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Despite years of growth in the number of women in paid work, gender roles in unpaid housework have remained remarkably rigid. Unpaid housework can be outsourced to non-care household service providers, such as cleaners or housekeepers, however, high prices, a substantial tax burden and a lack of easy access impose barriers to greater formalisation of the household service sector. With the aim of increasing work-life balance for households, in particular for women in employment, and reducing the wide-ranging practice of undeclared employment, a number of OECD countries have implemented policies to formalise and boost the provision of non-care household services. This report illustrates the importance of the non-care household service sector and reviews international approaches in formalising the non-care household service market, ranging from providing tax incentives or granting social vouchers, to identify good practice. To highlight the potential economic gains that could follow from easing the housework burden, the report also estimates the economic value of unpaid housework provided by men and women.
Despite substantial achievements in the recent past, the innovation climate in Russia is in need of major improvements. Comprehensive institutional and policy reforms are required, including in areas outside the remit of policy makers in technology and innovation. In this context, the Helsinki Seminar on "Innovation Policy and the Valorisation of Science and Technology in Russia" gathered government officials, scientists and businessmen from Russia and several OECD Member and observer countries -- Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Italy, Korea, the United States and Israel -- as well as from countries of the Newly Independent States (NIS). Participants examined the climate for innovation in Russia and discussed the lessons that can be drawn from the institutional reforms and recent policy initiatives in OECD countries to enhance the contribution of science and technology to innovation and growth.
Reliable and high-quality connectivity is fundamental for the digital transformation. Furthermore, the COVID-19 health emergency has shown that access to high-quality broadband services at affordable prices, across different territories is essential to ensure that economic and social activities can continue in an increasingly remote manner. However, important disparities in terms of connectivity persist in G20 countries and especially within countries between different types of regions. Overcoming the territorial divide is essential to ensure that no region and its inhabitants are left behind, regardless of where they live. This report offers a roadmap to policy makers to reduce the digital divides experienced by people living in different places within countries. While this is a key policy goal, the reduction of regional disparities needs to be accompanied with sufficiently high levels of broadband speeds across regions for people to be able to fully benefit from the economic opportunities and services brought about by digitalization.
This book is the product of a collaborative effort between the OECD Environment and Development Co-operation directorates on mainstreaming responses to climate change in development planning and assistance. This volume synthesises insights from six country case studies that review climate change impacts and vulnerabilities, analyse relevant national plans and aid investments in terms of their exposure and attention to climate risks, and examine in-depth key systems where climate change is closely intertwined with development and natural resource management. The case studies cover the Nepal Himalayas, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Nile in Egypt, the Bangladesh Sundarbans, coastal mangroves in Fiji, and agriculture and forestry sectors in Uruguay.
Overall, the volume suggests a rich agenda for research and policy action which should be of considerable interest to donor agencies, sectoral planners and development practioners, as well as climate change experts and policy makers.
This report addresses housing inequities through a series of analytical chapters and case studies. The cross-country chapters examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing demand, develop a proposal for a green land value tax, evaluate the dynamics between fiscal autonomy and housing supply responsiveness, as well as explore the drivers of inter-regional migration. The case studies unravel the changes of Korea's progressive national property tax and a programme to address regional imbalances, assess the impact of the US property tax system on housing, dive into Norway's property taxation in relation to inequality, as well as survey Belgium's approaches to housing policy. With a blend of empirical data and critical analysis, the report underscores the pressing need for comprehensive strategies in addressing housing inequities. It also offers insights for policymakers and scholars, highlighting the complex balance between national and local housing policies.
Expanding on the findings of Brick by Brick: Better Housing Policies, this second volume delves into key trends shaping housing policies in the post-COVID-19 era. The first chapter provides an overview and discusses the need to monitor the pandemic's impacts on housing affordability, address the energy crisis through low-carbon housing initiatives, maintain financial resilience amid fluctuating housing cycles, and facilitate the reshaping of housing markets in response to remote work and environmental concerns. The second chapter focuses on the decarbonisation of the housing sector. It recommends a mix of carbon pricing, energy-efficiency certification and regulation, and subsidies to meet net-zero targets while accounting for housing market specificities. The chapter also calls for deploying complementary policies to limit adverse impacts on low-income households. The third chapter examines housing finance, focusing on the tension between supporting mortgage borrowing and promoting financial resilience. It also discusses the rise of non-bank real estate finance and the potential for mortgage finance to support housing decarbonisation. The fourth chapter explores how the new work-life balance, enabled by the rise of remote work, is reshaping housing demand and proposes a set of tailored urban policies to address this shift. Overall, the report provides a comprehensive blueprint for housing policies in the post-pandemic world.
The report brings together evidence, international experience and policy insights for the design of housing policies. Emphasis is placed on three broad aspects: inclusiveness, efficiency and sustainability. Inclusive access to housing has become increasingly challenging in many OECD countries due to a large extent to rising housing costs, which reflects the failure of housing supply to meet demand, particularly in jobs-rich urban areas. Geographical constraints play a role, but in many cities regulations, including on land-use and zoning provisions, also constrain supply. At the same time, some regulations on tenant-landlord relations can discourage the development of rental markets, pushing up rents. Moreover, the transition to a low-carbon economy poses challenges for a sector that accounts for 17% of CO2 emissions and 37% of fine particulate matter emissions globally. Almost two-thirds of countries worldwide still lack mandatory building energy codes. Frontloading efforts is critical as dwellings have a very long lifespan. The report lays out evidence-based options for concerted policy action to address these challenges, while recognising complementarities and trade-offs amond the different objectives of housing policies. The report is part of the OECD Housing Tookit, which includes an interactive online dashboard of housing indicators and country snapshots.
Public works contracts mean big business. From road-building to high-tech communication infrastructure, public procurement averages 15% of GDP in OECD countries--substantially more in non-OECD economies--and it is a major factor in the world trade of goods and services. Given the growing complexity of bribe schemes in today’s globalised markets, the problem is how to identify corruption in public procurement so governments can work toward effective prevention and apply sanctions if necessary. This report provides insights on all three fronts. Based on contributions from law enforcement and procurement specialists, the report describes how bribery is committed through the various stages of government purchasing; how bribery in public procurement is related to other crimes, such as fraud and money laundering; and how to prevent and sanction such crimes. The typical motivations and conduct of the various actors engaging in corruption are also highlighted, as well as ten case studies.
This Handbook is designed to raise the awareness of tax examiners and auditors of issues concerning bribery and other forms of corruption. It provides guidance on how to recognise indicators of possible bribery or corruption in the course of regular tax examinations and audits.
The Breakthrough Agenda Report 2023 is an annual collaboration between the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions, focused on supporting stronger international collaboration to drive faster reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. This year’s report shows that current efforts on clean energy and sustainable solutions, while improving, are not yet delivering the levels of investment and deployment required to meet international climate goals. In response, it calls on governments to strengthen collaboration in key areas – such as standards and regulation, financial and technical assistance and market creation – to turbocharge the transition.
The second annual report assesses progress made since 2022 in priority areas for international collaboration, and sets out a series of recommendations for countries to work together in each sector to help reduce emissions over the next decade and stave off the worst effects of climate change. The report shows how the transition to clean energy and sustainable solutions is accelerating across many sectors, with unprecedented expansion in technologies such as electric vehicles and solar PV. It highlights that electric passenger cars are set to account for 18% of total car sales in 2023, while investment in clean energy technologies is significantly outpacing spending on fossil fuels. But other high emissions and hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, hydrogen and agriculture are not transitioning quickly enough despite encouraging progress in some areas.
The report found that in the past year, only modest progress has been made in strengthening international collaboration in the areas where it is most needed. Progress has been made in expanding financial assistance to developing countries in some sectors, and in joint research and development initiatives. But much more progress is needed in aligning policies to create demand for clean technologies, and in establishing dialogue on trade in sectors where this is likely to be critical to the transition. In most sectors, participation in the leading initiatives for practical cooperation still falls short of a majority of the global market. The report argues that greater political commitment is needed to progress from softer forms of collaboration, such as sharing best practice, to harder forms such as alignment of standards and policies, which are more difficult but can yield greater gains in mobilising investment and accelerating deployment.
This report adds two perspectives on informality. First, it disassembles the mechanics of the deleterious links between informal employment, low-paying work and low skills. It shows that informal employment is highly persistent, and that the vulnerability of informal workers is passed on to their children in the absence of adequate education, skills and social protection policy. Second, the report underscores the double burden of informality and low-paying work that a large share of workers in developing and emerging economies carry, and as such calls for policy solutions that go beyond the formalisation agenda and embrace the goal of social justice.
An alarming number of women and girls become victims/survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) at least once during their lifetime. While GBV has garnered more attention from policymakers in recent years, and has become a top gender-equality priority for OECD countries, significant challenges remain in all countries. This report promotes a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of GBV by combining insights from recent OECD work with robust evidence from surveys and questionnaires conducted in OECD Member countries. It offers recommendations for a comprehensive OECD GBV Governance Framework encompassing laws and access to justice, transforming restrictive gender norms, and integrating service delivery to prevent, address and - ultimately - end this violation of human rights.
In the context of the economic recovery and public budget cuts, policy silos and fragmented short-term policy interventions have become luxuries that our economies can no longer afford. Government intervenes in a myriad of ways at the local level, and rarely are these interventions co-ordinated effectively. Most of us are familiar with policy “silos”. Such divisions are often taken for granted, blamed on historical working relationships (“it has always been like that”) and organisational cultures (“they don’t work like we do”). However these divisions come at a cost. The issues and challenges facing local communities are often complex, and require a holistic approach to be resolved. This book provides concrete advice to policy makers at both national and local levels on how to better align policies, reduce duplication and waste, and “do more with less”. It is based on comparative analysis of 11 countries in Australisia, Europe and North America and combines rankings on where countries stand in terms of the integration of employment, skills and economic development policies, with concrete examples of successful policy integration on the ground.
Supreme audit institutions have a distinct role in supporting the development of a more strategic and forward looking state. This report assesses the role of Brazil's SAI – the Federal Court of Accounts (Tribunal de Contas da União or TCU) – in enhancing accountability and informing decision making within the federal government. The review focuses specifically on the audit of the Consolidated Year end Government Report (Prestação de Contas da Presidenta de República or PCPR). Although the TCU is a well respected independent government institution and completes the audit of the PCPR in line with constitutional provisions and international best practice, several challenges remain. Deepening TCU understanding of challenges and barriers affecting the use of its audit – especially by the legislature – is critical for enhancing accountability and informing decision making. Moreover, framing clearly and concisely the main findings will make the TCU work audit more accessible and elevate the imperative for action. Creating a more explicit and co-ordinated TCU communication strategy will also improve the value and benefit of the audit findings.
Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts, the Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU), is seeking to go beyond its traditional oversight role and help improve policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. This report identifies ways TCU can achieve this by applying principles of good governance to areas such policy coherence, strategic and long-term budgeting, internal control and risk management, and monitoring and evaluation. It suggests concrete steps TCU can take to adapt its own strategies, approaches and audit programming to provide valuable insight and foresight to policy makers in the centre of government. In this way, it can help ensure that policies and programmes are forward looking and based on evidence.
This publication examines the role of border regions in shaping patterns of violence since the end of the 1990s in North and West Africa. Using the innovative OECD Spatial Conflict Dynamics indicator (SCDi), the report looks at the growing relationship between political violence and borderlands at the regional level, by analysing more than 170 000 violent events between January 1997 and June 2021 and through the exploration of case studies in the Central and Eastern Sahel. Violence in border regions is both more intense in terms of the number of victims and more diffuse geographically than ever before. This report combines quantitative data on the location of violent events and victims, their mapping over time and space, and an analysis of the actors in conflict to answer three crucial questions i) Are borderlands more violent than other spaces? ii) Has the intensity of violence in border regions increased over time? iii) Are some borderlands more violent than others? The growing importance and complexity of transnational conflicts and transnational violent groups in North and West Africa calls for a more place-based analysis in order to create better tailored and more flexible policy options.
Lack of energy access and frequent electricity shortages are major impediments to economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 635 million people live without electricity in the region. Because the overall electrification rate remains at less than one-third of the population, the region needs increased investment in the power sector.
As part of their increasing activity in overseas markets, companies from the People’s Republic of China have significantly enhanced their engagement in Africa in the last 15 years, covering a wide range of sectors, including the electricity industry. Chinese-built projects and financial support from China are contributing to power sector development, extending energy access and facilitating economic growth.
This report analyses China’s engagement in the sub-Saharan Africa power sector, including the key drivers underlying Chinese investments. An overview of Chinese projects (generation, transmission and distribution) during the 2010-20 period is provided in this first-ever consolidated effort to map them.
The report identifies the key Chinese stakeholders and assesses their impact on policies affecting energy access, economic development and financing modalities. Two case studies examine Chinese investment at the country level in Ghana and Ethiopia.
Spain has a high share of the working age population at risk of poverty or social exclusion and a high incidence of child poverty. While Spain has introduced a minimum income at the national level, social inclusion policies are the responsibility of the regions. At present, the coverage of the minimum income remains low and there are many differences in the design and implementation of social inclusion policies across regions, especially as a number of regions do not develop social inclusion strategies. There is also a lack of a multidimensional approach to social inclusion. This report develops options for new inclusion models that address current challenges and help formulate a coherent inclusion strategy. It also sets out a blueprint for developing a monitoring and evaluation framework. The recommendations aim to increase the effectiveness of minimum income policies and strengthen the co-ordination between social services, employment, health and housing.
Social enterprises are long-standing agents of inclusive growth and democratisation of the economic and social spheres, and they have proved resilient to economic adversity all the while addressing socio-economic challenges in innovative ways, re-integrating people back to the labour market, and contributing to overall social cohesion. This compendium derives policy lessons for boosting social enterprises from the analysis of 20 initiatives in several EU member-countries, covering a range of policy areas from legal frameworks, finance, market access, and support structures, to education and skills.
The Flemish economy is extremely diversified with a number of value-added industries and a highly skilled workforce. The shift to a green economy will however require specific knowledge, values and attitudes from the Flemish workforce. This report analyses the skills dimension of the transition to a green economy at the local level, with specific reference to emerging needs in the agro-food, construction and chemicals sectors. It also provides recommendations for the development of green skills and occupational profiles at the organisational level, while advising policy makers on the best method of assisting firms to transition to a green economy.