This paper proposes an analytical framework to calculate an environmentally sustainable productivity index (ESPI) to address the multiple challenges faced at present by food systems. Using this framework, an empirical analysis covering 28 countries (anonymised) over three decades examines sustainable productivity performance including three environmental externalities: greenhouse gas emissions, and nitrogen and phosphorus surpluses. The results illustrate how the framework could be used to identify trends in environmentally sustainable productivity within and across countries. While this framework is flexible and can accommodate multiple environmental variables, its application requires appropriate and comparable data on agriculture production and related environmental performance, selecting methods to measure and aggregate groups of outputs and inputs into the productivity index, and choosing a weight for environmental externalities relative to commodity outputs. Sensitivity analyses, as well as comparisons with other approaches to measure sustainable productivity can be undertaken using this framework to ensure the robustness of the measurement. By supporting cross-section comparisons, the ESPI also has the potential to be used in statistical analysis to identify the economic and policy drivers of sustainable productivity performance.

Overcoming the challenges facing food systems requires producing more with fewer inputs, while reducing the impact on natural resources. Sustainable agricultural productivity growth involves using innovative technologies and practices that increase productivity, while also reducing pressures on the environment. While the economic productivity of agriculture is fundamental to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 of ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture, it is not enough. Agricultural activity growth also needs to ensure environmental and social sustainability.

Circular economy policies can aim to ensure that products placed on the market are environmentally sustainable throughout their lifecycle. These upstream circular economy policies can include initiatives to phase out hazardous substances, and enhance product durability, repairability, reusability, and recyclability. Policy instruments used to this end include Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, eco-labelling and information schemes, product-related standards, eco-design requirements, green public procurement, and fiscal policies. While these upstream circular economy policies are increasingly considered in policymaking, their linkages with international trade have received less attention, especially in contrast to downstream aspects such as trade in waste and scrap. These policies can have potential implications for trade, including creating synergies between trade and circular economy objectives (e.g. making traded products more recyclable), as well as unintended consequences (e.g. through regulatory fragmentation). This report aims to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the trade implications of upstream circular economy policies.

This paper analyses Veneto’s decentralised development co-operation (DDC) practices. Key issues include the need to review its strategic objectives, prioritise resource allocation and increase the representation of specific groups in project partnerships. Veneto’s 2023-2025 DDC strategy demonstrates a commitment to addressing these challenges by targeting critical areas of reform in governance, stakeholder engagement and project evaluation. Drawing on insights from four international case studies, this paper outlines detailed recommendations to enhance the strategy’s effectiveness, efficiency and inclusiveness and aims to integrate Veneto’s DDC engagements with local development opportunities. Leveraging sectoral champions and involving the private sector represent untapped potential, fostering a cycle of awareness and stronger public support for DDC in Veneto.

Korea’s fertility rate fell to 0.72 children per woman over her lifetime in 2023, the lowest in the world, while surveys show that people ideally would want more children. Employment and wage gaps between men and women are among the highest in the OECD, pointing to difficulties in combining careers and motherhood as a main culprit, combined with high spending on private education and housing. Family policies, labour market structures and gender norms combine to define the career-family trade-off, but high performance in one does not necessarily make up for gaps in the other two. OECD experience can guide Korea in its efforts to improve the situation. Korea has scaled up family policies considerably and compares well with other OECD countries on many indicators, but gaps remain to bring childcare fully in line with working parents’ needs. Parental leave eligibility is restricted and take-up low for a number of reasons including low replacement rates and weak legal protection against discrimination compared to OECD best practice. The adoption of flexible working arrangements is lower and working hours remain longer in Korea than in most other OECD countries, constraining the time available for family. Labour market duality leads young people to delay career starts and family formation and weakens their financial position. Social norms assign the responsibility for caregiving to mothers and charge fathers with being breadwinners much more strongly than in the rest of the OECD.

This literature review examines Korea's declining fertility rate in the past few decades, seeking to understand the interactions between women's employment, fertility, and associated policies, and making findings from Korean-language literature more accessible to an international audience. It reviews studies covering the demographic process of declining birth rates, women's labour supply, gender discrimination, and the effects of family policies aimed at making it easier to combine women's employment and childbirth. Women have over time gradually moved towards prioritising work over family when facing conflicts between the two. In the decades up until around 2010 women increasingly delayed marriage and childbirth and reduced the number of children over their lifetimes, but almost all women eventually got married and had at least one child. From the 2010s, more women choose to remain unmarried or married and childless. Family policies like childcare and parental leave have not been sufficient to make work and childrearing compatible in general and have therefore not had the desired effects on fertility and female employment. The effects of policy interventions vary based on factors like women's labour market position and access to support programmes like quality childcare. The analysis indicates that until employment and motherhood can be combined in a reasonable way for most women, the alternative cost of motherhood will remain high and fertility will remain low or fall even further.

Pension reforms, particularly those changing the normal retirement ages, are both crucial and controversial in ageing developed countries. This paper investigates the effects of such reforms on the labour market, focusing on the older-age employment rate. While existing cross-country estimates agree on a positive and significant effect of raising normal retirement ages, the estimated labour market effects are modest and usually much smaller than those derived from country-specific studies using micro data. This study attempts to reconcile these differences by introducing greater heterogeneity into the cross-country approach to better capture country-specific demographics and pension system characteristics, so that estimated effects are closer to those from single-country studies. Starting from a standard cross-country panel error correction model, several empirical innovations are introduced to better capture the influence of the demographic composition of countries, the possibility to retire at earlier ages, and the importance of private pension funds and early exit pathways. These changes result in larger and more heterogeneous predicted effects of changes in the normal retirement ages on the older-age employment rate and average age of labour market exit across countries. This suggests a greater and varied impact of pension reforms on the labour market than previously estimated with pooled cross-country estimations, emphasising the importance of considering countries’ demographic compositions and pension systems specificities when predicting the effects of pension reforms. The proposed model, distinguishing between minimum and normal retirement ages, allows for simulations on the effects of increasing normal retirement ages and narrowing the gap between normal and minimum retirement ages. In countries with the lowest older age employment rates, bridging these gaps could result in substantial increases in their employment rates.

Gender inequalities persist as a global challenge amidst the transition towards a green and digital future. These shifts towards environmental sustainability and digital societies mark a pivotal moment, offering significant opportunities to advance gender equality through new economic prospects and more diverse participation in decision-making processes. However, these transitions also highlight existing gender disparities, such as wage gaps and limited participation in leadership roles in both private and public spheres. In addition, the digital transformation exposes women to technology-facilitated gender-based violence and can increase young individuals' exposure to harmful content, reinforcing negative gender norms and stereotypes. To fully harness the opportunities presented by these global transitions, it is crucial to address labour market inequalities and ensure access to emerging job opportunities. Promoting the skills needed for success in the green, energy, and digital sectors, and integrating gender equality into policies and strategies, are essential steps. This paper, supporting the inaugural OECD Forum on Gender Equality, provides valuable insights into these transitions, highlighting both challenges and opportunities.

Les inégalités des genres restent un défi mondial dans le contexte des transitions verte et numérique. Ces changements vers la durabilité environnementale et les sociétés numériques marquent un tournant, offrant des opportunités significatives pour faire progresser l'égalité des genres, en ouvrant de nouvelles perspectives économiques et en pouvant favoriser une participation plus inclusive aux processus décisionnels. Toutefois, ces transitions mettent également en évidence les disparités existantes entre les genres, telles que les écarts de salaires et la participation limitée des femmes aux rôles décisionnels dans les sphères privée et publique. En outre, la transformation numérique expose les femmes à la violence basée sur le genre facilitée par la technologie et peut accroître l'exposition des jeunes à des contenus violents pouvant perpétuer des masculinités toxiques et des stéréotypes de genre néfastes. Pour exploiter pleinement les possibilités offertes par ces transitions mondiales, il est crucial de s'attaquer aux inégalités sur le marché du travail et de garantir l'accès aux nouvelles opportunités d'emploi. Promouvoir les compétences nécessaires pour réussir dans les secteurs de l'environnement, de l'énergie et du numérique, et intégrer l'égalité des genres dans les politiques et les stratégies sont des étapes essentielles. Ce document, élaboré à l'appui de la première édition du Forum de l'OCDE sur l'égalité des genres, propose un état des lieux approfondi sur l'égalité face aux transitions en cours, en soulignant à la fois les défis à relever et les opportunités à saisir.

The global productivity slowdown, characterised by a widespread deceleration in aggregate productivity growth rates, is a prevailing concern for policy makers and academics. In this context, this report summarises evidence on productivity growth and business dynamics, highlighting long-term trends and their drivers, as well as insights specific to the COVID-19 period, with relevant implications for future productivity and innovation. It underscores the role of productivity for employment and wages, and discusses challenges related to the digitalisation of the economy and the green transition. Additionally, it considers how the resurgence of industrial policies necessitates additional analysis to measure and coordinate government action.

Over the past two decades, urban population growth and rising incomes in West Africa have increased demand for diverse, convenient, safe and nutritious foods, including processed products. At the same time, urbanisation is changing foods environments —the physical, economic, and informational contexts that influence consumer food choices—with expected implications for nutrition. This paper assesses the current understanding of diets and food environment transformations in the region. Findings indicate a shift towards more nutritious foods, as well as oils, sweets, and high-fat products, with dietary changes varying across income groups. Food environments are growing more complex, with numerous outlets offering diverse products, but with inconsistent proximity and affordability. The rapid pace of these changes emphasizes the need for better data systems to update our understanding of food consumption patterns in the region and to capture their growing complexity.

This technical note presents a first stocktake of Swiss and Dutch mitigation and mitigation-relevant road transport policy instruments, and a preliminary mapping of these policies to the emissions they cover. This exercise informs the IFCMA's (Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches) stocktaking and mapping work. For the mapping, the note showcases an application of the novel concepts developed in the IFCMA paper, “Proposal for a Greenhouse Gas Mapping Methodology of Climate Change Mitigation and Climate Change Mitigation-Relevant Policy Instruments”.

Cities are pivotal hubs for the world’s population, economic activity, and cultural exchange, yet their advantages – such as density and interconnectedness – can be sources of vulnerability to crises ranging from natural disasters to economic shocks and pandemics. This report draws lessons from recent crises to provide a strategic framework for urban policymakers to bolster resilience against future shocks, including by promoting sustainability and driving inclusive growth. The report underscores the importance of resilience for cities to absorb, recover from, and adjust positively to shocks while adapting to long-term transitions. It presents nine lessons for rethinking urban policies, drawn from the experiences of recent crises and a compass for future-proof cities and urban policy through greater resilience, proximity, sufficiency, and justice. The report concludes by emphasising the importance of managing trade-offs and maximising synergies in urban policy to navigate the complexities of modern urban life by finding areas of mutual benefit between policy objectives such as economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social equity. City leaders are encouraged to work together with national governments, as advocated by the OECD Principles on Urban Policy, and to leverage foresight and new disciplines for strategic decision-making to ensure a bright, more resilient future for their residents.

In many OECD countries, the majority of social spending is financed from earmarked revenues, and a large share of revenues earmarked for any type of government spending is used for social purposes. Tying revenue sources to specific expenditure categories has a number of potential advantages and weaknesses. These trade-offs depend on the design and implementation of earmarking, and they can become more apparent when fiscal space is tight. In practice, provisions for linking revenues to programme spending differ widely, and they vary also by social protection branch within countries. This paper compares financing patterns and trends and provides examples of earmarking for social insurance and assistance programmes. It concludes with a discussion of carbon pricing as a potential source of financing social support programmes.

This paper provides an insight into the policy landscape for sustainable infrastructure in Thailand. It identifies opportunities for promoting responsible business conduct (RBC) in infrastructure development in the country and includes policy considerations on how to use RBC frameworks to further facilitate sustainable infrastructure investment. This paper is one of four papers analysing the role of responsible business conduct in enabling sustainable infrastructure.

This paper provides an insight into the policy landscape for sustainable infrastructure in the Philippines. It identifies opportunities for promoting responsible business conduct (RBC) in infrastructure development in the country and includes policy considerations on how to use RBC frameworks to further facilitate sustainable infrastructure investment. This paper is one of four papers analysing the role of responsible business conduct in enabling sustainable infrastructure.

Le présent document propose une méthodologie pour cartographier les instruments d’action en fonction du périmètre des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES). Il vise à soutenir les efforts déployés dans le cadre du Forum inclusif sur les approches d’atténuation des émissions de carbone (Forum inclusif) pour améliorer la compréhension des politiques des pays en termes approches d’atténuation des émissions de carbone, en proposant un inventaire complet et systématique des instruments d’actions et en mettant en place une base de données correspondante. La méthodologie de cartographie des émissions de GES est conçue pour être inclusive, couvrant un large éventail d'instruments politiques pertinents pour l’atténuation du changement climatique, et est appliquée aux études pilotes nationales dans le cadre du Forum inclusif. Le document développe plusieurs concepts et définitions clés et propose une approche en cinq étapes qui se concentre sur la conception administrative de l'instrument d’action, sa base réglementaire et les obligations légales établies dans le cadre réglementaire. Enfin, le document présente deux exemples de cartographie des GES issues d'une des premières études pilotes du Forum inclusif (Chili).

To meet the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, Spain will need to take further climate action in the years ahead. Enhanced policy measures, such as taxes, subsidies and standards, will have implications for the public budget and for the economy. This paper quantifies these implications by comparing two scenarios developed with the ENV-Linkages model: a baseline with current policies, and a net-zero scenario in which more ambitious climate policy measures are implemented to reduce CO₂ emissions. The analysis shows that ambitious climate action and economic growth can go hand-in-hand. While the consequences for the public budget will be strongly influenced by the chosen climate policy instruments, the findings illustrate that the changes in net fiscal revenues induced by additional climate policy can be small compared to the overall size of government revenues in 2050.

Countries are increasingly turning to industrial policy to address concerns over climate change, energy security and strategic autonomy. This paper explores the potential and risks of green industrial policies with a focus on green subsidies, and illustrates some key design considerations that governments should take into account when providing such support. To get green industrial policy right, governments need to ensure that support is targeted, time-bound, and accompanied by effective monitoring and evaluation. Large data gaps remain on the scale, scope and impact of green industrial policy — filling these and co-operating internationally on good-practice policy design will be essential to minimise risk and realise the full benefits green industrial policies can offer.