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As a continuation of the 2014 SIGMA assessments and as part of a longer-term programme of work, SIGMA has identified country priorities for public administration reform (PAR) for Kosovo*. Priorities cover the overall PAR needs of the country, including areas which were not covered by the 2014 SIGMA assessments. Priorities in areas outside the scope of SIGMA assessments are based on other analytical sources and SIGMA’s practical experience of working with the country. SIGMA proposes priority 2020 targets for the countries, sub-targets when needed, and sequenced priority activities in 1-2, 3-5 and 5+ year time perspectives. *This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

Each year SIGMA produces assessment reports as a contribution to the EC's annual reports on EU candidate countries and potential candidates, as well as to its programming of technical assistance. These reports assess progress made in public administration reform by our beneficiary countries. The report for Kosovo* analyses and takes stock of progress achieved by this country in 2014, with an aim to also provide inputs into its reform agenda. It focuses on legal framework and civil service management. *This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

As a continuation of the 2013 SIGMA assessments and as part of a longer-term programme of work, SIGMA has identified country priorities for public administration reform (PAR) for Kosovo*. Priorities cover the overall PAR needs of the country, including areas which were not covered by the assessments. Priorities in areas outside the scope of SIGMA assessments are based on other analytical sources and SIGMA’s practical experience of working with the country. SIGMA proposes priority 2020 targets for the countries, sub-targets when needed, and sequenced priority activities in 1-2, 3-5 and 5+ year time perspectives. *This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

Each year SIGMA produces assessment reports as a contribution to the EC’s annual reports on EU candidate countries and potential candidates, as well as to its programming of technical assistance. These reports assess progress made in public administration reform by our beneficiary countries. The report for Kosovo* analyses and takes stock of progress achieved by this country in 2013, with an aim to also provide inputs into its reform agenda. It focuses on policy making and co-ordination, public expenditure management, co-ordination, implementation and priorities of public administration reform, civil service, human resource management in the public sector and administrative law, and public procurement. *This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

Each year SIGMA produces assessment reports as a contribution to the EC’s annual reports on EU candidate countries and potential candidates, as well as to its programming of technical assistance. These reports assess progress made in public administration reform by our beneficiary countries. The report for Kosovo* analyses and takes stock of progress achieved by this country in 2012, with an aim to also provide inputs into its reform agenda. It focuses on civil service and administrative law, integrity, public expenditure management and control, public procurement, and policy making and co-ordination.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

Korea has undertaken two projects to improve its school grounds: the Green School Project and the School Forest Pilot Project.

This paper examines Korea’s low-carbon green growth strategy with a focus on three pillars: regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industries; incentive mechanisms for businesses to develop green technologies and products; and public information tools to increase awareness and demand for green products. Korea’s transition to a low-carbon green growth path may provide a useful reference for many developing countries in a carbonconstrained global economy. The institutionalisation of a low-carbon green growth strategy supported by strong political leadership and elaborated implementation programmes is key to solving many socio-economic and environmental challenges posed by the traditional growth paradigm that is heavily dependent on the consumption of energy and natural resources, including fossil fuels. Efficient role sharing and co-operation among public and private stakeholders in the process of planning, budget preparation and implementation are major components of Korea’s low-carbon green growth strategy.

Korea’s greenhouse gas emissions almost doubled between 1990 and 2005, the highest growth rate in the OECD area. Korea recently set a target of reducing emissions by 30% by 2020 relative to a “business as usual” baseline, implying a 4% cut from the 2005 level. Achieving this objective in a cost-effective manner requires moving from a strategy based on voluntary commitments by firms to market-based instruments. The priority is to establish a comprehensive cap-and-trade scheme, supplemented, if necessary, by carbon taxes in areas not covered by trading. Achieving a significant cut in emissions requires a shift from energy-intensive industries to low-carbon ones. Korea is strongly committed to promoting green growth through its Five-Year Plan, which envisages spending 2% of GDP per year through 2013. One challenge is to ensure that these expenditures are efficiently targeted so as to develop green technologies, while avoiding the risks inherent in industrial policy.

Investment in knowledge-based capital (KBC) – assets that have no physical embodiment, such as computerised information, innovative property and economic competencies – has been rising significantly. This has implications for innovation and productivity growth and requires new thinking on policy. The returns to investing in KBC differ significantly across countries and are partly shaped by structural policies, which influence the ability of national economies to reallocate scarce resources to firms that invest in KBC. In this regard, well-functioning product, labour and venture capital markets and bankruptcy laws that do not overly penalise failure can raise the expected returns to investing in KBC by improving the efficiency of resource allocation. While structural reforms offer the most cost-effective approach to raising investment in KBC, there is a role for innovation policies to raise private investment in KBC towards socially optimal levels. Indeed, R&D tax incentives and, as a finding that contrasts with previous research, direct support measures can be effective, but design features are crucial in order to minimise the fiscal cost and unintended consequences of such policies. Well-defined intellectual property rights (IPR) are also important to provide firms with the incentive to innovate and to promote knowledge diffusion via the public disclosure of ideas. However, such IPR regimes need to be coupled with pro-competition policies to ensure maximum effect while the rising costs of the patent system in emerging KBC sectors may have altered the trade-off inherent to IPR between the incentives to innovate and the broad diffusion of knowledge.

Investment in knowledge-based capital (KBC) – assets that lack physical embodiment, such as computerised information, innovative property and economic competencies – has been rising significantly. This has implications for innovation and productivity growth and requires new thinking on policy. The returns to investing in KBC differ significantly across countries and are partly shaped by structural policies, which influence the ability of economies to reallocate scarce resources to firms that invest in KBC. Well-functioning product, labour and venture capital markets and bankruptcy laws that do not overly penalise failure can raise the expected returns to investing in KBC by improving the efficiency of resource allocation. While structural reforms offer the most cost-effective approach to raising investment in KBC, there is a role for innovation policies to raise private investment in KBC towards the socially optimal level(s). Indeed, R&D tax incentives and, as a finding that contrasts with previous research, direct support measures can be effective, but design features are crucial in order to minimise the fiscal cost and unintended consequences of such policies. Welldefined intellectual property rights (IPR) are also important to provide firms with the incentive to innovate and to promote knowledge diffusion via the public disclosure of ideas. However, such IPR regimes need to be coupled with pro-competition policies to ensure maximum effect while the rising costs of the patent system in emerging KBC sectors may have altered the trade-off inherent to IPR between the incentives to innovate and the broad diffusion of knowledge.

It is sometimes asserted that an era of faster economic growth has come about --the so-called New Economy. New technology, notably information and communications technology (ICT), is seen as a key factor at work, together with international economic integration. This report examines the issue from a labour market perspective. The findings suggest that sanguine predictions about the New Economy are unlikely to materialise unless the appropriate policy environment is in place, notably as regards employment and human capital development policies.

New technology holds the promise of higher economic growth, ...

True, new technologies hold the promise of higher economic growth and improved living standards. Besides the potential impact of technology on efficiency gains, ICT may provide opportunities for better utilising existing skills. In this regard, the availability of telework to groups so far underrepresented in the labour market is a positive phenomenon. Also, new technology will ...

In this paper we present an international comparison of growth trends in the OECD countries, with a special attention to developments in labour productivity - allowing for human capital accumulation – and multifactor productivity (MFP) - allowing for changes in the composition of fixed capital. An attempt is also made to identify both the embodied (in particular in ICT equipment) and disembodied components of technical progress. The possible relation between improvements in MFP and the accumulation of knowledge (as proxied by R&D expenditures) is discussed, and some tentative policy considerations are advanced, mainly with reference to general framework conditions that might have a bearing in fostering technological changes.

The main conclusions are that some “traditional” factors lay behind the disparities in growth patterns across the OECD countries. In particular, they refer to the ability of countries to employ their labour force. There also seem to be some new factors behind ...

In today's knowledge-driven societies, universities play a crucial role in fostering innovation and sustainable growth within their ecosystems. Improving knowledge exchange and collaboration (KEC) activities within the Italian university system is essential for societal progress, well-being, and enhancing the productivity of firms of different sizes and stages of development and generate value for society. This document offers a reform roadmap proposal for policies to enhance the knowledge exchange and collaboration system between universities and society in Italy.