Browse by: "2022"

This Policy Insight assesses progress in the implementation of reforms since the 2017 OECD peer review of SME export promotion. It also takes stock of the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to identify new challenges and priorities. The note suggests three sets of policy actions for the Uzbek government to boost the internationalisation of firms: (1) further development of consulting activities to improve firms’ knowledge of foreign markets; (2) expansion of the exportpromotion network abroad and the definition of a clear value proposition in target export markets; and (3) putting in place more systematic arrangements for monitoring and evaluation of export-promotion institutions’ activities. Diversification of export markets and commodities is a critical priority as Uzbekistan looks to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. The country has recently resumed WTO accession and strengthened trade ties with its regional partners and the EU, but its firms continue to face significant barriers to internationalisation. Export promotion policies for firms can support their internationalisation, contributing timely to the diversification and recovery of Uzbekistan’s economy.

This publication examines the role of border regions in shaping patterns of violence since the end of the 1990s in North and West Africa. Using the innovative OECD Spatial Conflict Dynamics indicator (SCDi), the report looks at the growing relationship between political violence and borderlands at the regional level, by analysing more than 170 000 violent events between January 1997 and June 2021 and through the exploration of case studies in the Central and Eastern Sahel. Violence in border regions is both more intense in terms of the number of victims and more diffuse geographically than ever before. This report combines quantitative data on the location of violent events and victims, their mapping over time and space, and an analysis of the actors in conflict to answer three crucial questions i) Are borderlands more violent than other spaces? ii) Has the intensity of violence in border regions increased over time? iii) Are some borderlands more violent than others? The growing importance and complexity of transnational conflicts and transnational violent groups in North and West Africa calls for a more place-based analysis in order to create better tailored and more flexible policy options.

This report examines what ongoing shifts in the objectives of transport policy mean for transport project appraisal and planning processes. Many countries are rethinking their transport policy and planning objectives. Their focus is increasingly shifting from providing mobility to ensuring accessibility; giving greater priority to equitable access for all; recognising the urgency of decarbonising transport; and making urban environments healthier, safer and more liveable. The report summarises the findings of a discussion among 44 experts from 21 countries at an ITF Roundtable held from 29 September to 31 October 2021.

Democracies are at a critical juncture, under growing internal and external pressures. This publication sheds light on the important public governance challenges countries face today in preserving and strengthening their democracies, including fighting mis- and disinformation; improving government openness, citizen participation and inclusiveness; and embracing global responsibilities and building resilience to foreign influence. It also looks at two cross-cutting themes that will be crucial for robust, effective democracies: transforming public governance for digital democracy and gearing up government to deliver on climate and other environmental challenges. These areas lay out the foundations of the new OECD Reinforcing Democracy Initiative, which has also involved the development of action plans to support governments in responding to these challenges.

What drives trust in government? This report presents the main findings of the first OECD cross-national survey on trust in government and public institutions, representing over 50 000 responses across 22 OECD countries. The survey measures government performance across five drivers of trust – reliability, responsiveness, integrity, openness, and fairness – and provides insights for future policy reforms. This investigation marks an important initiative by OECD countries to measure and better understand what drives people’s trust in public institutions – a crucial part of reinforcing democracy.

Ten years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, many lessons have been learnt that have helped improve preparedness for nuclear emergencies and awareness of the global risks that such accidents can entail. This includes a number of long-lasting, multidimensional impacts on health(including mental health and psychosocial support), the economy, and the environment. Recovery from a nuclear or radiological accident is a long, complex and resource-intensive process. To facilitate efficient recovery, it is important to establish processes and procedures during the preparedness phase to activate the resources required and to involve the relevant stakeholders at all levels. This report addresses the need for a harmonised approach towards efficient recovery management from nuclear or radiological accidents, which aims to assist countries to develop their own national plans and procedures for post-accident recovery preparedness in a harmonised manner, through the introduction of a cyclical approach.

Education systems can build on school-led micro-innovations during the pandemic to develop more equitable learning. Empowering teachers to be autonomous, actively engaged in designing learning environments, and knowledgeable and dynamic in using multi-modal technology can encourage more peer-to-peer collaboration in schools and enrich pedagogy. This will be crucial in addressing the learning needs of disadvantaged students and boosting science proficiency with the goal of societal equity.

While more advanced economies have begun to return to their pre-pandemic trajectories, two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming clear that emerging and low-income countries may take years to recover from the socio-economic damage it has caused. In Africa, the pandemic pushed 29 million people back into extreme poverty, undoing much of the progress made since the 1990s. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the poverty rate and inequality increased by three percentage points in 2020. In Emerging Asia, the pandemic threatens to exacerbate pre-existing inequalities within and amongst countries. In this context, developing countries’ narrowing financing capacity to tackle the consequences of the pandemic is deeply concerning. Additionally, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spread chaos across the region, displacing people and destroying lives, homes and infrastructure, while making the road to recovery even more uncertain. The Emerging Markets Network’s (EMnet) 2022 edition of Business Insights on Emerging Markets provides private sector perspectives on urgent policies to drive a sustainable, resilient and equitable recovery.

In the context of considerable labour market change, many adults in Canada are being challenged to consider alternative career paths, and to upskill or retrain. Career guidance has the potential to facilitate employment transitions: not only from the education system to the labour market, but also from unemployment to employment, and from declining to growing sectors. This study assesses the career guidance services that are available for adults in Canada, and puts them into an international perspective. New survey data show that Canada performs well in an OECD comparison with respect to the quality of career guidance, but there is room to strengthen the provision and accessibility of services. The report provides concrete recommendations to encourage greater and more inclusive use of adult career guidance, and to promote high-quality service provision.

In Germany, the three ‘Ds’ – Digitalisation, Decarbonisation and Demographic change – are dominating the headlines. Countless studies analyse the impact of these megatrends on the world of work and document how job profiles are changing. The growing demand for high-level cognitive skills and complex social interaction skills is challenging particularly low-qualified workers. In response to these trends, many countries have developed career guidance programmes to support individuals and companies in navigating career options and sustainable job transitions. However, low-qualified workers are less likely to receive career guidance than those with higher qualifications and even those who are unemployed due to a range of multi-layered and interconnected barriers. The report first gives an overview of career guidance provision at the federal level in Germany and then describes career guidance needs and provision in the states of Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). It reviews the support that low-qualified workers have access to, where learnings could serve in other regions and at the national level and provides recommendations on how provision for this group can be strengthened.

The OECD Centre of Government Review of Brazil offers key recommendations on consolidating the strategic role of the country’s centre of government (CoG) in managing policy priorities and improving outcomes. The review examines the CoG’s roles, mandates, and its co-ordination capacities. It provides an assessment of Brazil’s ability to translate political commitments into measurable objectives and delves into its capacity to link strategic plans to outcomes. Focusing on the capacities of the CoG to contribute to the budget strategy and the federal budget, it considers medium- and long-term plans and how these align with the budgetary framework and how the budget can support policies in a coherent manner. The review also examines the CoG’s role in monitoring and evaluating high-priority policy performance and how this information can be used to improve outcomes. Finally, the review assesses how Brazil can consolidate and reinforce public communication, both to pursue policy objectives and to promote a more open government. 

This document presents the outcome from a project that aimed to investigate safety issues related to the prevention of, preparedness for, and response to accidents involving manufactured nanomaterials. This report aims to address potential risks for humans and the environment resulting from accidents involving manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs), for example, accidental releases of larger quantities of nanomaterials into the area surrounding an establishment and review measures for prevention of, preparedness for and response to accidents involving nanomaterials.

India has achieved major progress in its energy sector over the last two decades. Still, investment needs to scale up considerably to meet the government’s ambitions to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy capacity and energy-intensity reductions of 45% by 2030. Targeted application of public funds, alongside international climate and development finance, can crowd in investors and channel private capital to meet India’s clean energy goals. The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Roadmap of India highlights key actions needed to accelerate the development of energy efficiency measures in micro, small and medium enterprises, offshore wind and green hydrogen production. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the initiatives to date and challenges to scale up investments. It also provides a number of tailored recommendations for the Government of India, development partners and the private sector.

This report provides an overview of the main trends and issues related to the implications of climate change for corporate governance. It focuses on economic, legal and accounting issues related to shareholder rights, corporate disclosure and the responsibilities of company boards. Importantly, this report informs the ongoing review of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance which help policy makers evaluate and improve the legal, regulatory and institutional framework for corporate governance.

This report provides disaggregated data analysis of climate finance provided and mobilised in 2016-2020 across climate finance components, themes, sectors, and financial instruments. It also explores key trends and provides insight relating to the distribution and concentration of climate finance provided and mobilised across different developing country characteristics and groupings. The concluding chapter of the report provides further insights on the impacts and effectiveness of climate finance, as well as meaningful mitigation action and transparency on implementation. The findings complement the OECD report Aggregate Trends of Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised by Developed Countries in 2013-2020.