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This document describes how the OECD DAC Network on Development Evaluation (EvalNet) revisited the definitions and use of the OECD DAC evaluation criteria in 2018-2019. The document lays out adapted definitions for relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability, and for one new criterion, coherence. The document describes how the criteria should be used thoughtfully, and adjusted to the context of the intervention and the intended users’ needs. These revised definitions and principles for use are the result of a global consultation on the criteria and a review of how they are used in evaluation and beyond. Following the consultation, members of EvalNet and outside evaluation experts discussed the concepts in depth and reviewed several drafts. The adapted definitions are clearer and will support more rigorous, nuanced analysis, including of equity issues and synergies, in line with current policy priorities. This adaptation also addresses confusion, by adding an introduction on the intended purpose of the criteria and guiding principles for use. Detailed guidance on the application of the criteria is to be provided separately, after adoption.
This report examines the ways in which wider policies can be use to support our common development objectives. It focuses on areas requiring collective action by the entire international community, and complements the OECD’s continuing work on aid effectiveness and monitoring aid flows.
It starts from two premises. First, policies ranging from trade and investment to tax and fiscal transparency, corporate governance, climate change, resource security and social policy have a profound impact on the prospects for achieving sustainable development. Second, whilst these require action by national governments and regional organisations in both developed and developing countries, in today’s interconnected world they also require collective action by the entire international community.
The report covers 18 development policy topics divided into four broad categories: sustainable economic growth, economic governance, the environment and natural resource security, and society. Together these reflect the OECD’s mission to promote better policies for better lives.
This edition of Better Policies for Development focuses on illicit financial flows and their detrimental effects on development and growth. Every year, huge sums of money are transferred out of developing countries illegally. The numbers are disputed, but illicit financial flows are often cited as outstripping official development aid and inward investment. These flows strip resources from developing countries that could be used to finance much-needed public services, such as health care and education.
This report defines policy coherence for development as a global tool for creating enabling environments for development in a post-2015 context. It shows that coherent policies in OECD countries in areas such as tax evasion, anti-bribery and money laundering can contribute to reducing illicit financial flows from developing countries. It also provides an update on OECD efforts to develop a monitoring matrix for policy coherence for development, based upon existing OECD indicators of ‘policy effort’. The report also includes contributions from member states. Most illustrate national processes to deal with policy coherence for development beyond 2015.
In 2015, as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) come to an end, the international community is embarking on a new global framework for sustainable development. The international community, including the OECD and its members, will need to adapt its policy instruments and working methods to successfully achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. This report contributes to this process by introducing the concept of Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD), along with a proposal for monitoring coherence.
Better Policies for Development 2015 provides an overview of the core actions involved in aligning separate – and sometimes opposing – policy objectives, as well as managing potential trade-offs and synergies between them. In particular, it applies a policy coherence lens to green growth, as one of the priority areas for policy coherence identified in the OECD Strategy on Development.
The report includes numerous contributions from intellectuals, member states and civil society.
This report introduces the Framework for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) - a screening tool that aims to support governments in designing and implementing coherent policies. It explores policy coherence in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and suggests options for monitoring and tracking progress in SDG target 17.14, which calls on countries to "enhance policy coherence for sustainable development. The report also includes contributions from member states on their policy mechanisms and institutional arrangements for implementing the SDGs at the national level.
This Review focuses on improving access to quality and timely services for citizens as a means to facilitate inclusive growth in the Dominican Republic. Despite its macroeconomic performance in the last decade, poverty and levels of inequalities remain high in the Dominican Republic. At the same time, citizens report limited satisfaction with the quality and access to services in the country, often reflected in less than optimal outcomes in areas such as health, transport or education. The review's focus on service delivery offers the opportunity to apply the concepts and tools of public governance at an operational level and with immediate implications for the government-citizen relationship. The inclusion of multidisciplinary good practices, collected through OECD work on public sector management, digital government, innovation or administrative simplification, allows a comprehensive but integrated assessment of the use of public policy levers for optimizing service design and delivery. By covering aspects relating both to the competence of government – in terms of the quality, timeliness and effectiveness of public services – and to the principles governing the provision of services – including engagement, accountability or inclusiveness, this review identifies policy recommendations to improve access, coverage and quality of public services, regardless of income levels, location and other social and economic factors – as a key lever to achieve more inclusive growth.
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Central Asia in early 2020 had a profound social and economic impact on a region still recovering from the effects of the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis and the 2014-15 commodity price shock. Structural weaknesses linked to both public- and private-sector capacities rendered the Central Asian countries particularly vulnerable to both the economic and public-health impacts of the crisis. In the short-term social and economic recovery will depend on the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns and support measures, but longer-term prospects will require steps to address these weaknesses. An ambitious reform agenda aimed at strengthening the foundations for a private sector-driven recovery is essential. Improvements to the business climate need to be complemented with measures to address longer-term challenges such as digitalisation and climate change. Prospects for recovery in Central Asia will therefore depend on the ability of governments to turn the crisis into an opportunity for deeper reform implementation. This report, part of an ongoing project co-financed by the European Union, explores the macro-economic impacts of the pandemic on the economies of Central Asia and assesses the overall policy responses of governments, including the factors affecting their policy options. The report then identifies four priority policy areas for a strong economic recovery: public revenue management, the business climate, digitalisation, and the green transition. It also explores one specific way to ensure that policies reflect needs of business through an analysis of the contribution of business intermediary organisations (BIOs) to private-sector recovery. It offers specific policy recommendations on these priorities for the region
Emerging and developing countries have grown faster than advanced countries since the 2000s. This shifting weight of global economic activity from 'the West' to 'East and South' is referred to as 'shifting wealth'. But in recent years, a number of factors, such as lower commodity prices, seem to have brought this movement to a pause. Is the period of rapid growth in the emerging world over? This anthology takes stock of the situation and goes beyond the 'shifting wealth' narrative. It offers a forward-looking perspective on global risks and development opportunities over the next 15 years. It collects the perspectives of thought leaders from developing and emerging economies, offering their views and solutions on the most pressing global development challenges.
The first chapter provides the OECD Development Centre's analysis of major development trends. These trends include: slowing growth in China, the end of the commodity super cycle, increasing difficulty accessing global financial markets, demographic transitions, faltering job creation, rapid urbanisation, the negative effects of climate change and conflict and security. These challenges also provide development opportunities. Twelve thought leaders and development practitioners from the global South explore these opportunities in four thematic chapters. They deal with issues such as: structural transformation in a new macro environment; inclusive societies; energy and the environment; and new forms of development co-operation.
The anthology provides a starting point for dialogue and exchange on these risks and challenges as well as potential solutions to them.
This report provides a year-by-year overview of the main trends in development finance with biodiversity-related objectives for the period 2015-22, considering a wide range of sources: bilateral providers from Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and beyond, including South-South and triangular co-operation providers; multilateral development banks and other multilateral institutions; private finance mobilised by development finance; and private philanthropy. The estimates are based on statistical data from the OECD and the International Forum on Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD), capturing both official development assistance and non-concessional development finance. They include breakdowns by provider, sector, financial instrument and recipient country grouping, as well as details on financial allocations to the mainstreaming of biodiversity, climate change, Indigenous peoples and local communities, and gender equality. The evidence aims to help DAC members and other stakeholders implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity and track the contribution of development finance against its Target 19 on resource mobilisation.
This book analyses the opportunities and conditions of employment throughout the Black Sea region and Central Asia. It examines how different countries deal with social issues affecting well-being. It presents, thus, both a country-based view and a whole-region analysis that will be useful for policy makers and civil society in responding to the challenges ahead. Countries covered include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
The world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs) are among those most at risk of being left behind. While official development assistance and domestic public resources remain essential for their development prospects, they alone will not be sufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. With the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the international community acknowledged the need for significant additional public and private finance, and development partners are increasingly focusing on blended approaches.
What are the trends in blended finance for LDCs? What can it achieve and how? The OECD and UNCDF are working together to shed new light on these issues. Building on a 2018 publication, this edition presents the latest data available on private finance mobilised in developing countries by official development finance, extending the previous analysis to cover 2016 and 2017 as well as longer-term trends from 2012 to 2017. It discusses the most recent international policy trends shaping the blended finance market, and what these might mean for LDCs. Stakeholders and practitioners also share their views on the challenges and opportunities in designing and implementing blended finance operations in LDCs.
The least developed countries (LDCs) are the furthest from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are also likely to be hit the hardest by the COVID-19 crisis and badly need the additional private finance that blended finance can unlock. Yet evidence shows that too little private finance is mobilised for investment in LDCs. How can this be fixed?
The Blended Finance in the Least Developed Countries 2020 report is the third edition and second joint UNCDF-OECD report. It builds on UNCDF research and transactional experience, OECD data and analysis on private finance mobilized by official development finance, and a series consultations with and contributions by blended finance experts, LDC governments, UN missions, donors, civil society and research institutions. The report provides an update on the deployment of blended finance in LDCs. It also analyses its potential role in helping those countries recover from the COVID-19 crisis, and provides an Action Agenda for unlocking capital for the achievement of the SDGs in LDCs, as called for in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
The development of liquid, sound and deep bond markets has become one of the most important policy issues in the financial sector in Asian countries. In fact, though this issue has been discussed for a while now, the Asian financial crisis re-emphasised its importance, and it is worth discussing this issue in the framework of the post-crisis landscape.
The second "Round Table on Capital Market Reforms in Asia" held in Tokyo in April 2000, which was organised by the OECD and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), focused on bond market development in Asia. Bond market development involves a number of inter-related issues and it is not an easy task, especially for emerging economies. Though there have been a number of positive developments in Asia in this field, it is also true that it takes time for a bond market to become well-developed in Asia. This publication is based on a summary of the proceedings of the second Round Table, together with papers on the experience of both Asian and OECD countries presented at the meeting and on the discussions by the participants. This volume will surely serve as an indispensable source of information on capital market reform, and in particular on bond market development in Asia; it will constitute a reference book on those topics for policy-makers and experts in both the public and private sectors.
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.
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 book is the product of a collaborative effort between the OECD Environment and Development Co-operation directorates on mainstreaming responses to climate change in development planning and assistance. This volume synthesises insights from six country case studies that review climate change impacts and vulnerabilities, analyse relevant national plans and aid investments in terms of their exposure and attention to climate risks, and examine in-depth key systems where climate change is closely intertwined with development and natural resource management. The case studies cover the Nepal Himalayas, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Nile in Egypt, the Bangladesh Sundarbans, coastal mangroves in Fiji, and agriculture and forestry sectors in Uruguay.
Overall, the volume suggests a rich agenda for research and policy action which should be of considerable interest to donor agencies, sectoral planners and development practioners, as well as climate change experts and policy makers.
In Kenya, collaboration across sectors to foster sustainable development has been recently gaining momentum. Development players have started to work together more closely due to the ambitious scope of Agenda 2030, the limited financial resources available and the need to achieve greater scale. Other factors influencing this trend include new development strategies and tools such as venture philanthropy and the use of basket funds to pursue more sustainable development. Governments, which are the primary drivers of development, have been keen to plug into these new vehicles. Some have provided non-state players, such as the private sector, social businesses, and philanthropists, with a strong policy and regulatory environment, while others have co-financed initiatives. However, the nature, scope and impact of these partnerships have not often been captured. This study provides an overview of the current state of collaboration between foundations and the government in Kenya and offers recommendations for enhancement. It is based on the three pillars of the Guidelines for Effective Philanthropic Engagement (“the Guidelines”): dialogue, data and knowledge sharing, and partnerships. The Guidelines were developed under the leadership of the OECD Network of Foundations Working for Development (netFWD), together with the Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS), the European Foundation Centre (EFC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Stars Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.
This report analyses the experiences of India, Kenya, Mexico and Myanmar in implementing the Guidelines for Effective Philanthropic Engagement, to bring foundations and governments closer together on a theme of common interest. This report compares the results of surveys led in the four countries between 2015 and 2016 to diagnose the level and nature of engagement between foundations and governments (see Box 2 for more information). The report starts by sketching the country contexts and highlighting their specificities. It then presents some key findings on aspects such as differences in the level of engagement between countries or the benefits of dialogue, as well as transversal challenges. It ends by suggesting drivers for engagement. The report will be updated as more countries commit to implement the Guidelines.