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This report assesses the impact on citizens and businesses of the administrative simplification measures carried out by the Mexican Social Security Institute. Administrative burdens are measured in the time it takes citizens and businesses to complete forms and wait in line to request or deliver information to the government. Using an adaptation of the Standard Cost Model, this report finds that such burdens for users have decreased by at least 25% thanks to the simplification and digitalisation of administrative formalities. It also suggests how the Institute could reduce burdens even further. By promoting the use of online formalities, IMSS could reduce administrative burdens by an additional 11%.

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.

Food insecurity and malnutrition are major international concerns, especially in rural areas. At the global scale, they have received considerable attention and investment, but the results achieved so far have been mixed. Some countries have made progress at the national level, but still have many citizens who are food insecure, often concentrated in specific geographic areas. Food insecurity and poverty are highly interlinked and have a strong territorial dimension. To provide effective long-term solutions, policy responses must therefore be tailored to the specific challenges of each territory, taking into account a multidimensional response that includes food availability, access, utilisation and stability. This report highlights five case studies and the OECD New Rural Paradigm, presenting an effective framework for addressing food insecurity and malnutrition.

Africa is projected to have the fastest urban growth rate in the world: by 2050, Africa’s cities will be home to an additional 950 million people. Much of this growth is taking place in small and medium-sized towns. Africa’s urban transition offers great opportunities but it also poses significant challenges. Urban agglomerations are developing most often without the benefit of policies or investments able to meet these challenges. Urban planning and management are therefore key development issues. Understanding urbanisation, its drivers, dynamics and impacts is essential for designing targeted, inclusive and forward-looking policies at local, national and continental levels. This report, based on the Africapolis geo-spatial database (www.africapolis.org) covering 7 600 urban agglomerations in 50 African countries, provides detailed analyses of major African urbanisation dynamics placed within historical, environmental and political contexts. Covering the entire distribution of the urban network — from small towns and secondary cities to large metropolitan regions — it develops more inclusive and targeted policy options that integrate local, national and regional scales of urban development in line with African realities.

This book provides provides comprehensive and consistent information on African central government debt statistics for the period 2003-2007. Detailed quantitative information on central government debt instruments is provided for fourteen countries (Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia) 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.

This publication provides comprehensive and consistent information on African central government debt statistics for the period 2003-2012. 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. A cross country overview on African debt management policies and country policy notes provides background information on debt issuance as well as on the institutional and regulatory framework governing debt management policy.

This publication provides comprehensive and consistent information on African central government debt statistics for the period 2003-2013. 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. A cross country overview on African debt management policies and country policy notes provides background information on debt issuance as well as on the institutional and regulatory framework governing debt management policy

This report provides a new perspective on Africa’s urban economies that is unique in its breadth and level of detail. Based on data from more than 4 million individuals and firms in 2 600 cities across 34 countries, it presents compelling evidence that urbanisation contributes to better economic outcomes and higher living standards. It shows that across most socio-economic dimensions, cities significantly outperform the countries in which they are located. In Africa, urbanisation accounts for approximately 30% of the growth in per capita gross domestic product (GDP) over the past 20 years. Importantly, the gains from urbanisation on economic performance and quality of life extend beyond city boundaries, also benefiting rural areas. The report also shows that transnational clusters of cities are emerging along coasts as well as inland, offering new opportunities for economic development. Based on these findings, the report sets forth policy priorities at national and local levels that are essential to realise the potential of urbanisation. Among these, it argues that the role of cities should be fully anchored in national development planning. Moreover, local governments need greater fiscal and administrative capacity to become key actors in economic development.

Populations in OECD and emerging economies are ageing rapidly, which will have significant macroeconomic impacts, including on public expenditures and tax revenues. The rules and practices that govern fiscal relations among different levels of government, such as their responsibilities for taxation, spending and debt management, have a bearing on economic efficiency and ultimately growth. The consequences of population ageing at subnational government levels are especially intense. Many local governments are vulnerable to the ageing of their populations from a fiscal perspective. The economic and fiscal challenges of an ageing population go beyond intergovernmental boundaries, and they require complex intergovernmental policy responses. This volume brings together cross-country studies of fiscal policy, demographics and spatial productivity, as well as country studies of Brazil, Canada, China and Germany.

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. 

OECD countries are undergoing an unprecedented increase in the proportion of elderly people among their total populations. To address these issues, the OECD organised a conference in Oslo in May 2002. This report highlights how ageing will affect urban design and development in terms of housing, land use, transportation and the urban environment and points to the growing role of new technologies in member countries. The book, featuring statistical data, is for sociologists, policy researchers, journalists, librarians and economists. 

This report analyses Philippine agricultural policy. Agriculture provides 30% of total employment in the Philippines and represents 11% of its Gross Domestic Product. The Philippines has had notable recent overall economic success, yet improving agricultural performance remains challenging. Productivity growth lags behind other Southeast Asian countries, and a number of policy distortions hinder progress. With agricultural land resources also under pressure from frequent natural disasters, rising population and urbanisation, the report offers a series of recommendations to improve the sector’s performance and its ability to adapt to climate change.

Green budgeting is emerging at subnational levels as an important tool for regions and cities to use to align their expenditure and revenues with their green objectives, and enhance the transparency and accountability of their climate and environmental action. It is also a tool that subnational governments can use to prioritise low-carbon investments and identify funding gaps, as well as to mobilise additional sources of both private and public climate finance. In order for subnational governments to make full use of green budgeting however, more methodological, technical, and financial support is needed. This report presents a first stocktake of subnational green budgeting practices in OECD and EU countries as well as a set of guidelines for subnational governments to use in developing and launching a green budgeting practice. It is accompanied by two green budgeting case studies – one with the Region of Brittany (France) and one with the City of Venice (Italy) – and a self-assessment tool. The self-assessment tool allows regions and cities to measure their capacity to launch a green budgeting practice or strengthen an existing one, and is available on the OECD Subnational Government Climate Finance Hub as a downloadable Excel file.