Browse by: "B"

In order to attain its objective of becoming a high-income economy by 2020, Malaysia is engaged in efforts to enhance the performance of its innovation system. A range of challenges need to be addressed and different policy tools can help in this respect. For this purpose the national intellectual property (IP) system can play a pivotal role. This review assesses how Malaysian's national IP system promotes innovation and offers recommendations to improve the design of the system. It does so by analysing the organisation and governance of Malaysia's IP system as well as opportunities and challenges for different local users - ranging from small businesses to frontier companies and public research institutions. Moreover, the review discusses the state of IP markets in Malaysia and related policies and provides a comprehensive set of statistics describing the use of IP in Malaysia in recent years.

Over the past two decades, most Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have experienced robust economic growth and been able to make significant reductions in poverty and income inequality. However, growth in the region was not strong enough to ensure convergence towards levels of per capita income observed in advanced OECD economies. An important part of this underperformance can be explained by weak productivity growth. Should this weakness persist, it will be very difficult for LAC countries to achieve better lives for the majority of families. The present publication portrays the situation of LAC countries and discusses best-practice policies. Participation in global value chains is encouraged to enable knowledge spillovers and a process of learning by doing. More regional trade integration would help this process, as Latin America ranks very low and remains a sizeable outlier. The diffusion of knowledge and technology would be facilitated by making it easier to do business, notably allowing new entrants that are facing high barriers to operate and grow. Improved access to education is important to meet the demand for skills, and to boost innovation and research and development, which is particularly true in a context of fast technological change.

This report examines what countries have achieved in terms of strengthening resilience through better risk management and identifies persisting challenges. It focuses on the importance of creating an institutional environment that engages all stakeholders and allows them to build resilience against future shocks. This report has contributed to the development of the OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Critical Risks.

The Flemish economy is extremely diversified with a number of value-added industries and a highly skilled workforce. The shift to a green economy will however require specific knowledge, values and attitudes from the Flemish workforce. This report analyses the skills dimension of the transition to a green economy at the local level, with specific reference to emerging needs in the agro-food, construction and chemicals sectors. It also provides recommendations for the development of green skills and occupational profiles at the organisational level, while advising policy makers on the best method of assisting firms to transition to a green economy.

Social enterprises are long-standing agents of inclusive growth and democratisation of the economic and social spheres, and they have proved resilient to economic adversity all the while addressing socio-economic challenges in innovative ways, re-integrating people back to the labour market, and contributing to overall social cohesion. This compendium derives policy lessons for boosting social enterprises from the analysis of 20 initiatives in several EU member-countries, covering a range of policy areas from legal frameworks, finance, market access, and support structures, to education and skills.

The OECD has closely co-operated with the government, the private sector and international partners to formulate policy recommendations to support private sector development in Afghanistan. This report summarises this work and analyses the important hurdles firms face, ranging from lack of access to finance and public services to the burden of tax compliance. It suggests three sets of actions: (1) measures to encourage firms to move to the formal sector through better institutions and incentives, (2) steps to improve access to finance to allow f irms to grow and (3) digital solutions to improve public service delivery to firms, with a strong emphasis on mobile-friendly platforms.

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.

Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts, the Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU), is seeking to go beyond its traditional oversight role and help improve policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. This report identifies ways TCU can achieve this by applying principles of good governance to areas such policy coherence, strategic and long-term budgeting, internal control and risk management, and monitoring and evaluation. It suggests concrete steps TCU can take to adapt its own strategies, approaches and audit programming to provide valuable insight and foresight to policy makers in the centre of government. In this way, it can help ensure that policies and programmes are forward looking and based on evidence.

Supreme audit institutions have a distinct role in supporting the development of a more strategic and forward looking state. This report assesses the role of Brazil's SAI – the Federal Court of Accounts (Tribunal de Contas da União or TCU) – in enhancing accountability and informing decision making within the federal government. The review focuses specifically on the audit of the Consolidated Year end Government Report (Prestação de Contas da Presidenta de República or PCPR). Although the TCU is a well respected independent government institution and completes the audit of the PCPR in line with constitutional provisions and international best practice,  several challenges remain. Deepening TCU understanding of challenges and barriers affecting the use of its audit – especially by the legislature – is critical for enhancing accountability and informing decision making.  Moreover, framing clearly and concisely the main findings will make the TCU work audit more accessible and elevate the imperative for action. Creating a more explicit and co-ordinated TCU communication strategy will also improve the value and benefit of the audit findings.

In the context of the economic recovery and public budget cuts, policy silos and fragmented short-term policy interventions have become luxuries that our economies can no longer afford. Government intervenes in a myriad of ways at the local level, and rarely are these interventions co-ordinated effectively. Most of us are familiar with policy “silos”. Such divisions are often taken for granted, blamed on historical working relationships (“it has always been like that”) and organisational cultures (“they don’t work like we do”).  However these divisions come at a cost. The issues and challenges facing local communities are often complex, and require a holistic approach to be resolved. This book provides concrete advice to policy makers at both national and local levels on how to better align policies, reduce duplication and waste, and “do more with less”. It is based on comparative analysis of 11 countries in Australisia, Europe and North America and combines rankings on where countries stand in terms of the integration of employment, skills and economic development policies, with concrete examples of successful policy integration on the ground.

An alarming number of women and girls become victims/survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) at least once during their lifetime. While GBV has garnered more attention from policymakers in recent years, and has become a top gender-equality priority for OECD countries, significant challenges remain in all countries. This report promotes a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of GBV by combining insights from recent OECD work with robust evidence from surveys and questionnaires conducted in OECD Member countries. It offers recommendations for a comprehensive OECD GBV Governance Framework encompassing laws and access to justice, transforming restrictive gender norms, and integrating service delivery to prevent, address and - ultimately - end this violation of human rights.

This report adds two perspectives on informality. First, it disassembles the mechanics of the deleterious links between informal employment, low-paying work and low skills. It shows that informal employment is highly persistent, and that the vulnerability of informal workers is passed on to their children in the absence of adequate education, skills and social protection policy. Second, the report underscores the double burden of informality and low-paying work that a large share of workers in developing and emerging economies carry, and as such calls for policy solutions that go beyond the formalisation agenda and embrace the goal of social justice.

This Handbook is designed to raise the awareness of tax examiners and auditors of issues concerning bribery and other forms of corruption. It provides guidance on how to recognise indicators of possible bribery or corruption in the course of regular tax examinations and audits.

Public works contracts mean big business. From road-building to high-tech communication infrastructure, public procurement averages 15% of GDP in OECD countries--substantially more in non-OECD economies--and it is a major factor in the world trade of goods and services. Given the growing complexity of bribe schemes in today’s globalised markets, the problem is how to identify corruption in public procurement so governments can work toward effective prevention and apply sanctions if necessary. This report provides insights on all three fronts. Based on contributions from law enforcement and procurement specialists, the report describes how bribery is committed through the various stages of government purchasing; how bribery in public procurement is related to other crimes, such as fraud and money laundering; and how to prevent and sanction such crimes. The typical motivations and conduct of the various actors engaging in corruption are also highlighted, as well as ten case studies.

The report brings together evidence, international experience and policy insights for the design of housing policies. Emphasis is placed on three broad aspects: inclusiveness, efficiency and sustainability. Inclusive access to housing has become increasingly challenging in many OECD countries due to a large extent to rising housing costs, which reflects the failure of housing supply to meet demand, particularly in jobs-rich urban areas. Geographical constraints play a role, but in many cities regulations, including on land-use and zoning provisions, also constrain supply. At the same time, some regulations on tenant-landlord relations can discourage the development of rental markets, pushing up rents. Moreover, the transition to a low-carbon economy poses challenges for a sector that accounts for 17% of CO₂ emissions and 37% of fine particulate matter emissions globally. Almost two-thirds of countries worldwide still lack mandatory building energy codes. Frontloading efforts is critical as dwellings have a very long lifespan. The report lays out evidence-based options for concerted policy action to address these challenges, while recognising complementarities and trade-offs amond the different objectives of housing policies. The report is part of the OECD Housing Tookit, which includes an interactive online dashboard of housing indicators and country snapshots.

Expanding on the findings of Brick by Brick: Better Housing Policies, this second volume delves into key trends shaping housing policies in the post-COVID-19 era. The first chapter provides an overview and discusses the need to monitor the pandemic's impacts on housing affordability, address the energy crisis through low-carbon housing initiatives, maintain financial resilience amid fluctuating housing cycles, and facilitate the reshaping of housing markets in response to remote work and environmental concerns. The second chapter focuses on the decarbonisation of the housing sector. It recommends a mix of carbon pricing, energy-efficiency certification and regulation, and subsidies to meet net-zero targets while accounting for housing market specificities. The chapter also calls for deploying complementary policies to limit adverse impacts on low-income households. The third chapter examines housing finance, focusing on the tension between supporting mortgage borrowing and promoting financial resilience. It also discusses the rise of non-bank real estate finance and the potential for mortgage finance to support housing decarbonisation. The fourth chapter explores how the new work-life balance, enabled by the rise of remote work, is reshaping housing demand and proposes a set of tailored urban policies to address this shift. Overall, the report provides a comprehensive blueprint for housing policies in the post-pandemic world.