Browse by: "2022"

This report looks at how new developments in tax technology can make it easier for SMEs to comply with their tax obligations, leading to reduced burdens on business and increased compliance rates. In addition to a number of examples from tax administrations, the report also highlights two detailed case studies. The report was developed by the Netherlands’ Tax Administration with the support of the Forum on Tax Administration’s Community of Interest on SMEs.

Procurement of information and communication technologies (ICT) plays a decisive role not only in public-service delivery but in public-sector modernisation. This report takes stock of current ICT procurement practices in the Slovak Republic and provides evidence-based strategic policy advice for the Slovak Government on how to adopt more innovative and agile approaches in ICT procurement. It presents examples from OECD countries on ICT procurement reforms and the use of innovative, flexible approaches for public procurement of ICT.

This report provides a detailed account of the Swedish corporate bond market. Based on original data, it offers an overview of how the market has developed in the past two decades with respect to, among other things, size, issuer characteristics, risk profile and liquidity. In particular, it documents how the market has changed since the 2008 financial crisis and explores the increasingly important role of real estate companies in the local bond market. It also offers a comparison of the Swedish market with selected peer countries (European and non-European), both in terms of market structure and relevant regulation.

Governments can use artificial intelligence (AI) to design better policies and make better and more targeted decisions, enhance communication and engagement with citizens, and improve the speed and quality of public services. The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region is seeking to leverage the immense potential of AI to promote the digital transformation of the public sector. The OECD, in collaboration with CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, prepared this report to help national governments in the LAC region understand the current regional baseline of activities and capacities for AI in the public sector; to identify specific approaches and actions they can take to enhance their ability to use this emerging technology for efficient, effective and responsive governments; and to collaborate across borders in pursuit of a regional vision for AI in the public sector. This report incorporates a stocktaking of each country’s strategies and commitments around AI in the public sector, including their alignment with the OECD AI Principles. It also includes an analysis of efforts to build key governance capacities and put in place critical enablers for AI in the public sector. It concludes with a series of recommendations for governments in the LAC region.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has an unprecedented ambition, but also confronts countries with an enormous challenge given the complex and integrated nature of the Agenda with its 17 Goals, underpinned by 169 Targets. To assist national governments with their implementation, the OECD has developed a unique methodology allowing comparison of progress across SDG goals and targets, and also over time. Based on the Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and leveraging UN and OECD data, this report provides a high-level assessment of OECD Member countries’ performance across the Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda. The report evaluates the distance that OECD countries need to travel to meet SDG targets for which data is currently available, but it goes one step further and deepens the analysis by identifying long-term trends, considering also how these trends may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. By providing a high-level overview of countries’ strengths and weaknesses in performance across the SDGs, it aims to support Member countries in navigating the SDGs and in setting their own priorities for action within the broad 2030 Agenda.

This review contributes to a better understanding of the gender wage gap in Germany and puts forward key elements of a policy package to reduce gender pay gaps. It provides a detailed analysis of the role of firms in the gender wage gap by focusing on the pay gap between similarly skilled men and women between and within firms. The within-firm component captures differences in pay between men and women within firms related to differences in tasks and responsibilities, or differences in pay for work of equal value (e.g. bargaining, discrimination). The between-firm component captures the role of differences in pay between firms (unrelated to workforce composition) due to the tendency of women to work in low-wage firms. The review analyses gender differences in job mobility and the earnings consequences of career breaks following childbirth to shed light on the evolution of the gender wage gap across the working life. To put results for Germany in context, they are systematically benchmarked to those of four nearby countries (i.e. Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Sweden). The policy discussion extends the empirical analysis by putting forward a comprehensive policy package with an emphasis on policies targeted at firms.

This report provides an analysis of the framework in place to strengthen the transparency and integrity of lobbying in Quebec, Canada. The report also assesses the reform project proposed by the Commissioner of Lobbying in 2019, by benchmarking it against the OECD Recommendation on Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying, as well as good practices in OECD countries. The report highlights how to address governance concerns related to lobbying, and identifies concrete and tailored solutions to further strengthen a culture of transparency and integrity in the policy-making process.

The past decade has seen increasing international recognition of civic space as a cornerstone of functioning democracies, alongside efforts to promote and protect it. Countries that foster civic space are better placed to reap the many benefits of higher levels of citizen engagement, strengthened transparency and accountability, and empowered citizens and civil society. In the longer term, a vibrant civic space can help to improve government effectiveness and responsiveness, contribute to more citizen-centred policies, and boost social cohesion. This first OECD comparative report on civic space offers a baseline of data from 33 OECD Members and 19 non-Members and a nuanced overview of the different dimensions of civic space, with a focus on civic freedoms, media freedoms, civic space in the digital age, and the enabling environment for civil society. It provides an exhaustive review of legal frameworks, policies, strategies, and institutional arrangements, in addition to implementation gaps, trends and good practices. The analysis is complemented by a review of international standards and guidance, in addition to data and analysis from civil society and other stakeholders.

In the context of a rapidly changing world of work, the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened pre-existing challenges to Japan’s adult learning system and raised new ones. This report examines how skill requirements have been evolving in Japan prior to and during the COVID-19 crisis. It examines changes in the skills composition of Japan’s workforce as well as policy efforts to improve the accessibility of career guidance, broaden training participation and foster the adoption of teleworking practices. The report also provides concrete recommendations to tackle inequalities in skills and training among socio-demographic groups. Finally, it provides suggestions for how to develop a labour market information system to feed real-time data into crucial policy and decision-making processes.

Vocational education and training (VET) is an important part of education systems around the world. VET systems differ widely between countries in how programmes are designed and delivered. Moreover, countries differ in terms of the types of providers that deliver VET. This report looks at the VET provider landscape in Australia, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. It provides insights into the number of different providers by country, their focus areas and target populations. It describes how providers are different and how they overlap, as well as structures and initiatives to foster co-ordination between them.

In February 2019, the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) adopted its Recommendation on the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, in order to foster greater coherence among actors working to strengthen resilience in fragile contexts and address the root causes of humanitarian challenges. In advance of the monitoring report due in 2024, this interim progress review analyses adherents’ efforts to align their work with the principles of the Recommendation. It documents the progress of DAC and United Nations adherents in taking forward the triple nexus approach, while pointing to remaining gaps between the Recommendation’s aspirations and these adherents’ practice across co-ordination, programming, and financing. The report identifies nine areas where to accelerate the move from policy to action.

Heat pumps, powered by low-emissions electricity, are the central technology in the global transition to secure and sustainable heating. This report, provides an outlook for heat pumps, identifying key opportunities to accelerate their deployment. It also highlights the major barriers and policy solutions, and explores the implications of an accelerated uptake of heat pumps for energy security, consumers’ energy bills, employment and efforts to tackle climate change.Around 10% of space heating needs globally were met by heat pumps in 2021, but the pace of installation is growing rapidly with sales at record levels. Government policy support is needed, though, to help consumers overcome heat pumps’ higher upfront costs relative to alternatives. Financial incentives for heat pumps are already available in over 30 countries, which together cover more than 70% of heating demand today. The IEA estimates heat pumps globally have the potential to reduce global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 500 million tonnes in 2030 – equal to the annual CO2 emissions of all cars in Europe today.

This report describes the structure of the FinTech sector in the Czech Republic and the associated regulatory and supervisory frameworks. It analyses the enabling conditions for FinTech innovation as well as potential hurdles. The findings are based on responses from Czech FinTechs to an OECD survey which assessed market innovations, opportunities and obstacles, the access to and use of data, and the potential benefits of establishing a regulatory sandbox.