Browse by: "2011"

Many countries have introduced systems of asset declarations for public officials in order to prevent corruption. These systems vary greatly from country to country and their impact on mitigating corruption is not well known.

This study provides a systematic analysis of existing practices in asset declaration in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and in some OECD countries in Western Europe and North America. It examines (1) the key elements of asset declaration systems, such as policy objectives, legal frameworks and institutional arrangements; (2) the categories of public officials who are required to submit declarations, and the types of information required; and (3) procedures for verifying information declared, sanctions for violations, and public disclosure. The study also discusses the cost-effectiveness and overall usefulness of declaration systems. It includes case studies of Lithuania, Romania, Spain and Ukraine, and a large number of additional country examples and references.

The study presents policy recommendations on the key elements of asset declaration systems. These recommendations will be useful for national governments and international organisations engaged in development, reform and assessment of asset declarations systems at country level.

OECD Regions at a Glance is the one-stop guide for understanding regional competitiveness and performance, providing comparative statistical information at the sub-national level, graphs and maps. It identifies new ways that regions can increase their capacity to exploit local factors, mobilise resources and link with other regions. Measuring such factors as education levels, employment opportunities and intensity of knowledge-based activities, this publication offers a statistical snapshot of how life is lived – and can be improved – from region to region in the OECD area. 

This fourth edition of OECD Regions at a Glance showcases the contribution of regions to stronger, fairer and cleaner economies, drawing on both the latest comparable data and past trends across regions in OECD countries. It highlights the persistence of regional disparities, underscores unused resources that can be mobilised to maximise regions’ competitive edge, and shows the common characteristics of performing regions. The report includes data on the four newest OECD member countries: Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia. Where available, data on Brazil, China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa are also included. This publication provides a dynamic link (StatLink) for each graph and map, which directs the user to a web page where the corresponding data are available in Excel®.

This publication provides comprehensive and consistent information on African central government debt statistics for the period 2003-2009. Detailed quantitative information on central government debt instruments is provided for 17 countries to meet the requirements of debt managers, other financial policy makers, and market analysts. Country policy notes provide background information on debt issuance as well as on the institutional and regulatory framework governing debt management policy.

Countries covered: Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.

This second edition of Government at a Glance more than doubles the number of available indicators of OECD governments’ performance. The indicators compare the political and institutional frameworks of government across OECD countries as well as government revenues and expenditures, employment, and compensation. They also include indicators describing government policies and practices on integrity, e-government and open government, and introduce several composite indexes summarising key aspects of public management practices in human resources management, budgeting, procurement, and regulatory management. For each figure, the book provides a dynamic link (StatLink) which direct the user to a web page where corresponding data are available in Excel® format. The report also offers two special chapters, on leveraged governance and on the policy implications of fiscal consolidation.

The 58 data sets of member and partner countries in this 2011 edition of Government at a Glance include the first ever international comparison of public sector pay for selected professions and public service occupations, which points to a fairly egalitarian pay structure in the public sector;  estimations of country-specific fiscal consolidation requirements, which have been found to be large in many countries; the level of disclosure of private interests in the three branches of government; and  the implementation gap of Open Government policies to promote transparency, efficiency and trust.

Demand-side innovation policies have been receiving increasing interest from a number of OECD countries in recent years in the context of slow growth and lagging productivity performance. Pressures on fiscal budgets in the aftermath of the financial crisis have also motivated governments to seek ways to boost innovation without necessarily engaging in new programme spending, primarily to meet social demands in areas such as health, energy or the environment.

This book examines dynamics between demand and innovation and provides insights into the rationale and scope for public policies to foster demand for innovation. It shows the potential - but also the limits - of using public procurement, regulations or standards to stimulate public and private demand for innovation, including among SMEs. Drawing on country experience and case studies, this report illustrates good practices for designing, implementing and evaluating demand-side innovation policies.

Les entreprises et les citoyens se plaignent généralement d’un excès de paperasserie. La simplification administrative est un moyen d’améliorer la qualité de la réglementation en réexaminant et en allégeant les formalités réglementaires et administratives.  La plupart des pays de l’OCDE y ont prêté une grande attention cette dernière décennie. L’impératif de compétitivité, de productivité et d’esprit d’entreprise a encore accentué l’urgence de cette amélioration en période de récession.  

Jusqu’à aujourd’hui l’action menée pour alléger les charges administratives a essentiellement obéi au souci d’améliorer le rapport coût-efficacité des réglementations administratives, qui font supporter aux administrés des coûts directs et indirects. Un grand nombre de pays achèveront dans quelques années leurs projets en cours. Ils se trouvent aujourd’hui à la croisée des chemins et doivent déterminer comment poursuivre leurs efforts pour qu’ils soient plus efficaces. 

Ce rapport se situe dans une perspective d’avenir : il présente différentes options qui s’inscrivent dans les tendances actuelles. Il définit un ensemble d’orientations mettant en lumière les possibilités qui s’offrent et les écueils à éviter lorsqu’il s’agit de concevoir, d’exécuter et d’évaluer un programme de simplification administrative.

Regions and Innovation Policy addresses the needs of national and regional governments for greater clarity on how to strengthen the innovation capacity of regions. The first part of the book examines strategies, policies and governance, explaining why regions matter, what makes smart policy mixes, and multilevel governance.  The second part of the book looks at agencies, instruments and country information, showing how agencis can maximize their impact and what policy instruments work. The final chapter provides country-by-country summaries of what countries are doing.

Attractiveness for investment in innovation is high on the policy agenda in many countries as innovation is a key factor of growth and competitiveness in OECD countries. Virtually all governments are keen to attract international investment by multinational enterprises (MNEs) as a means to promote growth and employment, create new jobs and bring in new technologies.

While all countries and regions have some policy measures in place that are aimed at increasing their attractiveness for innovation, it is less clear if these policies are effective.

This report analyses the current trends in international investment in innovation and the attractiveness policies already implemented. These are often based on the more traditional instruments for attracting international investment. The book also explores in more detail the role of investment incentives that governments tend to give to international investors: their rationale, their impact and their usefulness.

The evidence presented in this report raises clear policy issues and questions existing policies. A number of policy principles are formulated to guide policy makers.

Questo rapporto su Venezia offre una valutazione complessiva dell’economia della città-regione e di quanto l’utilizzo del territorio, il mercato del lavoro e le politiche ambientali siano inseriti in una visione metropolitana. A guidare questa ricerca una nuova immagine delle province di Padova, Venezia e Treviso considerate come un’unica città-regione interconnessa di 2,6 milioni di abitanti. Venezia, con i suoi elevati livelli occupazionali e di crescita, si situa tra le aree urbane più dinamiche e produttive all’interno dell’ocse. Sviluppatasi sul modello delle piccole imprese e dei distretti industriali, sta ora affrontando una profonda trasformazione economica. Lo storico nucleo urbano di Venezia, erede di secoli di sviluppo economico costruito sui mari, vede ogni giorno accentuarsi l’esplosione nella terra ferma circostante di una struttura spaziale assai articolata capace di integrare in una unica area urbana altre antiche presenze come Padova e Treviso e la consistente rete di città minori. Il modello della city-region assunto dall’ocse per Venezia (uno spazio urbano entro cui si muove quotidianamente la gran parte dei lavoratori e degli studenti per la maggior parte dei giorni dell’anno) deve confrontarsi con sfide ambientali sempre più impegnative, conseguenza dell’aumento del traffico e dei crescenti costi infrastrutturali esacerbati dai fenomeni di dispersione urbana. Anche la sua struttura demografica sta mutando in seguito all’invecchiamento della popolazione, alla presenza di immigrati e al progressivo spopolamento del centro storico della città.

Questo rapporto offre un’analisi comparativa di questi temi e, utilizzando il database metropolitano ocse, si concentra nello specifico su produttività e crescita; considerando l’economia regionale, la pianificazione urbana, gli studi sul sistema dei trasporti e i problemi idrologici evidenzia i cambiamenti all’interno della città-regione. Alla luce del programmato sviluppo delle connessioni ferroviarie tra le città, questo studio richiama l’esigenza di programmi atti ad aumentare le sinergie economiche tra Venezia e le città vicine; prende in esame strumenti chiave per promuovere la crescita economica e la governance metropolitana, proponendo inoltre un migliore coordinamento delle politiche riguardanti l’uso del territorio, dei servizi aggiuntivi per lo sviluppo delle piccole e medie imprese e del potenziamento dell’innovazione legata alle università. Il rapporto valuta la qualità della governance delle acque e la potenzialità che Venezia ha di diventare un punto di riferimento essenziale in relazione alle strategie di adattamento al cambiamento climatico.

La “Territorial Review” di Venezia è parte di una serie di studi tematici sulle regioni metropolitane, condotti dal Territorial Development Policy Committee dell’ocse. L’obiettivo generale di questi studi è di delineare e diffondere presso i governi  nazionali raccomandazioni riguardo alle politiche orizzontali da adottare.

The North Atlantic (NORA) region is a transnational area comprising the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, and the coastal counties of Norway. These territories are linked by shared characteristics and challenges, as well as by historical, institutional and cultural links. Improving accessibility to the region, ensuring sustainable development of its fisheries, enlarging and diversifying its economic base, and meeting the challenges of climate change are key issues. Strengthened regional co-operation can help these territories address them by exchanging know-how and best practices, pooling resources and reaching economies of scale, improving the efficiency of public sector provision, and increasing the “voice” of the region.  

However, transnational co-operation in the NORA region faces some barriers, as it involves territories that compete in their main economic activities, are separated by large distances, and have strong institutional and economic links with other countries and regions. In order to get the most from transnational co-operation, this report recommends that the NORA territories: focus co-operation efforts on targeted themes and issues; draw up a regional development strategy; promote greater awareness of the benefits of co-operation; develop a “variable geometry” approach to regional co-operation; and enlarge and refine the role of the NORA institution as a facilitator of co-operation.

Les mouvements de personnel entre les secteurs public et privé sont bien connus dans de nombreux pays sous le nom de « phénomène d’aller-retour ». Ils font l’objet d’une attention particulière dans le contexte de l’action des gouvernements face à la crise financière et économique.

Comment les gouvernements peuvent-ils tirer parti de l’expertise des anciens employés du secteur privé, tout en sauvegardant l’intégrité de leurs décisions d’action publique et en offrant des conditions d’emploi qui permettent d’attirer des candidats expérimentés vers la fonction publique ? Comment les gouvernements peuvent-ils laisser des fonctionnaires se tourner vers le secteur privé sans risquer que des informations privilégiées ne soient mal utilisées ? Comment assurer des conditions uniformes aux entreprises et éviter que des concurrents ne bénéficient d’avantages injustes ?  

L’enquête effectuée par l’OCDE dans ses 30 pays membres montre que la grande majorité d’entre eux s’est dotée de règles élémentaires pour empêcher les conflits d’intérêts dans l’emploi d’après‑mandat. En revanche, seuls quelques-uns ont adapté leurs règles en fonction des domaines et des fonctions à risque, comme celles des responsables de la réglementation ou des marchés publics. L’application de ces règles et de sanctions adéquates reste un défi pour de nombreux pays.  

La recherche de principes et de cadres de bonnes pratiques montre que l’efficacité des politiques et pratiques face au phénomène d’aller-retour  dépend des éléments suivants : premièrement, la connaissance et la réévaluation permanente des risques ; deuxièmement, une communication efficace entre toutes les parties, y compris les secteurs privé et à but non lucratif ; troisièmement, des procédures transparentes d’approbation et d’appel ; et quatrièmement, la mise en place de sanctions opportunes, cohérentes et équitables pour assurer le respect des règles.  

Ces principes servent de référence aux responsables politiques et aux gestionnaires pour examiner et moderniser les politiques d’emploi d’après-mandat. Ils font partie des efforts d’orientation qu’accomplit l’OCDE pour promouvoir l’intégrité du secteur public dans des économies plus saines, plus justes et plus fortes.