Browse by: "2014"

Trust is indispensable for social and economic relations; it is the glue that holds organisations together and appears to work somehow mysteriously. Overall, trust is a ubiquitous ingredient in policymaking and implementation across many governance systems including education, whether it concerns accountability mechanisms, capacity building or strategic thinking. Yet our understanding, conceptualisation and measurement of these issues remain limited. This working paper asks the question: what is trust and how does it matter for governance, especially in education systems? It explores why trust is key for policymaking and where it fits within current governance issues. The paper examines different definitions of trust, presents various ways of measuring trust and discusses some of their benefits and limitations. It proposes a definition of trust made up of three parts: trust as an expectation, a willingness to be vulnerable and a risk-taking act. The paper then presents a simple model of trust and governance and reviews the relationship between trust and different elements in education systems, such as complexity, asymmetries in information and power, collaboration/cooperation, monitoring and accountability, and professionalisation. It concludes with some policy findings and identifies several research gaps.

The governance of complex, decentralised, multi-level education systems poses two fundamental questions for both policy- and research discussions: What are innovative contemporary governance strategies for the central level in education systems? How can these approaches be described and analysed to identify commonalities that might help to understand how and if they work? In addressing these questions, this paper’s aim is twofold: first, to inform the policy-discussion by presenting empirical examples of new governance mechanisms that central governments use to steer systems across their levels; and second, to contribute to the conceptual discussion of how to categorise and analyse the evolution of new governance structures. To do so, the paper starts with identifying core features of multi-level governance and the respective conceptual gaps it produces. It then introduces a simple analytical categorisation of modes of governance. An analysis of three empirical cases (an institutionalised exchange between governance levels in Norway, a capacity building programme in Germany, and the Open Method of Coordination within the European Union) then shows how various education systems address these gaps and design the role of the central level in complex decision-making structures. A comparison of the three cases identifies – despite the heterogeneity of the cases – several communalities, such as multi-staged policy processes, transparency and publicity, and soft sanctions. The paper concludes that the Open Method of Coordination, even though often criticised for its inefficiencies, might serve as a promising template for national approaches to soft governance in education. Further research on OECD education systems is needed to gather more empirical examples; these may help to get a better understanding of what is needed for successful steering from the central level in decentralised contexts.

Policy efforts to revitalise entrepreneurship and investment in Spain are key to generating growth and new jobs. The government has a substantial reform program to make it easier to do business in Spain, which should in some cases be deepened. Boosting economic growth requires a new generation of high-growth companies and that resources flow towards the most productive firms. For this to happen, barriers to business growth have to be reduced by streamlining regulations and licencing procedures, internationalisation needs to be fostered, and competition strengthened. In addition, the negative impact of the crisis on companies, notably the high level of indebtedness and difficulties to obtain financing faced by some firms has to be relieved. This would be facilitated by more efficient insolvency procedures and further development of non-bank financing.

Structural transformation towards a more knowledge-based economy will strengthen Spain’s medium-term growth prospects. To deal with long standing impediments to higher growth the government has a substantial structural reform programme touching on education, the labour market and the business environment. Areas of particular weakness to be tackled include the high number of poorly qualified long-term unemployed, skills mismatches and a high school drop-out rate, and insufficient innovation. Spain has done well in reducing the carbon emissions intensity of GDP growth but will need to do more to meet future targets and manage its scarce water resources. The resolution of acute banking and fiscal problems, and the cyclical upswing, provide a more solid platform for sustained growth. Raising trend growth will boost job creation, which is the most effective antidote to the strong rise in poverty and inequality that accompanied the sharp deterioration in the labour market during the crisis.

The Internet has become an integral part of the everyday life of households, firms and governments. Its proper functioning over the long run is therefore crucial for economic growth and people’s wellbeing more generally. The success of the Internet depends on its openness and the confidence of users. Designing policies that protect society while allowing for Internet’s great economic potential to be fulfilled, is a difficult task. This paper investigates this challenge and takes stock of existing regulations in OECD and selected non-OECD countries in specific areas related to the digital economy. It finds that despite the regulatory difficulties, the Internet is far from being a “regulation-free” space as there are various industry standards, co-regulatory agreements between industry and the government, and in some cases also state regulation. Most of them aim at protecting personal data and consumers more generally. In many cases generally applicable laws and regulations exist that address privacy, security and consumer protection issues both in the traditional and the digital economy.

Une évaluation économique correctement menée peut montrer au décideur publique si un investissement dans un projet est un bon usage de ressources et contribuer à la décision d’approuver, reporter ou rejeter le projet. Les fondements micro-économiques d’équilibre partiel de l’analyse coûts-bénéfices sont cependant mis en question par des projets tels que le Grand Paris Express, un projet qui doit transformer le niveau de développement économique de l’aire qu’il desservira.

Un tel projet pose de multiples défis en termes de modélisation, prévisions et évaluation, notamment la décision contrefactuelle de faire autre chose et en ce qui concerne la représentation du système économique à l’intérieur duquel la population, l’emploi et les revenus dépendent de la réalisation ou non du projet. Il faut décrypter les implications concrètes de concepts tels que les bénéfices économiques d’agglomération afin de prévoir les réactions de secteurs dont les réponses à des changements d’accessibilité sont des facteurs déterminants des résultats de l’investissement dans ce projet.

L’objet de ce rapport est d’examiner la conduite d’une évaluation dans un contexte qui pose un réel défi.

Ce rapport fait partie de la série des Analyses de politiques spécifiques du Forum International des Transports (FIT). Ce sont des études sur des thèmes d’actualité du domaine de la politique des transports menées par le FIT à la requête d’un pays

Public financial institutions (PFIs) are well-positioned to act as a key leverage point for governments’ efforts to mobilise private investment in low-carbon projects and infrastructure. The study identifies the tools, instruments and approaches used by five PFIs to directly support and scale-up domestic private sector investment in sustainable transport, energy-efficiency and renewable energy in OECD countries. Between 2010-2012, these five institutions – Group Caisse des Dépôts in France, KfW Bankengruppe in Germany, the UK Green Investment Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development – have provided over 100 billion euros of equity investment and financing for energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable transport projects. They use both traditional and innovative approaches to link low-carbon projects with finance through enhancing access to capital; facilitating risk reduction and sharing; improving the capacity of market actors; and shaping broader market practices and conditions.

A key issue for policy makers and regulators across the OECD area is the market structures that will best deliver efficient and inclusive mobile communication services. This has led to two issues addressed in this report, namely: the recent experience in selected countries, which have changed or held constant the number of facilities based operators; and the initial experience and key questions that have arisen with wireless network sharing. These questions are related because they converge around the issue of how many facilities-based networks are optimal in providing competitive services in the same geographical location. In all OECD countries there are at least three mobile network operators (MNOs), which broadly compete on a national basis, with some countries having four or five facilities-based networks operating nationally or in the same region. Historically, the coverage and capabilities of these networks have been important factors used by operators to differentiate their offers and attract customers. Nonetheless, sharing the expense of network facilities between multiple MNOs can significantly reduce costs, especially at a time when there are demands on operators to roll out new networks or extend coverage.

This report makes the case that IPv6 represents an example of a platform; within the context of IPv6, the sides of the platform are Internet service providers, backbone providers, device manufacturers, content providers, and so forth. The net benefits to adopting the new platform are not distributed equally across sides. For some participants, such as backbone and transit providers and manufacturers of devices such as routers, the transition to IPv6 has been relatively swift. For these participants the benefits of adoption were clear, and adoption demonstrated the technical ability of the company and fitness of its network. For others, such as many content providers for the Web, enterprises contemplating deployment of IPv6 within internal firm networks, and providers of consumer electronics equipment such as DVD or Blu-Ray players or televisions, the transition has been slower. For them the benefits have not been as clear, and many legacy devices, networks, customers and suppliers have not transitioned.

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for transport and courier services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for transport and courier services and captures de jure regulations in force in 2013. The STRI supports the view that these services are subject to very different regulatory frameworks and, in some cases, to a relatively elevated degree of regulation. Indices for air transport covering measures affecting commercial establishment and accompanying movement of natural persons are on average quite high (0.43), with little variation across countries. A preliminary assessment of restrictiveness in cross-border trade in the sector shows that, while some progress in easing restrictions has been achieved through open skies agreements, significant limitations remain in place. The maritime transport sector is moderately open with an average STRI of 0.25. Foreign equity restrictions are still quite common in the sector and contribute significantly to the index. Most other sector-specific restrictions are found in the cabotage market and in ports. In road freight transport, the results confirm that the domestic road freight transport regime has been significantly liberalised over the years, and currently commercial establishment in the sector is largely affected by horizontal measures. The overall level of restrictiveness is relatively low with an average of 0.16, but exhibits pretty large variation. With respect to rail freight, the STRI also supports the view that considerable reforms have been undertaken in the sector in the past decades. The average level of restrictiveness is moderate at 0.22, although two countries maintain a statutory state-owned monopoly, which implies that the sector is completely closed to foreign suppliers. Finally, for courier services the results show that the overall level of restrictiveness is moderate with a sample average of 0.26. There is, however, large variation in STRI indices among countries. The elevated levels of restrictiveness are found in countries where foreign equity restrictions or statutory monopolies exist.

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for construction, architecture and engineering services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for construction, architecture and engineering services and captures de jure regulations in force in 2013. The results for construction services indicate that the overall level of restrictiveness is relatively low, ranging from 0.05 to 0.32, with an average of 0.16. The more elevated levels of restriction can be largely attributed to general measures affecting all sectors of the economy. The STRI also supports the view that architecture and engineering services are less restrictively regulated than other accredited professional services, notably legal and accounting services. The average value for the STRI among the countries in the sample is 0.22 for architecture services, connoting a relatively low degree of regulatory restrictiveness; the corresponding value is only marginally lower, 0.2, for engineering services. The majority of regulations affecting trade in these sectors concern the movement of people.

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for computer services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. The STRIs capture de jure restrictions. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for computer services and captures regulations in force in 2013. The scores range between 0.08 and 0.34, with a sample average of 0.18. Explicit barriers to trade in computer services are rare, but the sector is subject to a number of economy-wide restrictions facing all sectors. Among these, restrictions on movement of people (mode 4 in GATS terminology) make the largest contribution to the index value, followed by regulatory transparency issues. The paper presents the list of measures included in the indices, the scoring and weighting system for calculating the indices and an analysis of the results.

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for motion pictures, television and broadcasting and sound recording. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. The STRIs capture de jure restrictions. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for audio-visual services and captures regulations in force in 2013. The scores range between 0.06 and 0.72 for motion pictures, 0.07 to 0.78 for television and broadcasting, and between 0.05 and 0.37 for sound recording. The sample averages are 0.18 for motion pictures, 0.28 for television and broadcasting and 0.16 for sound recording. Limitations on foreign entry, including foreign equity limits contribute to about two thirds of the index values in television and broadcasting. In motion pictures screen quotas contribute to the indices in many of the countries with scores above average. Sound recording, i.e. music, is the most open of the three audio-visual services sectors where limitations on movement of people account for more than 40% of the index value. The paper presents the list of measures included in the indices, the scoring and weighting system for calculating the indices and an analysis of the results.

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for telecommunications. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. The STRIs capture de jure restrictions. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for telecommunications and captures regulations in force in 2013. The scores range between 0.06 and 0.61, with a sample average of 0.22. Barriers to competition, reflecting inadequate regulation of incumbents with significant market power, and state ownership in some countries make the largest contribution to the index value, followed by restrictions on foreign entry. The paper presents the list of measures included in the indices, the scoring and weighting system for calculating the indices and an analysis of the results.

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for financial services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. The STRIs capture de jure restrictions. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for commercial banking and insurance services and captures regulations in force in 2013. The scores in commercial banking range between 0.06 and 0.55, with a sample average of 0.19. The scores in insurance services range between 0.05 and 0.63, with a sample average of 0.20. The results are mainly driven by restrictions on market entry, where significant impediments remain in the form of foreign equity limits, restrictions on legal form, discriminatory licensing criteria and restrictions on cross-border transactions. Barriers to competition, including regulation of products and prices and preferential treatment granted to state-owned financial institutions, also make a substantive contribution to the index values. The paper presents the list of measures included in the indices, the scoring and weighting system for calculating the indices and an analysis of the results.

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for distribution services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. The STRIs capture de jure restrictions. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for distribution services and captures regulations in force in 2013. The scores range between 0.02 and 0.40, with a sample average of 0.13. It is observed that the regulatory profile differs across countries. Restrictions on foreign ownership and other market entry conditions significantly contribute to the results for almost half of the countries covered by the STRI. The paper presents the list of measures included in the indices, the scoring and weighting system for calculating the indices and an analysis of the results.

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for the regulated professions of legal and accounting services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for legal and accounting services and captures de jure regulations in force in 2013. The STRI supports the view that legal and accounting services are subject to a relatively high level of regulation. Restrictiveness for legal services ranges from 0.11 to 0.73, with an average of 0.31. Accounting and auditing services show an average of 0.3 and STRI values ranging from 0.13 to 1. The results provide useful policy insights, particularly in order to identify priorities for reform at the national and international levels. Notably, in the case of legal and accounting services, easing a few prominent restrictions could result in a significantly more liberal and competitive market environment.

Recent demographic, economic and political trends have placed the issue of school size at the heart of school effectiveness and efficiency discussions. The subject of school size is particularly salient in remote and rural areas where the viability of small schools has been questioned. In spite of the relevance of school size policies, the literature on this issue is quite fragmented with few studies taking a comprehensive view on the implications of school size policies. This literature review attempts to bridge different strands of relevant research and describes existing country practices in order to provide a broader picture of the benefits and costs associated with different school sizes. The paper describes the different trends that have affected school enrolment and how different countries have managed school size policies, with a particular focus on school consolidation. It discusses the consequences of school consolidation and the alternatives to consolidation when schools are facing declining enrolment. It also reviews the different mechanisms through which school size affects the quality and efficiency of schools, and the existing empirical evidence on these effects.

• Selon l’Enquête internationale sur l’enseignement et l’apprentissage (TALIS) de l’OCDE, en moyenne, les chefs d’établissement indiquent se livrer fréquemment à un certain nombre d’activités en rapport avec l’encadrement pédagogique. Ce n’est toutefois pas le cas dans tous les pays et un pourcentage important de chefs d’établissement déclarent que leur formation initiale n’incluait aucune formation à l’encadrement pédagogique.
• Bien que la formation continue puisse aider à pallier ces manques, de nombreux chefs d’établissement font état de différents obstacles à leur participation à ce type de formation, notamment un manque de soutien et de possibilités, ainsi que des obstacles d’ordre personnel et professionnel.

• Les pays où les élèves de 15 ans affichent des performances élevées en termes de comparaisons internationales sont en général les mêmes pays où ces élèves, une fois devenus jeunes adultes, tendent à obtenir de bonnes performances entre 26 et 28 ans.
• Les systèmes d’éducation doivent s’assurer que leurs élèves ont un bon niveau de compétence lorsqu’ils arrivent au terme de leur scolarité obligatoire et que ces compétences continuent par la suite à être entretenues et développées.