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Perspectives on Global Development 2013

Industrial Policies in a Changing World

image of Perspectives on Global Development 2013

First launched in 2010, Perspectives on Global Development (PGD) is OECD’s annual publication on emerging development issues. The PGD takes the new geography of economic growth, poverty and power as a point of departure. Each year, the report identifies, analyses and provides evidence and policy solutions to the most pressing global development challenges in the new multipolar world. It provides an overview of global trends and structural transformations in the world economy and informs policy makers in developing countries on the implications in the formulation and implementation of national policies. Each year, the report focuses on a different topic covering diverse socio-economic facets of development from trade, development finance, infrastructure, production development and innovation to gender, employment, migration, fiscal and social policies.

During the past decade, the global economic centre of gravity has shifted eastwards and southwards, creating new opportunities for economic co-operation, trade and investment but also new challenges. This “shifting wealth” is a game changer for economic policy and is at the centre of the first three editions of the Perspectives on Global Development, which document the phenomenon (PGD 2010) and analyse its implications for social cohesion (PGD 2012) and productive growth strategies (PGD 2013).

English Also available in: Chinese, French

Upgrading skills for current and future needs

OECD Development Centre

Skills are a key component of industrial development. By making economies more flexible in the face of technological change and spurring innovation, they enable developing countries to shift from an input-driven to a productivity-driven growth model. Skills are necessary to increase total factor productivity, hence to move up the value chain. By contrast, skills mismatches – either shortages or surpluses – curb productivity growth and affect the ability of firms to compete globally. In this respect, co-ordination failures in developing countries translate into a suboptimal allocation of skills, thus slowing down economic growth. To remain competitive in the global economy and shift into industries with higher technology and greater knowledge intensity, industrial policies should not only invest in more and better skills, but also align education with labour market needs, improve the school-to-work transition, encourage the long-term adaptability of skills and promote international skills mobility. The international experience shows that the co-ordination of action between the main stakeholders in the skills market is a significant condition of success.

English Also available in: French

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