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Private initiatives for corporate responsibility have been a major development in international management over the last twenty years. The initiatives include issuance of codes of business conduct, implementation of management systems and broader efforts to improve business accountability. Yet, there is little agreement about what these initiatives mean or how effective they are. OECD research on private initiatives sheds light on various aspects of the corporate responsibility movement: what are firms and business associations doing? How have governments influenced the initiatives? What contributions, if any, have these initiatives made to improving the business sector’s ability to comply with law and regulation and to respond to broader societal expectations?
Poor corporate governance was identified as one of the root causes of the recent Asian financial crisis. The absence of effective disciplines on corporate managers, coupled with complicated and opaque relationships between corporations, their owners and their finance providers, affected severely investors’ confidence in the region’s corporate sectors. Economies that took early steps to improve corporate governance have been recovering from the crisis at a more rapid pace than those who have not addressed this issue. The Asian crisis showed that good corporate governance is important not only for individual corporations to raise capital but also for an economy to achieve sustainable growth. This publication includes papers submitted to the "Conference on Corporate Governance in Asia: A Comparative Perspective" held in Seoul in March 1999. These papers describe vividly the corporate governance practices in the region and the recent changes largely prompted by the crisis. Also included are papers on corporate governance in major OECD countries, which serve as a good source of comparative information on this issue. This review is part of the OECD's ongoing co-operation with non-Member economies around the world.
This report examines the currently highly topical issue of corporate tax incentives for foreign direct investment (FDI). The ability to offer an internationally competitive tax system is increasingly seen today as a determinative factor influencing FDI. With corporate income tax identified as the component that impacts most directly on multinational companies, much of the pressure for lowering host country tax burdens to attract capital is focused upon this tax. At the same time, corporate taxation plays an important withholding function, raising revenues on domestic-source income that might otherwise escape the tax net. The desire to tax this income while not discouraging foreign investors raises critical questions concerning the sensitivity of FDI to taxation and the appropriate setting of various tax provisions that determine the host country tax burden and influence investment and financing behaviour.
This report considers various corporate tax measures to encourage FDI and a range of issues relevant to assessing their use. Given the central question of how much additional investment can be expected from tax relief and at what cost, the report summarises recent empirical findings which show increasing sensitivity of FDI to host country tax burdens, consistent with trends towards increasing globalisation of production. Other findings are considered which highlight tax-planning opportunities created by certain approaches, leading to unintended revenue leakage. The report emphasises the need to assess possible host and home country tax interactions which can influence tax incentive results, and more generally the need to look beyond what conventional economic analysis might suggest.
While the report is intended primarily as a guide for policy makers in emerging market economies, it may serve as a reference document to tax policy analysts more generally
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is business's contribution to sustainable development. Today, corporate behaviour must not only ensure returns to shareholders, wages to employees, and products and services to customers, it must also respond to societal and environmental concerns. Local cultures are a countervailing force to the global economy and the struggle between the forces of global commerce and the interests of local cultures brings with it new politics. In overcoming the hurdles of social responsibility, all partners and sectors need to be committed to adhere to a coherent social strategy in the interest of society as a whole. Through partnerships with labour, NGOs, and communities, corporations contribute to tackling social exclusion and other inner city problems in order to define and implement innovative solutions for policy dialogue to meet the social challenges at the local level.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of Corporate Social Responsibility experiences and practices at the local level. It illustrates that partnerships provide a powerful mechanism for helping firms become more socially responsible. It includes interventions from the Conference "Partners for Progress - Towards a new approach to Corporate Social Responsibility", held in Paris in November 2000 and is essential reading for policy-makers, NGOs, business, and all local actors involved in the issues of sustainable development.
This handbook offers government officials practical assistance in strengthening relations between government and citizens. It combines a brief review of basic concepts, principles, concrete examples of good practice, tools (including new information and communication technologies) as well as tips from practice. The approach and activities shown in this handbook support and complement formal institutions of democracy, and strengthen the democratic process.
In OECD countries, metropolitan areas often enjoy above-average rates of growth; they compete for foreign direct investment, have a leading position in the knowledge-based economy, and attract a disproportionately large share of immigrants. Yet they also are burdened with many problems including congestion, and the renewal of infrastructure, the spread of distressed urban areas. Better strategies for the development of metropolitan areas are vital if their rate of economic growth is to remain strong, but the governance structures currently in place are often outdated and ill-adapted to the tasks they face, especially given the sprawl of many metropolitan cities across many jurisdictions.
Drawing on the lessons from successful and unsuccessful attempts at the reform of metropolitan governance, this book identifies ways by which central and metropolitan governments can work better to optimise the potential of each urban region.
This publication provides information about VAT/GST, excise and environmental taxes in OECD Member countries. It also provides information about indirect tax topics currently under study at the OECD. It describes a range of taxation provisions such as the taxation of motor vehicles and also outlines the preliminary findings from discussions on taxation of electronic commerce currently in progress.
This annual publication provides data on CO2 emissions from fuel combustion for over 140 countries broken down by fuel and by sector. Emissions were calculated using IEA energy databases and the default methods and emission factors from the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
This volume is a comprehensive reference book on current trends in the world coal market and long-term prospects to 2020. It contains an in-depth analysis of the 2000 international coal market covering prices, demand, trade, supply and production capacity, as well as over 500 pages of country-specific statistics on OECD and key non-OECD coal producing and consuming countries. In addition to country-specific statistics, Coal Information has up-to-date data on coal-fired power stations in coal consuming countries and coal ports in exporting and importing countries.
For the first time, this issue of Coal Information contains a coal production, trade and financial summary on the World’s top ten commercial coal companies. It also contains a summary of environmental policies as they affect coal consumption; including particulate, sulphur dioxide, and nitrous oxide emission limits for new and existing boilers in OECD countries.
This publication presents a synthesis of the main findings and policy recommendations of China in the World Economy: Domestic Policy Challenges. After more than two decades of progress in market reforms and trade and investment liberalisation, the entry of China into the World Trade Organisation marks a new era for its integration into the world economy. Drawing on the experiences of OECD Members over the past 50 years, and the Organisation’s extensive work with non-Member economies around the world, this publication provides readers with a synthetic view of the interrelated domestic policy issues at stake and with specific recommendations as to actions to be taken.
What are the major developments with respect to trade and labour standards since the OECD’s 1996 study on Trade, Employment and Labour Standards? What is being done to promote these standards? What evidence is there of progress? What are the possible links between core labour standards, trade, foreign direct investment, economic development and employment? International Trade and Core Labour Standards addresses these and related questions. It also provides a current overview of key issues with respect to core labour standards and their relation to trade and employment, aiming to provide a common basis for constructive policy dialogue among the concerned parties in the future.
Public service is a public trust. Citizens expect public servants to serve the public interest with fairness and to manage public resources properly on a daily basis. Fair and reliable public services inspire public trust and create a favourable environment for businesses, thus contributing to well-functioning markets and economic growth. Public ethics are a prerequisite to public trust and a keystone of good governance. At a time when there is a growing consensus among governments on what should constitute the essential elements of an effective and comprehensive ethics strategy, this book constitutes a unique source of comparative information on ethics management measures in OECD countries. It is designed to facilitate mutual learning and to support the development of modern ethics strategies in both OECD and non-member countries, by providing, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of ethics measures in all 29 OECD countries, including overall trends and promising practices.
This publication presents a synthesis of the main findings and policy recommendations of China in the World Economy: Domestic Policy Challenges. After more than two decades of progress in market reforms and trade and investment liberalisation, the entry of China into the World Trade Organisation marks a new era for its integration into the world economy. Drawing on the experiences of OECD Members over the past 50 years, and the Organisation’s extensive work with non-Member economies around the world, this publication provides readers with a synthetic view of the interrelated domestic policy issues at stake and with specific recommendations as to actions to be taken. List of themes: Agricultural prospects and policies Rural industries Implications for the rural economy Overview of industry prospects Priorities for industry reorganisation and restructuring Technology challenges for China’s industries Challenges to the banking industry The development of the insurance industry Prospects for the distribution sector Foreign direct investment: prospects and policies An OECD perspective on regulatory reform in China The role of competition law and policy Establishing effective governance for China's enterprises Developing the financial system and financial regulatory policies Priorities for development of China’s capital markets Labour market and social benefit policies Environmental priorities for China’s sustainable development The current tax system and priorities for reform Public sector budget management issues Issues concerning central-local government fiscal relations China's regional development: prospects and policies Macroeconomic policy priorities Annex 1 : Summary of China’s commitments under WTO Annex 2 : Summary of studies of the impact of WTO on China This publication is part of the OECD's ongoing co-operation with non-Member economies around the world.
This book analyses the domestic policy challenges facing China in the context of trade and investment liberalisation. The entry of China into the WTO marks a new era for its integration into the world economy. Drawing on the experiences of OECD members over the past 50 years, and the Organisation’s extensive work with non-members, this landmark study provides readers with a comprehensive view of the interrelated domestic policy issues at stake and with specific recommendations. It is an essential reference book for policy makers, governments, international organisations and researchers.
Crime in road transport is a serious and growing problem. The extent of crime involving goods and goods vehicles is difficult to estimate, but data in some countries show that up to 1% of the commercial fleet is stolen each year, at an annual cost of many millions of euros.
In a study of 23 European countries, this report describes the modes of theft of commercial vehicles and goods most prevalent in the 1990s, outlines the various methods used to record highway theft and draws attention to the statistical difficulties involved in measuring the phenomenon. It lists existing and potential security improvements for road freight vehicles, such as equipment to prevent vehicles from being stolen (anti-theft devices), and equipment to track and recover stolen vehicles (after-theft systems).
This report results from two ECMT studies on "Theft of goods and goods vehicles" and "Improving security for road freight vehicles". It includes various ECMT Ministerial statements and policy decisions on the subject.
Indian coal reserves are the third largest in the world, after the United States and China. India is the third largest coal producer in the world and the eighth largest importer. With annual production of 310 million tonnes and imports of almost 25 million tonnes, coal provides one-third of energy supply in India.
The Indian government forecasts huge increases in electricity capacity based on coal. Massive increases in coal supply would be required if these plans are realised, although it is not clear if they are feasible. The principal objective of Indian coal policy should be to improve the financial performance of the industry by creating a freely competitive coal industry. A financially viable electricity industry will be necessary to support reforms in the coal industry.
This report describes the Indian coal sector, and comments on government policies and the performance of India’s largely state-owned coal companies. There is a substantial need for reforms in India’s coal sector to improve efficiency and competitiveness.
This publication provides detailed information on individual foreign aid commitments, i.e. intended disbursements, of Official Development Assistance (ODA) targeting the objectives of the Rio Conventions - the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity - for the years 1998-2000. For each commitment listed, information is provided on the receiving country and sector, the donor country and agency, the amount and type of aid (grant or loan), grant element percentage, and whether the aid can be considered to have a gender, environmental, or participatory development/good governance aspect. All figures are in US dollars.
This handbook offers government officials practical assistance in strengthening relations between government and citizens. It combines a brief review of basic concepts, principles, concrete examples of good practice, tools (including new information and communication technologies) as well as tips from practice. The approach and activities shown in this handbook support and complement formal institutions of democracy, and strengthen the democratic process. FURTHER READING Citizens as Partners: Information, Consultation and Public Participation in Policy-making