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What is driving recent growth in OECD countries? Why is it that their levels of GDP per capita are no longer converging? Why is it that some countries, operating at the technological frontier, where advances are difficult, appear to be widening the gap? Whether or not it is appropriate to speak of a "new economy", innovation and technology play crucial roles.

This study shows that success requires not some silver bullet, but a range of complementary factors that support the innovation-intensive growth exemplified by new information and communication technologies such as the Internet and Internet applications like electronic commerce. Supportive policies include those favourable to innovative start-ups and to financial systems able to support them, those that facilitate the reorganisation required to reap the full benefits of ICT, regulatory and institutional frameworks that facilitate links between science and industry, and efforts to train and obtain the necessary human capital, as well as public support for basic scientific research. While this study is far from exhaustive, it represents an important step in understanding the conditions under which economies flourish.

This report addresses an issue which arises in virtually every public utility industry – the regulation of access to essential facilities. The regulation of the terms and conditions under which competing firms have access to essential inputs provided by rivals has become the single biggest issue facing regulators of public utility industries. Development of competition and the success of liberalisation often depend on the access terms and conditions chosen, and public policy interest in getting these terms and conditions right is important.

Prepared by the OECD’s Competition Committee, this report focuses on the telecommunications industry and seeks to deepen the understanding of access regulation. Access issues are not easy issues for regulators and competition policy-makers - they can be both difficult technically and the source of noisy disputes in practice. By bringing together theory and practice, this report seeks to help regulators and policy-makers learn from OECD experience to achieve efficient and competitive outcomes.

Africa’s Development Dynamics uses lessons learned in the continent’s five regions – Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa – to develop policy recommendations and share good practices. Drawing on the most recent statistics, this analysis of development dynamics attempts to help African leaders reach the targets of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 at all levels: continental, regional, national and local.

The 2021 edition, now published at the beginning of the year, explores how digitalisation can create quality jobs and contribute to achieving Agenda 2063, thereby making African economies more resilient to the global recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report targets four main policy areas for Africa’s digital transformation: bridging the digital divide; supporting local innovation; empowering own-account workers; and harmonising, implementing and monitoring digital strategies. This edition includes a new chapter examining how to finance Africa’s development despite the 2020 global economic crisis.

Africa’s Development Dynamics feeds into a policy debate between the African Union’s governments, citizens, entrepreneurs and researchers. It aims to be part of a new collaboration between countries and regions, which focuses on mutual learning and the preservation of common goods. This report results from a partnership between the African Union Commission and the OECD Development Centre.

ICT has profound implications for education, both because ICT can facilitate new forms of learning and because it has become important for young people to master ICT in preparation for adult life. But how extensive is access to ICT in schools and informal settings and how is it used by students?

Drawing on data from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Are Students Ready for a Technology-Rich World? What PISA Studies Tell Us, examines whether access to computers for students is equitable across countries and student groups; how students use ICT and what their attitudes are towards ICT; the relationship between students’ access to and use of ICT and their performance in PISA 2003; and the implications for educational policy.

Using data from PISA 2006, this book analyzes to what extent investments in technology enhance educational outcomes. One of the most striking findings of this study is that the digital divide in education goes beyond the issue of access to technology. A new second form of digital divide has been identified: the one existing between those who have the right competencies to benefit from computer use, and those who do not. These competencies and skills are closely linked to the economic, cultural and social capital of the student.

This finding has important implications for policy and practice. Governments should make an effort to clearly convey the message that computer use matters for the education of young people and do their best to engage teachers and schools in raising the frequency of computer use to a level that becomes relevant. If schools and teachers are really committed to the development of 21st century competencies, such an increase will happen naturally. And only in these circumstances will clear correlations between technology use and educational performance emerge.

The rapid advances of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years have led to numerous creative applications in science. Accelerating the productivity of science could be the most economically and socially valuable of all the uses of AI. Utilising AI to accelerate scientific productivity will support the ability of OECD countries to grow, innovate and meet global challenges, from climate change to new contagions.

This publication is aimed at a broad readership, including policy makers, the public, and stakeholders in all areas of science. It is written in non-technical language and gathers the perspectives of prominent researchers and practitioners. The book examines various topics, including the current, emerging, and potential future uses of AI in science, where progress is needed to better serve scientific advancements, and changes in scientific productivity.

Additionally, it explores measures to expedite the integration of AI into research in developing countries.

A distinctive contribution is the book’s examination of policies for AI in science. Policy makers and actors across research systems can do much to deepen AI’s use in science, magnifying its positive effects, while adapting to the fast-changing implications of AI for research governance.

Attractiveness for investment in innovation is high on the policy agenda in many countries as innovation is a key factor of growth and competitiveness in OECD countries. Virtually all governments are keen to attract international investment by multinational enterprises (MNEs) as a means to promote growth and employment, create new jobs and bring in new technologies.

While all countries and regions have some policy measures in place that are aimed at increasing their attractiveness for innovation, it is less clear if these policies are effective.

This report analyses the current trends in international investment in innovation and the attractiveness policies already implemented. These are often based on the more traditional instruments for attracting international investment. The book also explores in more detail the role of investment incentives that governments tend to give to international investors: their rationale, their impact and their usefulness.

The evidence presented in this report raises clear policy issues and questions existing policies. A number of policy principles are formulated to guide policy makers.

A Caminho da Era Digital no Brasil analisa os desenvolvimentos recentes na economia digital brasileira, revisa políticas relacionadas à digitalização e faz recomendações para aumentar a coerência das políticas nessa área.

O relatório examina a disponibilidade e a qualidade das redes e serviços de comunicação no Brasil, bem como políticas e regulamentos relacionados. A Revisão também analisa as tendências no uso da tecnologia digital entre indivíduos, empresas e o governo, e examina políticas para promover sua difusão. Ela discute os esforços para aumentar a confiança na economia digital, com foco na segurança digital, privacidade e proteção do consumidor. Ela também analisa políticas para promover a inovação digital e examina as implicações políticas dos modelos de negócios emergentes em setores-chave.

O relatório reconsidera essas políticas em relação à sua coerência entre diferentes domínios, e fornece recomendações para promover sinergias entre ministérios, níveis e instituições do governo, com base no Marco de Políticas Integradas “A Caminho da Era Digital” da OCDE.

Esta publicação é a tradução de Going Digital in Brazil, parte da série OECD Reviews of Digital Transformation, publicada apenas em inglês.