflecting on how its next phase (2010-2015) can best serve society. 

In particular, the report looks at how Plan Avanza has helped integrate citizens, business and the public administration into the knowledge economy. It identifies areas on which Spain should continue to work: convergence with EU and OECD countries’ levels of access to and use of ICT; growth of the ICT sector; and development of e-government services.  

The experiences of Spain and other OECD countries suggest that building a strong policy and governance framework is key for the success of IS policies. Indeed, to increase the impact of IS strategies policy makers must continuously look for ways to improve the performance of these frameworks. This can include identifying potential co‑ordination gaps between stakeholders and leveraging existing institutions; ensuring that policy sequencing contributes to strategic objectives; strengthening funding mechanisms and incentive structures for stakeholders; and improving evaluation and oversight. Using Plan Avanza as a case study, this study highlights the importance of each of these factors in maximizing the impact, and improving cost-effectiveness, of IS strategies in times of growing fiscal constraints.

Le basculement de la richesse est le premier volume des Perspectives du développement mondial, la nouvelle publication du Centre de développement de l’OCDE.

Le basculement de la richesse examine les dynamiques à l’œuvre dans l’économie mondiale depuis 20 ans, en s’intéressant notamment à l’impact sur la pauvreté de l’essor économique de grands pays en développement tels que la Chine et l’Inde. Le rapport détaille les nouvelles structures de la répartition des biens et des flux au sein de l’économie mondiale et met en avant le renforcement des relations « Sud-Sud », à savoir les interactions croissantes entre pays en développement à travers le commerce, l’aide et les investissements directs étrangers.

Que signifient ces évolutions en termes de développement et de politiques de développement ? Le rapport envisage différentes politiques publiques valables au plan national comme à l’échelle internationale. Au niveau national, les pays en développement doivent réorienter leurs stratégies de développement afin de valoriser le potentiel croissant de la coopération Sud-Sud et de tirer pleinement avantage des nouveaux moteurs macroéconomiques. Au niveau international, l’architecture de la gouvernance mondiale doit s’ajuster pour mieux refléter la répartition actuelle du poids économique.

 « Cette première édition des Perspectives du développement mondial de l’OCDE est une contribution bienvenue à l’étude des ruptures structurelles définitives avec le passé qui marquent désormais l’économie mondiale. Cette publication souligne de manière factuelle la nécessité de réfléchir aux nouveaux défis du financement du développement et du développement social. »
Justin Yifu Lin, premier vice-président et économiste en chef, Banque mondiale

« Les Perspectives du développement mondial feront date, en rendant compte de la plus importante mutation économique de notre ère. Cet ouvrage décrit et analyse le nouvel ordre économique dans lequel nous vivons, qui voit des pays d’Asie, d’Afrique et d’Amérique latine devenir les moteurs de la croissance. Il montre comment ce basculement du centre de gravité économique est une raison d’espérer et non de désespérer. »
Alan Hirsch, directeur général adjoint pour les politiques, présidence de l’Afrique du Sud

« Il est indéniable que certaines économies en développement ont connu un rythme de croissance effréné depuis quelques décennies. C’est pourquoi les analyses et les solutions politiques proposées dans cette étude contribueront certainement aux débats de fond alors que le monde s’efforce de tirer les enseignements des expériences de ces 20 dernières années et, en particulier, de la crise économique récente. » 
Jomo Kwame Sundaram, sous-secrétaire général des Nations Unies chargé du développement économique

« Avec cet ouvrage, le Centre de développement de l’OCDE dévoile tout un nouveau pan du développement économique. Mais ce faisant, il soulève la question fondamentale de la pérennité : quel sera l’impact du développement sur le tissu social, politique et économique d’un monde de plus en plus global ? »
Stephen S. Roach, président, Morgan Stanley en Asie

L’importance d’une gouvernance réglementaire efficace n’a jamais été aussi claire qu’elle ne l’est aujourd’hui, dans le sillage de la pire crise économique depuis la Grande Dépression. Cependant, comment « mieux légiférer » permettra-t-il d’améliorer les perspectives pour une plus forte performance économique et une meilleure qualité de vie, pour promouvoir une croissance pérenne et renforcer la résilience des pays ? Qu’est-ce qu’une réglementation efficace ? Quelle doit être la forme et la direction de la politique de gouvernance réglementaire au cours de la prochaine décennie ? Pour répondre à ces questions, l’OCDE a lancé, en partenariat avec la Commission européenne, un projet pour examiner l’évolution de la gouvernance réglementaire dans 15 pays de l’OCDE, dont le Luxembourg.

Chaque rapport fait l’analyse des questions clés qui sont nécessaires pour dégager le cadre de référence futur pour une bonne gestion de la politique et des réformes de réglementation. Les questions examinées incluent :
• La stratégie et les politiques d’amélioration de la gouvernance réglementaire.
• Les capacités institutionnelles pour une gouvernance réglementaire.
• La transparence des réglementations et la mise en place d’une consultation réelle de l’opinion publique.
• La gestion et rationalisation des réglementations existantes.
• La conformité, la mise en application, et les voies de recours.
• Les relations entre les États membres et l’Union européenne.
• Les relations entre l’administration centrale et les administrations infranationales.

Les pays participants sont : l’Allemagne, l’Autriche, la Belgique, le Danemark, l’Espagne, la Finlande, la France, la Grèce, l’Irlande, l’Italie, le Luxembourg, les Pays-Bas, le Portugal, le Royaume-Uni et la Suède.

“Too much ‘red tape’!” is one of the most common complaints from businesses and citizens in OECD countries. Administrative simplification is a regulatory quality tool to review and reduce administrative and regulatory procedures. It has remained high on the agenda in most OECD countries over the last decade and continues to be so. Countries’ efforts to strengthen their competitiveness, productivity and entrepreneurship during the current recession have made simplification efforts even more urgent.  

Until now, efforts to reduce administrative burdens have primarily been driven by ambitions to improve the cost efficiency of administrative regulations, as these impose direct and indirect costs on regulated subjects. Many countries will finish their current projects over the next few years and must decide how to continue their efforts and how to make them more efficient.  

This report looks beyond 2010 and presents policy options for administrative simplification that are in line with current trends and developments. It provides policy makers with guidance on the available tools and explains common mistakes to be avoided when designing, undertaking and evaluating administrative simplification programmes.