Browse by: "2011"

Public procurement is becoming a policy strategy instrument: public procurement procedures can also help public purchasers to implement policies governing social integration. SIGMA Brief 14 offers guidance for Contracting Authorities on what can be considered as social considerations (e.g. reducing unemployment, preventing the use of child labour) and how these considerations can be incorporated into the procurement process in line with EU law.

Public authorities are major consumers in Europe: they spend approximately 2 trillion euros annually. By using their purchasing power to choose goods and services with lower impacts on the environment, they can make an important contribution to sustainable consumption and production. Environmentally friendly (green) purchasing is also about influencing the market. Green Public Procurement is a voluntary instrument, which means that individual Member States and public authorities can determine the extent to which they implement it. SIGMA Brief 13 offers guidance for Contracting Authorities on what can be considered as environmental considerations (e.g. increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, encouraging the development of alternative energy sources) and how these considerations can be incorporated into the procurement process in line with EU law.

Remedies are legal actions which allow economic operators to request the enforcement of public procurement regulations and their rights under those regulations in cases where contracting authorities, either intentionally or unintentionally, fail to comply with the legal framework for public procurement. SIGMA Brief 12 gives an overview of different issues of remedies, such as right to claim remedies, bodies examining complaints and legal cases relating to procurement, available types of remedies, the so-called standstill period, ineffectiveness of concluded contracts, general principles to be observed by review bodies and contracting authorities.

Advertising of procurement opportunities and contract award results is a foundation stone of public procurement. Full and open advertising facilitates appropriate competition, develops markets and helps in the battle against corruption. SIGMA Brief 6 provides the reader with guidance on where and when notices for contracts subject to the European Union public procurement Directives must be advertised. It also provides information on other methods of keeping the market informed. It gives guidance on the correction of contract notices which contain incorrect information, on how to complete and dispatch contract notices electronically, and special rules for Utilities.

It is important for a contracting authority to ensure that it will enter into a contract with an economic operator that has the ability to perform and complete the contract. Selection of economic operators means the process of assessing and deciding which economic operators are qualified to participate in the tendering procedure. This process must be carried out by applying objective, non-discriminatory and transparent selection criteria, which are set by the contracting authority in advance and disclosed to economic operators. SIGMA Brief 7 gives an overview about the relevant rules of Public Procurement Directives which significantly limit a contracting authority’s discretion in this area. It also provides a checklist of the main points that should be addressed when defining the overall strategy for the selection of economic operators.

The EU Public Procurement Directives cover three main types of contract: works, supplies and services including design contests. Some contracts will often contain elements of one or more of the 3 types of contract. The Directives contain specific rules that are used to classify these mixed contracts. A number of contracts are entirely excluded from the scope of the Directives, either because of their nature or because they are the subject of different systems of regulation or administration. Even if not excluded, contracts will only be subject to the provisions of the Directives where their value exceeds the relevant EU financial threshold. SIGMA Brief 4 gives an overview of the different types of contract, on contract classification as well as exemptions from the scope of the Directives.

The public procurement Directives only apply if a body is a contracting authority (contracting entity in the Utilities sector) within the definition of the Directives. SIGMA Brief 3 gives guidance on the notion of a contracting authority/entity under the directives (especially the concept of “a body governed by public law”). It also analyses whether a contracting authority can participate in joint purchasing or central purchasing.

The evaluation of tenders is the stage in the procurement process during which a contracting authority identifies which one of the tenders meeting the requirements is the best one on the basis of the pre-announced award criteria. The qualified tenderer whose tender has been determined to be the best is awarded the contract. SIGMA Brief 9 presents the key principles governing the process of evaluation of tenders, the role and operation of an evaluation panel, the clarification process as well as the choice of the best tender on the basis of the lowest price and the choice of the best tender on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criterion. The Brief also includes good practice notes and practical examples.

Cette étude évalue dans quelle mesure l’indicateur de « mortalité évitable grâce au système de soins » peut être utilisé comme indicateur de résultat du système de soins. Elle présente des estimations de cette mortalité évitable par les soins pour 31 pays de l’OECD et pour la période 1997-2007. Elle mesure la sensibilité de l’indicateur à la liste de causes de décès considérées comme évitables par les soins en comparant les résultats obtenus à partir de deux listes alternatives. Puis, elle présente les avantages de cet indicateur sur les indicateurs de mortalité générale, ainsi que ses limites.

This report shows how more open markets in goods and services can contribute to creating jobs and increase incomes. Reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers can help in the short run where the economic crisis has led to significant involuntary unemployment by reducing costs of imported products for consumers and by providing new market opportunities for exporters. Taking a longer term view of a more healthy global economy, lasting gains can be found from reallocation of resources across sector and from productivity growth. Reducing barriers to foreign direct investment in services is found to particularly increase demand for higher skilled labour, while the offshoring of services is not found to shift jobs abroad. The report presents in detail new results based on two large scale global computable general equilibrium models, one for goods and one for services, using novel approaches to assess the effects of reducing trade costs related to non-tariff measures, and to assess the effects of regulatory impediments to foreign direct investment in services. The analysis disentangles the effects of actions that the G20 economies could take from the potential effects of global tariff liberalisation efforts in which all countries would participate.

C’est une évidence : l’enseignement préprimaire est bénéfique pour les élèves. Les résultats de l’enquête PISA 2009 montrent que, dans la quasi-totalité des pays de l’OCDE, les élèves de 15 ans ayant suivi un enseignement préprimaire obtiennent de meilleurs résultats que les autres. Ainsi, l’écart de score entre les élèves ayant suivi un enseignement préprimaire pendant plus d’un an et ceux n’ayant pas du tout suivi ce type d’enseignement s’élève à 54 points sur l’échelle PISA de compréhension de l’écrit – soit plus d’une année d’études (qui équivaut à 39 points). Si la plupart des élèves ayant suivi un enseignement préprimaire sont issus de milieux favorisés, l’écart de performance persiste même lorsque l’on compare des élèves issus de milieux similaires. Après contrôle du milieu socio-économique, les élèves ayant suivi un enseignement préprimaire obtiennent un score supérieur de 33 points, en moyenne, à celui des élèves n’ayant pas suivi ce type d’enseignement...

Dans ce document de travail, nous étudions les effets macroéconomiques de larges appréciations du taux de change. Dans un échantillon de 128 pays depuis 1960, nous identifions 25 épisodes de larges appréciations nominales et réelles, et nous étudions leurs effets macroéconomiques dans un modèle autorégressif en données de panel augmenté d’une variable indicatrice. Nos résultats montrent qu’une appréciation du taux de change peut avoir des effets importants sur la balance courante. En moyenne, dans les trois ans suivant l’épisode d’appréciation, la balance courante se détériore en moyenne de trois points de PIB. Cet effet se produit via par une réduction de l’épargne, sans une réduction significative de l’investissement. La croissance réelle des exportations se ralentit sensiblement, alors que les importations restent dans l’ensemble inchangées. Toutefois, les pertes en termes de production résultant des appréciations sont faibles et non statistiquement significatifs, ce qui indique un déplacement vers des sources internes de croissance. Tous ces effets apparaissent quelque peu plus prononcés dans les pays en développement.

This document intends to provide a discussion of issues related to tourism and local development in Apulia region (Italy), an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current practices in related policy implementation, and recommendations and guidance on how the Apulia Government can establish and implement a successful sustainable tourism and local development strategy in the Region.

This report examines inaccuracies in some commonly held views of China's National Oil Companies (NOCs). Until now, there has been little analysis to test the widely held presumption that these companies act under the instructions and in close co-ordination with the Chinese government. Nor have critics been challenged on the validity of their concerns about investments made by these NOCs, and how they could be blocking supplies of oil for other importing countries.

The IEA analysis, however, finds that contrary to these views, the NOCs actually operate with a high degree of independence from the Chinese government, and their investments have in fact largely boosted global supplies of oil and gas, which other importers rely on.

This paper provides a detailed chronological account of the governance-cum-management reform of National Pension Fund in Korea and analyzes its success factors, drawing lessons for other countries. A review of the current governance structures with the fund versus OECD guidelines and international good practice is also provided, along with suggestions for further reform.

It’s elementary: students benefit from pre-primary education. The OECD’s PISA 2009 results show that in practically all OECD countries 15-year-old students who had attended some pre-primary school outperformed students who had not. In fact, the difference between students who had attended for more than one year and those who had not attended at all averaged 54 score points in the PISA reading assessment – or more than one year of formal schooling (39 score points). While most students who had attended pre-primary education had come from advantaged backgrounds, the performance gap remains even when comparing students from similar backgrounds. After accounting for socio-economic background, students who had attended pre-primary school scored an average of 33 points higher than those who had not...

This Working Paper analyses the institutional setting for regulatory reform. It is the first comprehensive analysis of regulatory oversight bodies. The analysis adopts a functional approach through four core functions: i) oversight of the rule-making process; ii) assisting rule makers in their evidence-based analysis; iii) challenging the quality of regulatory proposals; iv) advocating for quality/better regulation. The report analyses the key factors contributing to success, as well as elements for the credibility of regulatory oversight. The report also finds that regulatory quality oversight represents a tool for policy coherence for countries and needs to be articulated with other core policies, such as microeconomic and competition-oriented reforms, as well as overall reforms of the public administration. Forging of a political constituency requires active communications, political buy-in and support from a champion, and an external constituency of interested parties to support advocacy. The report concludes with a possible checklist for policy makers interested in consolidating regulatory oversight in their respective national settings.

The Indian power sector will face numerous challenges over the next four decades. More than one third of India's population currently do not have access to electricity. Urgent action is needed to overcome this problem of energy poverty. At the same time rapid economic growth is projected to increase electricity demand by fivefold to sixfold between now and 2050. Massive investments will be needed to meet this increased demand, but this will also create unique opportunities to transform the power sector towards a low-carbon future.

This Information Paper presents in more detail the analysis for India published in Energy Technology Perspectives 2010. The paper investigates the best way of achieving deep CO2 emission cuts in the Indian power system while allowing the Indian economy to continue growing and meeting the challenge of alleviating energy poverty. It does so from a techno-economic perspective - building on detailed resource and technology data for India - and identifies the key power sector technologies needed for India to realise such a transition.

Transport figures prominently on green growth agendas. The reason is twofold. First, transport has major environmental impacts in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, local air emissions and noise. And managing congestion more effectively is part of the broader agenda for more sustainable development and better use of resources invested in infrastructure. Second, a large part of public expenditure to stimulate green growth is directed at transport sector industries. This concerns most notably alternative vehicles, and particularly electric cars, a key part of strategies to decarbonise transport. Several countries also financed car scrapping and replacement schemes as a short term response to the 2008 financial crisis. The primary goal here was counter-cyclical stimulus for the car manufacturing industry with, in most cases, a secondary goal of reducing CO2 emissions and fuel consumption through fleet renewal. Some governments also include investment in high speed rail as a central element of longer term green growth policies, aiming at a shift in passenger traffic from cars and short haul aviation to rail.

The second OECD educationtoday Crisis Survey was carried out in 2010. Twenty-five OECD member countries completed the questionnaire. The results of the survey relies largely on the informed opinion of education officials regarding various aspects of the impact of the economic recession and fiscal crisis on education.

The main outcomes of the 2010 survey are the following:

• The survey data does not portrait an education system dramatically affected by overall budget cuts. In countries where public investment in education has diminished, the effects are still very specific and concentrated, and vary across and within sectors of education.
• In general, governments seem to be rather successful in protecting education spending. Although in some cases the impact on teachers and schools is significant, governments are trying to contain the negative impact of fiscal consolidation. Some countries even have increased funding for specific parts of the education system in order to enhance output and efficiency. Only in the few countries which have been severely hit by the crisis a more general expenditure cut has occurred.
• The demand for non-compulsory education continues to augment, especially in vocational education and training, although the recession reduces the capacity of enterprises to uphold their training investments. As a result, higher demand is not systematically transformed in all cases into more training places.
• The recession has not slowed down reforms in education; on the contrary, some countries have accelerated reforms. Alleviating unemployment, meeting increased demands, preparing future growth and fostering innovation are the most frequently mentioned policy rationales for education policies which are trying to enhance the education system’s capacity and efficiency.
• Some governments are also taking into consideration the difficult situation of private households by increasing social measures to contain education cost.