Browse by: "2009"

The international financial crisis increases the relevance of this annual publication jointly published by the African Development Bank, the OECD Development Centre and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Decision makers in African and OECD countries, such as aid agencies, investors, NGOs and government officials of aid-recipient countries, will all find the analysis critical to their activities.

The African Economic Outlook 2009 reviews the recent economic situation and predicts the short-term evolution of 47 African countries which account for 99% of the continent's economic output and 97% of its population. The Outlook is drawn from a country-by-country analysis based on a unique analytical design. This common framework includes a forecasting exercise for the current and the two following years, using a simple macroeconomic model, together with an analysis of the social and political context. It also contains a comparative synthesis of African country prospects, placing the evolution of African economies in the world economic context.

The 2009 edition focuses on innovation and information and communication technologies (ICT) in Africa, presenting a comprehensive review of their proliferation and use on the African continent. A statistical appendix completes the volume.

The AEO project is generously supported by the European Commission and combines the knowledge of the African Development Bank and the UNECA on African economies with the expertise accumulated by the OECD, which produces the OECD Economic Outlook twice yearly.

This publication provides dynamic links (StatLinks) for graphs and tables. These StatLinks direct the user to a web page where the corresponding data are available in Excel® format.

This report analyses policy agricultural developments during 2006-08 in seven economies: Brazil, Chile, China, India, Russia, South Africa and Ukraine. This period was marked by a significant increase in world prices for most, but not all, agricultural commodities. Policy responses to rising food prices included tariff reductions, export restrictions, increased minimum prices and price controls, input subsidies, sales of stocks and direct transfers to the most disadvantaged. Other major common policy developments included: expanded government-supported credit facilities and/or debt rescheduling, endeavours to improve the delivery and performance of agricultural policies, extended coverage of insurance programmes and further efforts in land reform. A comprehensive statistical annex containing a wide range of contextual information for these economies is also included in this report.

Estimates of support to agriculture in six economies (India is not yet covered) from 1995 to 2007 are provided, in conformance with recent changes to the OECD measurement methodology. This allows a consistent comparison across emerging economies and with OECD countries in terms of changes in the level and composition of support to producers and the sector as a whole.

This report is a unique source of up-to-date estimates of support to agriculture. It provides an overview of agricultural support in the OECD area, complemented by individual chapters on agricultural policy developments in all OECD countries. This edition finds that overall support to farmers in OECD countries has been declining. It shows that the decline has largely been due to a narrowing of the gap between domestic and world agricultural commodity prices. The report also focuses on the impacts of the current financial and economic crisis on agriculture, and the policy responses. Agriculture is expected to fare better than many other sectors. It has a relatively smaller financial exposure, demand is less sensitive to income falls, and the existing set of support policies in many countries can dampen the impact of the crisis. Governments are facing tighter fiscal conditions, which is likely to prompt further review of support policies, including for agriculture.

The 2008 United States Farm Act, the Health Check of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and the new Growing Forward policy framework in Canada are also reviewed in the report. A special feature in the report focuses on agri-environmental policies in OECD countries.

The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness defines the principles and commitments by which donors and developing countries intend to ensure that aid is as effective as possible in contributing to the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development objectives. This report is a mid-term review of progress towards these commitments, drawing on the 2008 Paris Declaration Monitoring Survey and the Evaluation Synthesis Report among many other sources.

Part I highlights the main actionable lessons and messages emerging from the analysis of progress to date. Part II covers the commitments under the five Partnership Principles related to ownership, alignment, harmonisation, development results and mutual accountability, together with four subjects of critical relevance: sector perspectives, the role of civil society organisations, situations of fragility and conflict, and the changing aid architecture.

Numerous barriers prevent developing countries - in particular the least developed - from taking advantage of trade opportunities that could help them reduce poverty. The Aid-for-Trade Initiative has successfully built awareness of the support these countries need to surmount these barriers. As a result, more and more developing countries are raising the profile of trade issues in their development strategies and donors are responding by increasing the resources they provide to build trade capacity in areas such as policy, institutions and infrastructure.

This aid-for-trade monitoring report - the second of its kind - documents the success of the initiative to date. It examines trends and developments and presents a comprehensive analysis of donor and partner country engagement. In addition, it addresses the regional dimension of aid for trade and showcases three cross-border infrastructure projects. Finally, the report provides fact sheets that help in assessing the outcomes and impacts of aid for trade.

The main conclusions are positive. Nonetheless, the outlook is affected by the current global economic crisis. Aid for trade is now, and more than ever, essential to help suppliers from developing countries build capacity and penetrate global markets. The key message of the report is clear: aid for trade must remain an essential component of development assistance. It offers a number of steps, in this respect, that can advance the aid-for-trade dialogue.

The Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are recommendations to international businesses on conduct in such areas as labour, the environment, consumer protection and the fight against corruption. The recommendations are made by the adhering governments and, although they are not binding, governments are committed to promoting their observance. Part I of this Annual Report provides an account of the actions the 41 adhering governments have taken over the 12 months to June 2008 to enhance the contribution of the Guidelines to the improved functioning of the global economy. Part II of this Annual Report highlights key findings of the High-Level OECD-ILO Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility.

Did you know? As of June 2008, 104,000 Web sites referred to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, compared with 25,000 five years earlier.

This paper explores different measures of energy efficiency performance (“MEEP”) and considers the importance of so-called boundary definitions when measuring energy performance, and how these affect the appropriateness of country comparisons to guide policy decisions.
The paper also addresses the limitations of both energy intensity and technology diffusion indicators as measures of energy efficiency performance. A case study on Japan’s iron and steel industry illustrates the critical role of proper boundary definitions for a meaningful assessment of energy efficiency in industry.

 

In recognition of fundamental changes in the way governments approach energy-related environmental issues, the IEA has prepared this publication on CO2 emissions from fuel combustion.  This annual publication was first published in 1997 and has become an essentail tool for analysts and policy makers in many international fora such as the Conference of the Parties.

The data in this book are designed to assist in understanding the evolution of the emissions of CO2 from 1971 to 2007 for more than 140 countries and regions by sector and by fuel. Emissions were calculated using IEA international databases and the default methods and emissions factors from the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

Local governments have the power to influence the energy choices of their citizens. Many cities and towns have already encouraged energy efficiency measures. Even so, as demand for energy services continues to grow, the energy infrastructure that every city and town depends on will need to be expanded, upgraded or replaced. This provides the opportunity to increase the deployment of renewable energy technologies and decentralised energy systems, and hence gain the multi-benefits of increased energy security, climate change mitigation and sustainable development, but also the social benefits of reduced air pollution, such as improved health and employment. 

Many combinations of policies have been employed to stimulate local renewable energy development. These policies include: local governance by authority; providing resources; enabling private actors; leading by example; allowing self-governance. Mega-city mayors, down to small-town officials, have successfully introduced such policies, although these vary with location, local resources and population. Cities, Towns and Renewable Energy – “ Yes In My Front Yard “ includes several case studies chosen to illustrate how enhanced deployment of renewable energy projects can result, regardless of a community’s size or location.

The goals of this report are to inspire city stakeholders by showing how renewable energy systems can benefit citizens and businesses, assist national governments to better appreciate the role that local municipalities might play in meeting national and international objectives, and help accelerate the necessary transition to a sustainable energy future.

Clean coal technologies (CCTs) have been developed and deployed to reduce the environmental impact of coal utilisation over the past 30 to 40 years. Initially, the focus was upon reducing emissions of particulates, SO2, NOX and mercury.
The coal sector – producers, consumers and equipment suppliers – as well as governments and agencies in countries where coal is essential, have a long experience of stimulating clean coal technology deployment.

China’s coal, mined locally and available at a relatively low cost, has brought enormous benefits to energy consumers in China and to those outside the country who enjoy the products of its coal-based economy. Yet from another perspective, China’s coal use has a high cost. Despite progress, health and safety in the thousands of small coal mines lag far behind the standards achieved in China’s modern, large mines. Environmental degradation is a real and pressing problem at all stages of coal production, supply and use. Adding to these burdens, emissions of carbon dioxide are of concern to the Chinese government as it embarks on its own climate protection strategy.

Technology solutions are already transforming the way coal is used in China and elsewhere. This study explores the context in which the development and deployment of these technologies can be accelerated. Providing a large amount of new data, it describes in detail the situation in China as well as the experiences of other countries in making coal cleaner. Above all, the report calls for much greater levels of collaboration – existing bi-lateral and multi-lateral co-operation with China on coal is found lacking. China’s growing openness presents many commercial opportunities. Establishing a global market for cleaner coal technologies is key to unlocking the potential of technology – one of ten major recommendations made in this study.