Browse by: "2020"

This paper proposes an approach to assess the extent of automatic fiscal stabilisation of aggregate household disposable income after a specific shock. The approach is based on the national account identity of household disposable income and elements of the OECD methodology to cyclically adjust budget balances. In a stylised scenario assuming a decline in household market income, automatic stabilisers in 23 OECD countries are found to offset on average around 60% of the shock on impact. Direct taxes provide larger stabilisation than social benefits and social security contributions. There are important differences in the effectiveness of automatic stabilisers across the OECD countries. They mainly reflect non-linear interactions among the size of a specific automatic stabiliser, the elasticity of the automatic stabiliser with respect to a relevant economic variable and the specific shock scenario analysed.

Providing internationally comparable measures on prices of communication services has been a core task of the OECD through its Working Party on Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy (WPCISP) for decades. Currently, the majority of broadband services in OECD countries are based on bundled offers. This report develops OECD price baskets for bundled communication services to complement existing fixed and mobile price baskets. The baskets for bundled communication services range from dual play to quadruple play baskets, which include different combinations of fixed broadband, fixed voice, mobile voice and data, and pay-TV services. The report proposes 30 bundled baskets, accounting for different usage patterns and service elements. With increased convergence and the prevalence of communication bundles in the majority of OECD countries, this methodology sets a reference point for discussions on price baskets for bundled communication services in international fora.

The paper analyses data on state-owned enterprises as cross-border investors and takes a first step towards analysing their investment characteristics since 2000. It shows that the number of cross-border investments by state-owned enterprises was overall small, with most originating from the People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”), and suggests that the investment preferences of state-owned enterprises may fuel excess capacity in the steel sector. This is because state-owned enterprises display a preference for building new capacity over acquiring existing capacity when investing abroad, and a preference for investment destinations with volatile demand growth. Data also suggest that state-owned enterprises might be more likely to undertake domestic capacity closures after a cross-border investment, which is likely influenced by recent policies introduced to curb excess capacity in China. Conversely, the data offer insufficient evidence regarding the link between cross-border investment by state-owned enterprises and capacity outcomes in target jurisdictions.

Data and databases are increasingly central to business activities today , with even relatively small data flows having the potential to create considerable economic value. Despite this, attempts to conceptualise and measure the value of data remain underdeveloped. This paper explores four different perspectives from which the value of data, databases, and data flows can be conceptualised and measured: i) how much businesses spend on storing data; ii) how much money businesses make from selling data-based products; iii) how the market valuation of "data-driven firms" compares to that of other firms; and iv) the value of trade flows in digitally deliverable products.

Building on the automatic fiscal stabilisers literature, this paper assesses how automatic stabilisers have evolved over the past two decades by analysing changes in the personal income tax and social benefit systems. In three-quarters of the 35 OECD countries analysed, indicators of the strength of automatic stabilisers (aggregate elasticities of household income after tax with respect to the cycle and aggregate net replacement rates) changed little or moderately over the past two decades, suggesting broadly stable automatic stabilisers of household disposable income. The paper discusses pros and cons of several policy options to strengthen automatic stabilisers in the current environment. The effectiveness and possible side effects, particularly related to disincentives to work, vary across policy options. Consequently, policy reform proposals should be carefully assessed in a country-specific context and take into account other important policy objectives of tax and benefit systems.

A growing number of countries in the OECD and beyond are moving toward asymmetric decentralisation, i.e. a differentiated assignment of competencies across subnational governments, for the same level of administration. While from the 1950s to the 1970s, asymmetric arrangements happened mostly at a regional level, the present trend seems to apply asymmetric decentralisation mostly in case of urban areas. Such trends may be further reinforced by the current global COVID-19 crisis, which has had highly asymmetric impact within countries. This paper aims to shed light on the various forms of asymmetric decentralisation. The study examines arguments from both economic research and policy practice angles. The paper highlights the pitfalls to avoid and good practices when implementing asymmetric decentralisation policies to reap their benefits and to minimise their costs.

Advanced materials hold significant potential to create better products and production processes. Yet realising their promise remains challenging: historically it has taken 15 to 20 years from discovery to deployment of new materials in products. Consequently, governments have been creating shared digital and physical infrastructures – “collaborative platforms” – to pool and manage global data, drive the development of nascent industries, and create hubs of interdisciplinary research, development and training. Based on evidence from 12 case studies, this report characterises governance mechanisms of collaborative platforms for advanced materials such as terms of funding, access, and IP policy and explores how they can create different kinds of value. Technology convergence, the engagement of society and digitalisation are identified as key trends. The study describes conditions under which collaborative platforms can align and power value chains, foster standards, catalyse innovation ecosystems and build education, skills and social capital.

Kazakhstan has made tremendous progress in ensuring universal access to primary and lower-secondary education. Nevertheless, results international surveys reveal that almost two-thirds of students from Kazakhstan complete schooling without mastering the basic skills needed to be successful, and that student achievement is increasingly inequitable.

This policy perspective provides Kazakhstan with recommendations about how to strengthen its school evaluation system in order to improve the learning outcomes of all students. It is part of a larger OECD review of Kazakhstan that is published as four policy perspectives, each examining a key policy issue

Kazakhstan has made tremendous progress in ensuring universal access to primary and lower-secondary education. Nevertheless, results international surveys reveal that almost two-thirds of students from Kazakhstan complete schooling without mastering the basic skills needed to be successful, and that student achievement is increasingly inequitable.

This policy perspective provides Kazakhstan with recommendations about how to strengthen its national examinations in order to improve the learning outcomes of all students. It is part of a larger OECD review of Kazakhstan that is published as four policy perspectives, each examining a key policy issue.

Les perspectives dans le secteur touristique demeurent très incertaines. La pandémie de coronavirus (COVID-19) continue de frapper durement ce secteur ; selon les prévisions, le tourisme international devrait diminuer d’environ 80 % en 2020. Le tourisme interne contribue à atténuer le choc, tout au moins partiellement, et les pouvoirs publics ont immédiatement pris des mesures remarquables pour aider et relancer le secteur tout en préservant les emplois et les entreprises. Bon nombre de pays s’emploient également à élaborer des mesures pour construire une économie touristique plus résiliente après la pandémie de COVID-19. Elles consistent notamment à préparer des plans de soutien durable à la reprise dans le secteur du tourisme, à encourager le virage du numérique et la transition vers un tourisme vert et à adapter le tourisme aux réalités futures.

観光業の見通しは依然として非常に不透明である。新型コロナウイルス感染症(COVID-19)のパンデミックは引き続き大きな打撃を与えており、2020年には海外渡航(international tourism)が約80％減少すると予想されている。国内観光は、少なくとも部分的には打撃を和らげるのに役立っており、各国政府は、雇用と企業を保護しつつ、観光業を回復、再活性化させるために大胆な行動を迅速にとった。また、多くの国々で、COVID-19後の観光経済の回復力を高める対策が進められている。その中には、観光業の持続可能な復興を支援する計画の策定、デジタル化と環境に配慮した観光システムへの移行の促進、将来に向けた観光業の再考などが含まれている。

This paper analyses results on social insurance pension liabilities and entitlements across OECD countries, on the basis of a new data collection. In addition to information on employment-related schemes (covered in the central framework of the national accounts), this new data collection also includes information related to social security pension schemes. As the latter make up a large part of pension liabilities and entitlements, this new data collection provides important new insights into the role of social insurance pensions across OECD countries and on how countries may be affected by ageing populations. The results show that pension liabilities and entitlements are, on average, more significant in European countries than in non-European OECD countries. Furthermore, the results show an increasing preference for defined contribution schemes over defined benefit schemes for private pension schemes, possibly in order to address some of the challenges brought about by an ageing society.

The Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines (MPGs) included in Decision 18/CMA.1 adopted at COP24 in 2018 require all Parties to the Paris Agreement to report national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories using “common reporting tables” (CRTs). The same decision requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) is to develop CRTs for consideration and adoption by COP26. This paper focuses on key issues related to the potential structure of the CRTs and approaches to filling them in. The paper assesses different CRT reporting scenarios through worked examples. Overall, the paper finds that all the tables contained in the set of Common Reporting Formats (CRFs) currently in use by Annex I Parties provide a valuable starting point for the development of CRTs. A number of improvements and adjustments, however, need to be applied to current CRFs to better reflect reporting guidance outlined in the MPGs. This paper finds that it is important to ensure that the CRTs are designed in a way that allows for a reporting that is as standardised as possible. This may include allowing for the use of standardised reporting elements (e.g. notation keys) and amending the tables according to a new, commonly agreed structure to allow for the reporting of new reporting elements. Using a common format while also facilitating standardised reporting can positively affect a number of processes, including the technical expert review and automated processing of information, thereby promoting transparency, comparability and consistency of GHG-inventory reporting.

The development of transit-oriented communities (TOC) is a central element in the promotion of accessibility in the Metro Vancouver Region (MVR). The entity is building on its wealth of experience in public transport development in the region, which has contributed to its high levels of well-being and economic progress. TOC aims to incentivise people to drive less and walk, cycle and take transit more. A solid culture of community engagement, the existence of a coordinating body for transport planning, and the links between transport and land-use policy are the main assets MVR has to enhance accessibility. However, tackling the affordable housing deficit around transport hubs remains a challenge for local authorities. The purpose of this paper is to draw lessons from the MVR’s experience in transit-oriented initiatives to contribute to the development of compact, connected and green urban centres.

A common urban mobility plan for Prague and its metropolitan region as well as the creation of an integrated transport system coordinated by a central transport body are the main assets Prague can leverage to enhance accessibility. However, weak links to land use plans, the lack of enforceability of the mobility strategy, the absence of a transport component in the urban renewal strategy, and the high level of administrative fragmentation of the metro area limit the impact of the transport network in facilitating access to jobs and services. This paper aims at drawing policy lessons from Prague’s mobility strategy and suggesting recommendations that could improve its effectiveness in enhancing accessibility.