1887

OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.

English, French

Policies for stronger productivity growth in Latvia

Latvia’s productivity growth is held back by weak innovation and inefficient resource allocation. The shortage of skilled workers which constrains innovation and the adoption of digital technologies must be addressed through further alignment of vocational and tertiary education with labour market demand. Strengthening the innovation ecosystem by improving the quality of research and collaboration between firms and research institutions would help to diffuse digital technologies more widely across the economy. Fighting widespread informality, improving the low debt recovery through a more efficient insolvency regime, and reducing substantial state ownership would improve the allocation of resources. Latvia also relies heavily on EU funds to finance its important structural policies. The continuity of the most effective EU funded policy instruments needs to be ensured in the medium term, by integrating them into the national budget.

This Working Paper relates to the 2019 OECD Economic Survey of Latvia

(http://www.oecd.org/economy/surveys/latvia-economic-snapshot/)

English

Keywords: Informality, Competition, Latvia, Innovation, Access to credit, Productivity, EU Structural funds, Skills shortage
JEL: L30: Industrial Organization / Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise / Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise: General; G28: Financial Economics / Financial Institutions and Services / Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation; J08: Labor and Demographic Economics / General / Labor Economics Policies; O52: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economywide Country Studies / Economywide Country Studies: Europe; I28: Health, Education, and Welfare / Education and Research Institutions / Education: Government Policy; O20: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Development Planning and Policy / Development Planning and Policy: General; O17: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economic Development / Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements; O38: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights / Technological Change: Government Policy; O43: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity / Institutions and Growth
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error