Browse by: "PRE-2012"

This report looks at the institutional framework of corporate governance in China through the prism of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and is a product of the ongoing OECD-China Policy Dialogue on Corporate Governance. By assessing a broad range of laws, regulations and codes, it provides a valuable reference for understanding how much has been achieved in Chinese corporate governance and the main ambitions of future reform efforts.

The report shows that corporate governance has improved significantly since the Chinese stock market was created in 1990, with important achievements in establishing and developing the legal and regulatory framework. The OECD-China Self-Assessment represents a thorough review of all laws, regulations and codes that relate to every principle recommended by the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. It documents the advances in the Chinese Corporate Governance framework. Building on this report, bilateral co-operation between China and the OECD will continue to enhance the understanding of China’s corporate governance system and how it impacts on company and investor behaviour.

En esta edición, la decimoséptima de las Perspectivas Agrícolas y la séptima preparada en conjunto con la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO), se proporcionan proyecciones de producción, consumo, comercio, existencias y precios, así como una evaluación de las evoluciones recientes del mercado y cuestiones e incertidumbres relativas a diversos productos, incluido, por primera vez, el pescado.

En el informe se destaca el hecho de que los precios promedio más altos proyectados pueden alentar la inversión que se requiere para que la producción responda a la demanda en aumento. Sin embargo, los precios altos también generan preocupaciones importantes con respecto a la mayor inseguridad alimentaria.

La volatilidad de los precios crea incertidumbre y riesgos para los productores, comerciantes, consumidores y gobiernos, y constituye una alta prioridad en los debates del G20 sobre agricultura. En esta edición se examinan las fuerzas que impulsan el fenómeno y se ofrece a los diseñadores de políticas consideraciones sobre cómo ayudar a reducir y gestionar la volatilidad.

Mit dieser Ausgabe 2011 der OECD-Leitsätze für multinationale Unternehmen verpflichten sich 42 Länder zu neuen, strengeren Maßstäben für unternehmerisches Handeln. Die aktualisierte Fassung der Leitsätze enthält neue Empfehlungen zur Vermeidung von Menschenrechtsverletzungen und zur Verantwortung der Unternehmen für ihre Zulieferketten, womit sie die erste zwischenstaatliche Vereinbarung in diesem Bereich sind.

Die Leitsätze legen fest, dass die Unternehmen die Menschenrechte in jedem Land achten sollten, in dem sie ihre Geschäftstätigkeit ausüben. Die Unternehmen sollten z.B. auch Umwelt- und Arbeitsstandards respektieren und über angemessene Due-Diligence-Vorkehrungen verfügen, um dies zu gewährleisten. Dies betrifft u.a. Fragen wie die Zahlung angemessener Löhne, die Bekämpfung von Bestechungsgeldforderungen und Schmiergelderpressung sowie die Förderung eines nachhaltigen Konsums.

Die Leitsätze sind ein umfassender, nicht rechtsverbindlicher Verhaltenskodex für Unternehmen, dessen Förderung die OECD-Mitgliedsländer und andere Länder vereinbart haben. Ein neues, strengeres Beschwerde- und Vermittlungsverfahren wurde ebenfalls eingerichtet.

The field of industrial biotechnology has moved rapidly in recent years as a combined result of international political desire, especially in the case of biofuels, and unprecedented progress in molecular biology research that has supplied the enabling technologies. Different geographical regions  have different priorities, but common drivers are climate change mitigation and the desire for energy independence. Now, industrial biotechnology has reached the centre of scientific and political attention. At no time in the past has there been a more pressing need for coherent, evidence-based, proportionate regulations and policy measures; they are at the heart of responsible development of industrial biotechnology.

This publication examines the international drivers, the enabling technologies that are fast-tracking Industrial Biotechnology, industry trends, some of the products that are appearing on the market, industry structure and finance, and finally policy measures and trends. It examines separately biofuels, biobased chemicals and bioplastics. It is quite clear that a supportive policy framework for the development of biofuels exists in many countries, but that no such framework is in place for biobased chemicals and bioplastics. This seems at odds with the apparent need for the integrated biorefinery, where chemicals and plastics production will significantly improve profitability when produced alongside transportation fuels. 

In 2005, OECD published a stocktaking of the corporate governance framework in the Organisation’s member countries. This publication was the basis on which the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises (the “SOE Guidelines”) was developed. It has been widely quoted in academic literature, in official documents and by practitioners. However, the SOE landscape in OECD countries has changed significantly since 2005 and four new countries have become members of the Organisation. This publication provides an update of changes since 2005, organised according to the main sections of the SOE Guidelines: the legal and regulatory framework for SOEs, the state acting as an owner, equitable treatment of shareholders, relations with stakeholders, transparency and disclosure, and the responsibilities of the boards of SOEs.

Les entreprises sont de plus en plus conscientes de la nécessité d'agir face au changement climatique. Cependant, tandis qu'un certain nombre d'entre elles, les pionnières, ont pris des mesures de protection du climat, nombreuses sont celles qui tardent à suivre. Ce rapport passe en revue les pratiques responsables des entreprises dans la lutte contre le changement climatique et l'évolution vers une économie sobre en carbone. Il dresse la synthèse des politiques publiques, des réglementations et autres instruments mis en place par les autorités pour faciliter la transition vers une économie sobre en carbone dans les pays de l’OCDE et les économies émergentes ; ainsi que les mesures prises par les entreprises pour y faire face.

Utilisant les principes de responsabilité des entreprises identifiés dans les Principes directeurs de l'OCDE à l'intention des entreprises multinationales, ce rapport passe en revue trois domaines essentiels : la comptabilisation des émissions de gaz à effet de serre ; la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre ; et la mobilisation des fournisseurs, consommateurs et autres acteurs.

Les résultats de cette publication contribuent à la Stratégie pour une croissance verte élaborée par l'OCDE dans le but de fournir aux gouvernements des outils pour les aider à mobiliser le potentiel d'une croissance plus verte.

With a total population of 92 million people, near universal literacy and abundant energy resources, Central Asia is an attractive destination for investment and trade.  The region is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and surrounded by some of the world’s fastest-growing economies such as Russia, India and China, who are increasingly investing in the region. From 2000 to2009, foreign direct investment flows into Central Asia increased almost ninefold, while the region’s gross domestic product grew on average by 8.2% annually.

While Central Asia is endowed with many natural and human resources that could drive its economies to even higher levels of competitiveness, the poor quality of the region’s business environment remains a major obstacle. Key areas for improvement include reinforcing legal and economic institutions; prioritizing the development of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector; and building the capacity of business intermediary organisations.

This Central Asia Competitiveness Outlook examines the key policies that would increase competitiveness in Central Asia and reduce dependence on the natural resource sector, namely through developing human capital, improving access to finance, and capturing more and better investment opportunities. It was carried out in collaboration with the World Economic Forum under the aegis of the OECD Central Asia Initiative, a regional programme that contributes to economic growth and competitiveness in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Initiative is part of the wider OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Programme.

Entrepreneurship at a Glance is a new, recurrent publication that presents an original collection of indicators for measuring the state of entrepreneurship along with explanations of the policy context and interpretation of the data. This publication also includes special chapters that address measurement issues, and solutions, concerning entrepreneurship and its determinants. In this first issue the special topics covered are: business demography, green entrepreneurs and angel capital.

This new publication is a product of the OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme, which is a long-term programme of internationally-comparable policy-relevant entrepreneurship statistics. The work involves developing standard definitions and concepts and engaging countries and international Agencies in the collection of data. An international group of statisticians and analysts provides guidance to the Programme that benefits from sponsorship by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the United States.

Since 2000, the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been growing at an annual rate of between 8%-9%, making it one of the ten highest performing economies in the world. Kazakhstan alone attracts more foreign direct investment than all other Central Asian countries together. To date, the country’s strong economic performance has been driven largely by its natural resources sector. The oil and gas sectors alone attract three quarters of foreign investment inflows. However, Kazakhstan’s non-energy sectors also have competitive advantages that could be potential new sources for growth.

In 2009 Kazakhstan launched a far-reaching programme to diversify its sources of foreign direct investment. To support this effort, it asked the OECD to undertake a three-year Sector Competitiveness Review. This report represents the first phase of this Review, which is an assessment and strategy to help Kazakhstan enhance the competitiveness of non-energy sectors including agribusiness, fertilizers, logistics, business services and information technology. While it acknowledges that the government has successfully implemented a first generation of business climate reforms, the report recommends that sector-specific policy barriers be further addressed. For example, policy makers could stimulate quality improvements and modernise production in some sectors by facilitating access to finance, attracting modern retailers and addressing skills gaps in the  workforce.

Regions and Innovation Policy addresses the needs of national and regional governments for greater clarity on how to strengthen the innovation capacity of regions. The first part of the book examines strategies, policies and governance, explaining why regions matter, what makes smart policy mixes, and multilevel governance.  The second part of the book looks at agencies, instruments and country information, showing how agencis can maximize their impact and what policy instruments work. The final chapter provides country-by-country summaries of what countries are doing.

 

This OECD publication provides statistics on international trade in services by partner country for 28 OECD countries plus the European Union (EU27), the Euro area, and Hong Kong, China as well as definitions and methodological notes. The data concern trade between residents and non-residents of countries and are reported within the framework of the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services.

This book includes summary tables of trade patterns listing the main trading partners for each country and by broad service category. Series are shown in US dollars and cover the period 2004-2008.