As we move into the 21st century, the turbulent transformation of economy and society looks set to continue. Growing integration of markets, radical new technologies, the increasing knowledge intensity of human activity, all point to the emergence of an immensely complex world. But how will it be managed? And by whom? What forms of organisation and decision-making will be required at local, national and global levels to meet the challenges of the next decades?
One thing seems certain: old forms of governance -- in the public sector, corporations and civil society -- are becoming increasingly ineffective. New forms of governance will be needed over the next few decades which will involve a much broader range of active players. Traditional hierarchical organisations and top-down control will give way more and more to a wider diffusion of responsibility and decision-making that builds on the talents for innovation and creativity of individuals and groups.
This book explores some of the opportunities and risks -- economic, social and technological -- that decision-makers will have to address in the coming years, and outlines what needs to be done to foster society 's capacity to manage its future more flexibly and with broader participation of its citizens.
OECD's 2001 review of regulatory reform in Ireland. It finds that regulatory reform in Ireland began later than in many countries, but is now moving ahead on a broad front. Following Ireland’s remarkable economic performance in the 1990s, regulatory reform is helping to manage the consequences of fast growth and to sustain growth into the future. Reform is opening up important infrastructure and policy bottlenecks to further growth, promoting efficiency improvements that can help manage inflation, and establishing a more competitive and flexible economy that can innovate, adapt and prosper as the sources of its current prosperity change. Yet the reform agenda is still long. Bottlenecks in physical infrastructure are constraining growth, as are labour shortages, and public sector capacities. Weak competition in key sectors is a risk to future performance. While recognising the substantial progress made in recent years, this report calls for a more coherent and determined approach to regulatory reform.
This review presents an integrated assessment of regulatory reform in framework areas such as the quality of the public sector, competition policy and enforcement, and market openness. It also contains chapters on sectors such as telecommunications, electricity, gas, pharmacies and legal services, and an assessment of the macroeconomic context for reform. The policy recommendations present a balanced plan of action for both short and longer term based on best international regulatory practices.
OECD's 2001 review of regulatory reform in Italy. It finds that starting later than many countries, Italy devoted the 1990s to "catching up" with the leading OECD countries in economic and governance reforms. The scope, speed and consistency of structural reforms by multiple governments were remarkable. Accumulated rigidities and practices of decades were re-assessed, and many rejected. Awareness of the excessive role of the state in the economy led to broad policy and institutional changes in favour of transparency, public sector efficiency, and market competition. By 1999, Italy’s privatisation programme was among the largest in the OECD.
Reform of Italy’s regulatory state is a formidable task, but early results, such as reduced red tape and stronger accountability of the public service, are appearing. Yet, enhancing the growth potential of the Italian economy -- following years of comparatively slow growth, relatively high inflation, low foreign direct investment, and a declining market share in world trade -- justifies faster and deeper regulatory reform to address the substantial reform agenda still outstanding. Long-standing income gaps between north and south could be narrowed by revitalised domestic markets. Better regulatory practices are particularly needed at regional and local levels, whose decisions increasingly decide Italy’s future.
This review presents an integrated assessment of regulatory reform in framework areas such as the quality of the public sector, competition policy and enforcement, and market openness. It also contains chapters on sectors such as telecommunications, electricity, and railways, and an assessment of the macroeconomic context for reform. The policy recommendations present a balanced plan of action for both short and longer term based on best international regulatory practices.
Municipal waste has increased 22 % per capita from 1980 to 1997. At the same time, the difficulty of siting new waste disposal facilities has increased. While major progress has been made to lessen the per capita generation of air and water pollution over the past decades, waste generation is still on the rise. Faced with the increase of waste, many governments have reviewed available policy options and concluded that placing the responsibility for the post-consumer phase of certain goods on producers could provide a means to relieve certain environmental pressures, arising from post-consumer waste. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which producers accept significant responsibility - financial and/or physical - for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products. Assigning such responsibility could provide incentives to prevent wastes at the source, promote product design for the environment and support the achievement of public recycling and materials management goals. Within the OECD the trend is towards the extension of EPR to new products, product groups and waste streams such as electrical appliances and electronics. This guidance manual represents one means to inform national governments about the potential benefits and costs associated with EPR.
Managing Public Expenditure presents a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of all aspects of public expenditure management from the preparation of the budget to the execution, control and audit stages. The book will be of general interest but is focused particularly on the needs of countries in transition, especially those in Central and Eastern Europe that seek to become members of the European Union.
The book provides practical, operational information and guidance on all areas of public expenditure management, e.g. legal and institutional frameworks, preparation of the budget, implementation, cash management, performance management, accounting, financial information and reporting systems, internal control and internal audit, and external audit. Each part of the book ends with key points and directions for reform. The detailed questionnaire will help practitioners to identify the strong and weak elements in their budget systems so that they can take necessary remedial action. Managing Public Expenditure ends with a comprehensive glossary, bibliography and index.
Richard Allen is an economist and spent most of his career at HM Treasury (the British Ministry of Finance), working mainly in the areas of fiscal policy, EU affairs, public expenditure management and international finance. He has also served as a diplomat in Washington DC and as a board member of the European Investment Bank. He was head of the budget and resource allocation team of the SIGMA Programme and is now adviser on governance at the Asian Development Bank.
Daniel Tommasi is a Paris-based consultant in the the areas of fiscal policy, public expenditure management and macroeconomic management. He is an adviser to governments and a consultant for international organisations, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the European Union's Phare and Tacis Programmes. He has worked for over 25 years in some 30 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific and Africa.
There is an emerging consensus concerning a new strategic mode for spatial policy. In the past, planning resulted in zoned land uses characterised by a rigid separation of housing from leisure and workplaces. This strongly sectoral approach is breaking down under the pressure of environmental problems, technological innovations, and a societal demand for a higher quality of life. Spatial planning will increasingly involve broad framework policies at the national level, and strong partnerships at the local and regional level. This volume is based on two international seminars oranised by the OECD and the National Land Agency, Japan.
Le Groupe conjoint de l’OCDE sur les échanges et la concurrence a été créé en 1996 afin de mieux comprendre les problèmes complexes qui se posent à l’interface de ces deux politiques, avec la globalisation des marchés en toile de fond. Il est également chargé d’explorer les meilleurs moyens d’assurer un soutien mutuel des deux politiques en vue d’atteindre une plus grande efficacité économique. Cette publication résulte des activités du Groupe conjoint et elle est la troisième du genre. Elle réunit une série de documents de travail que les autorités de la concurrence et des échanges ont examiné durant les deux dernières années. L’objectif est de faire partager à une audience plus large les progrès sensibles enregistrés récemment par les deux communautés dans l’analyse de questions importantes à l’interface des deux politiques.
The OECD Joint Group on Trade and Competition was established in 1996 to help deepen understanding of the complex issues arising at the interface of these two policy domains against a globalising backdrop and explore how best to ensure that both sets of policies are mutually supportive in promoting greater economic efficiency. This publication, the third to arise from Joint Group activities, brings together a series of working papers that Member countries’ trade and competition authorities have considered during the past two years. The objective of the publication is to share with a broader audience the tangible progress made recently by the two communities in the analysis of important issues at the interface between trade and competition policies.
Quelles sont les questions qui empêchent les pouvoirs publics de dormir? - Comment les pouvoirs publics peuvent-ils se préparer à faire face aux défis que constituent les réformes actuelles et à venir ? - Comment le secteur public peut-il développer une culture réceptive au changement ? - De quels types de dirigeants a-t-on besoin ? - Comment les pouvoirs publics peuvent-ils améliorer leur communication avec les citoyens ? - Comment éviter que ne naisse une certaine lassitude des réformes ?
Face aux défis et aux perspectives que présentent la mondialisation, l’évolution rapide des technologies, les changements démographiques, les aspirations croissantes des citoyens et, la concurrence du secteur privé, les pouvoirs publics doivent continuer d'étudier et d'exploiter de nouvelles façons de remplir leur tâche. Cet ouvrage, issu des débats du colloque de l'OCDE "Construire aujourd'hui l'administration de demain", fait le point sur les réformes intervenues depuis deux décennies dans les administrations publiques, et tire des enseignements pour une nouvelle génération de réformes.
Proponents of an active labour market policy are now claiming part of the credit for large falls in structural unemployment rates that have occurred in some OECD countries. Advances in information technology which facilitate matching job-seekers to jobs, modern management methods, and a favourable economic climate in recent years have encouraged innovative approaches and created new opportunities for the Public Employment Service to help the unemployed return to work.
This book presents the proceedings of a conference on Labour Market Policies and the Public Employment Service organised jointly by the OECD and the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Among the themes addressed are: front-line employment service operations, one-stop offices and decentralised management; customer service and employer service; the advanced use of information technology; eligibility conditions for unemployment benefits; job guarantees for the long-term unemployed and other strategies of intervention in the unemployment spell; and improving the accountability of the Public Employment Service through external audits, the use of performance indicators, appropriate financing mechanisms, and contestability in the provision of services. The papers reflect the views of key actors -- politicians, senior officials from national labour ministries and employment services, front-line managers, and prominent academic experts -- on these important issues.
Actes de la Conférence de Prague, Juillet 2000 Les partisans d’une politique active du marché du travail s’attribuent aujourd'hui en partie le mérite des baisses significatives du taux de chômage structurel enregistrées dans certains pays de l’OCDE. Les progrès des technologies de l’information, qui facilitent l’appariement des offres et des demandes d’emplois, les méthodes de gestion modernes et le contexte économique positif de ces dernières années ont stimulé l’introduction de démarches innovantes et ouvert aux services publics de l’emploi de nouvelles pistes pour faciliter le retour des chômeurs à l’emploi. Cet ouvrage présente les actes d’une conférence sur « Les politiques du marché du travail et le service public de l’emploi » organisée conjointement par l’OCDE et le ministère tchèque du Travail et des Affaires sociales. Cette conférence a été l’occasion d’aborder, entre autres, les thèmes suivants : le travail de terrain des services de l’emploi, les guichets uniques et la gestion décentralisée ; le service à la clientèle (demandeurs d’emploi et employeurs) ; le recours accru aux technologies de l’information ; les conditions d’attribution des indemnités de chômage ; la garantie d’emploi pour les chômeurs de longue durée et autres types d’intervention au cours de la période de chômage ; l’amélioration de la transparence des services publics de l’emploi grâce aux audits externes, aux indicateurs de performance, à des mécanismes de financement adaptés et à la mise en concurrence des services de placement. Les interventions présentées reflètent le point de vue d’acteurs clés -- responsables politiques, hauts fonctionnaires des ministères du Travail et des services de l’emploi, gestionnaires de terrain et universitaires de renom -- sur toutes ces questions importantes.
Infrastructure sectors -- particularly railroads, telecommunications, electricity and natural gas -- are vital in providing necessities of life to the Russian Federation’s citizens and key inputs into the rest of the economy. A top priority of the current government in Russia is to reform the infrastructure sectors, specifically in such sectors as rail transport and electric power, to create an efficient and effective regulatory regime that supports the creation of competition where possible and provides more effective protection to consumers in those spheres where competition is not possible. This book compiles the proceedings of four meetings held at the request of the Minister for Antimonopoly Policy of the Russian Federation, on the reform of railroads, telecommunications, electricity and natural gas, during December 2000-September 2001. This review is part of the OECD's ongoing co-operation with non-Member economies around the world.
In the face of challenges and opportunities posed by globalisation, rapidly evolving technologies, changing demographics, rising citizen expectations, and competition from the private sector, governments need to continue to explore and exploit new ways of working. This book (based on the proceedings of the OECD Symposium "Government of the Future: Getting from Here to There") looks at the way public administrations have been reformed over the last two decades and draws lessons for a new generation of reform.
OECD's 2000 review of regulatory reform in Denmark. It finds that Denmark’s large welfare state and its open market economy have successfully delivered relatively high standards of living. Danish regulatory reform has proceeded with many pragmatic steps that have contributed to solid economic performance, management of economic and social adjustment to changing conditions, and improved efficiency of government services. However, sheltered sectors, including service industries, still suffer from co-operation and price fixing, contributing to high consumer prices. The competition regime is weaker than in many other countries, and so are regulatory regimes in areas such as energy. Further supply-side and market reforms can help sustain good economic performance, while wider use of competition in public services can improve the level and quality of services. Denmark is among several OECD countries to request a broad review by the OECD of its national regulatory practices and domestic regulatory reforms. This Review presents an integrated assessment of regulatory reform in framework areas such as the quality of the public sector, competition policy and enforcement, and market openness. It also contains chapters on sectors such as electricity and telecommunications, and an assessment of the macroeconomic context for reform. The policy recommendations present a balanced plan of action for both short and longer-term based on best international regulatory practices.
Public service is a public trust. Citizens expect public servants to serve the public interest with fairness and to manage public resources properly on a daily basis. Fair and reliable public services inspire public trust and create a favourable environment for businesses, thus contributing to well-functioning markets and economic growth. Public ethics are a prerequisite to public trust and a keystone of good governance.
At a time when there is a growing consensus among governments on what should constitute the essential elements of an effective and comprehensive ethics strategy, this book constitutes a unique source of comparative information on ethics management measures in OECD countries. It is designed to facilitate mutual learning and to support the development of modern ethics strategies in both OECD and non-member countries, by providing, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of ethics measures in all 29 OECD countries, including overall trends and promising practices.
Il est impératif que les services publics inspirent confiance à la population. Les citoyens attendent des agents de la fonction publique qu’ils veillent à l’intérêt public en toute équité et qu’ils gèrent correctement les ressources de l’État au quotidien. S’ils sont équitables et fiables, les services publics inspirent confiance à la population et créent un climat propice aux activités des entreprises, contribuant ainsi au bon fonctionnement des marchés et à la croissance économique. Le respect de l’éthique est une condition préalable implicite pour que l’opinion publique accorde sa confiance à l’administration. Il est aussi un élément capital de la bonne gouvernance.
En cette période de consensus croissant entre les pouvoirs publics sur la définition des éléments indispensables d’une stratégie effective et globale de l’éthique, le présent rapport de l’OCDE contient une somme d’informations sur les dispositions en matière de gestion de l’éthique résultant de comparaisons entre les pays de l’OCDE, et dont il n’existe actuellement aucun équivalent. Cet ouvrage est destiné à favoriser l’apprentissage mutuel et à aider les décideurs à élaborer des stratégies modernes en matière d’éthique, tant dans les pays Membres que dans les pays non membres de l’Organisation. Il présente - pour la première fois - un panorama complet des dispositions concernant l’éthique adoptées par les 29 pays membres de l’Organisation, et comprend notamment les tendances générales et les pratiques particulièrement intéressantes.
Pourquoi l’OCDE ainsi que d’autres membres de la communauté internationale se sont-ils mobilisés pour combattre la corruption ? La réponse est simple : la corruption ne respecte pas les frontières, ne fait pas de distinctions économiques et gangrène toutes les formes de gouvernement. À long terme, aucun pays ne peut se permettre de supporter les coûts sociaux, politiques ou économiques qu’induit la corruption.
Il n’y a pas si longtemps, corrompre des agents publics dans des pays étrangers pour obtenir des marchés constituait une pratique commerciale, sinon acceptable, du moins tolérée dans de nombreux pays de l’OCDE. Aujourd’hui, le dossier de la corruption fait partie des principales préoccupations des pouvoirs publics à l’échelle mondiale car ses répercussions dramatiques sur le développement économique et ses effets corrosifs sur la stabilité politique et les institutions démocratiques sont devenus de plus en plus évidents.
En ce nouveau millénaire, l’OCDE et les gouvernements de ses pays Membres, qui représentent plus de 75 % des échanges et de l’investissement dans le monde vont se soumettre à des règles du jeu plus strictes. La Convention sur la lutte contre la corruption d’agents publics étrangers dans les transactions commerciales internationales va bannir la pratique consistant à corrompre des agents publics étrangers, ce qui contribuera à l’équité et à l’ouverture de la concurrence internationale.
La corruption dans les transactions commerciales ne représente qu’une partie du problème. Tout un arsenal d’instruments juridiques destinés à combattre la corruption a désormais été mis au point afin d’améliorer les normes éthiques dans le secteur public, de mettre fin à la déductibilité fiscale des pots-de-vin, de faire reculer le blanchiment de capitaux et d’assainir les pratiques en matière de passation de marchés publics. Quant au secteur privé et à la société civile, ils continueront de jouer un rôle déterminant dans le combat pour faire passer ces nouvelles règles dans la réalité.
Cet ouvrage apporte les éléments indispensables pour construire et préserver des institutions, des systèmes et des entreprises privées libérés de la corruption.
Government consumption of products and services in OECD Member countries is estimated to be responsible for 9 to 25% of GDP. Given the importance of public purchasing, national and local authorities have been paying increasing attention to the opportunities to improve the environment by selecting environmentally sounder products.
This publication describes the successes, the efforts and the difficulties encountered within Member countries by focusing on the role and concerns of the officials that operate purchasing. Also, it shows how greener public purchasing can support a number of other crucial policy objectives such as the reduction of government operating costs, the improvement of governance, and the reduction of greenhouse gases.