Browse by: "F"

Recent years have seen a remarkable backlash against globalisation. The costs of increased openness and connectivity – including the consequences of trade and investment liberalisation – are weighted as never before against the benefits, with many voices advocating a slowdown or even a reversal of the global integration that has characterised the past three decades. While there are many economic, social and political reasons for this backlash, there is sufficient evidence showing that globalisation is leaving many people behind, particularly in the lower half of the income distribution, and especially in advanced countries. This backlash suggests that we need to act quickly to fix globalisation and make sure that its benefits are more equally shared. The consequences of a potential reversal of global integration could be dramatic: increased protectionism resulting in a net loss of wealth and opportunities and dangerous inward-looking policies that would put at risk many of the benefits achieved in the past decades.

In most IEA Member countries, natural gas demand varies strongly during the year, according to temperature. Flexibility is needed to cover seasonal swings and variations in gas demand, especially for household customers. This book analyses how new flexibility tools and mechanisms are developing with market liberalisation and with the evolution of supply and demand trends. It highlights differences in flexibility requirements and provisions among IEA Member countries.

In today’s economic context, governments are required to take centre stage, helping workers to compete in the global market whilst also supporting employers so that they may retain jobs, increase productivity and offer better-quality employment at the local level. This book provides a new indicator for benchmarking labour-market policy, reviewing the flexibility available in its management throughout OECD countries. The research offers new evidence of the link between flexibility and employment outcomes. Concrete examples of how localities can harness greater flexibility to generate better economic and social outcomes are provided. The new style of management recommended in this book will be key to any national strategy for returning economies to prosperity.

What worries people across Latin America, North America, Israel and Europe? How do attitudes towards governments’ provision of social protection differ cross-nationally? A collaboration between the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) illustrates how views of economic risk and government effectiveness vary across the Americas and Europe. This report finds that economic discontent is global, as many respondents of both the OECD’s Risks that Matter and LAPOP’s AmericasBarometer surveys say that their country’s economic situation is worse than it was last year, and that public satisfaction with government is low. More than half of all respondents in the OECD and Latin American countries studied in this report say that government is failing to incorporate their views in social policy design and reform.

Highly publicised outbreaks of food-borne diseases have put food safety at the heart of a topical debate. Demands for increased food safety regulation and stricter enforcement have gained momentum. In fact, consumer concerns go well beyond basic food safety. The quality of food and how it is produced, animal welfare, the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), hormones and other growth promoters, cultural preferences, resource sustainability and protection of the environment have all become major issues in the public debate over regulation of the food industry. The issues are complex and the required policy response remains unclear. With the strengthening of international rules, increased trade in consumer food products and the growing use of biotechnology, trade conflicts over food regulatory issues and their reform could become more common. The economic stakes are high and such disputes are likely to remain a priority in the future trade agenda. This report examines the trade conflicts arising from food safety and quality issues. It summarises the key international agreements, illustrates the range and nature of current disputes, reviews the potential contributions of economic analysis to conflict resolution, and identifies areas requiring further analysis.

This report, prepared by FAO and the OECD with inputs from IFPRI, IFAD, the World Bank and WTO, has been submitted to the G20 Presidency of the Argentine Republic in response to the Presidency’s request for information on future trends and challenges faced by global agriculture, with a special focus on the role of soils in promoting food security and the measures that could be undertaken to facilitate sustainable soil management.

Tourism is a major part of the contemporary experience economy, in which food plays an important role. Food is a key part of all cultures, a major element of global intangible heritage and an increasingly important attraction for tourists. The linkages between food and tourism also provide a platform for local economic development, which can be strengthened by the use of food experiences for branding and marketing destinations.
One of the major challenges in the experience economy is dealing with the shift towards intangible culture and heritage.  The focus of many tourists has changed from the classic 'must see' physical sights such as museums and monuments towards a ‘must-experience’ imperative to consume intangible expressions of culture, such as atmosphere, creativity and lifestyle.  This provides new opportunities for tourism destinations as well as new challenges, particularly in the areas of experience development, marketing and branding.

This publication provides an understanding of the role of food tourism in local economic development and its potential for country branding. It also presents several innovative case studies in the food tourism sector and the experience industry.

Foodborne disease caused by microbiological hazards and chemical contaminants continues to be a growing public health concern, according to the World Health Organisation. This report provides information on the incidence and costs of foodborne disease, which represent a significant economic burden on consumers, the food industry and governments. There is a need to improve interdisciplinary approaches in order to better understand public health issues and their economic consequences. This will also allow policy makers to design appropriate prevention strategies to lower the risk

This study examines the link between FDI and development in six dynamic non-Member economies: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. These countries have all adopted different policies towards FDI in the past, but to a great extent they are all converging on a more open approach. This greater openness, and the overall economic reforms of which FDI liberalisation is but one part, will provide a more fertile environment in which to reap the potential benefits from FDI. FDI can play a key role in improving the capacity of the host country to respond to the opportunities offered by global economic integration, a goal increasingly recognised as one of the key aims of any development strategy. In an environment made more competitive by a decade of economic reforms, many restrictions to FDI in these host countries are at best ineffective and at worst counter-productive.

The financial crisis in Asia has brought to the fore the question of the appropriate policies for recovery and for future sustainable development. One area of particular importance is the treatment of foreign investors. Foreign direct investment has played a leading role in many of the economies of the region, particularly in export sectors, and has been a vital source of foreign capital during the crisis. The four countries reviewed in this study - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand - have all tended to welcome inward investment for its contribution to exports but have often been less willing to open up the domestic market to such investors. This study discusses the role assigned to foreign firms in the development strategies of the four countries in the past and looks at how a more balanced approach to the treatment of foreign investors could contribute to a more sustainable development path in the future.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is one of the driving forces binding countries into closer economic interdependence. The rapid increase in FDI flows has generated considerable debate about its environmental implications, in particular the impacts on environmental quality in the investment host country. A broader issue is the role of FDI in promoting sustainable development. To date, much of the debate has been polemical in nature. This volume moves the debate forward by analysing in a clear and considered manner the key issues in the FDI and environment relationship. Empirical evidence from OECD and non-OECD countries is presented and the strengths and weaknesses of policy and institutional frameworks that guide investors' environmental behaviour are discussed. In addition, the emerging role of voluntary commitments on the environment is examined. Best practices in this area are highlighted. The papers were presented at the OECD Conference on Foreign Direct Investment and the Environment held in January 1999 in The Hague.