The global risk landscape is rapidly evolving due to interconnected economies, societies, and technologies. To manage emerging critical risks, governments must anticipate, understand, and address these risks, which are transboundary, highly uncertain, and systemic. This Framework, supporting the OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Critical Risks, outlines a seven-step process for managing such risks. The steps include identifying and assessing risks, sharing information, evaluating management maturity, and developing strategic recommendations. Exercises are conducted to validate gaps and proposed solutions, while strategic plans ensure flexibility and adaptability in response to risks. Implementation integrates these emerging risks into traditional risk management processes, fostering resilience against current and future challenges. It provides a structured process for governments to validate identified gaps in knowledge, authorities and capabilities needed to manage emerging risks and to validate plans for building-in flexibility and adaptability to unforeseen or poorly understood risks.

Child rights advocates, parents, governments, and children themselves are increasingly calling for digital safety by design, so that children can be protected online, and also benefit from positive digital experiences. However, the exact meaning of digital safety by design can be unclear. This report explores the concept, considering how it is addressed at international and national levels. Internationally, there are common calls for the proactive integration of safety measures into digital products and services, as well as for transparent, accountable and child-friendly service delivery. National laws prescribe practical tools and measures such as age assurance and accessible complaint mechanisms. Focusing on actions for digital service providers, the report suggests eight key components for digital safety by design for children, including practical tools, measures to foster a culture of safety, and harm mitigation strategies. These components are illustrated through case studies, highlighting a need for diverse and tailored approaches.

This report assesses the potential of decarbonising heavy-duty trucks in India with zero-emission technologies, focusing on battery-electric technology. It presents a four-pillared roadmap for a transition to zero-emission trucks that addresses technology, infrastructure and operations, financing, and policy interventions for India. It achieves this by identifying economically feasible truck segments (based on weight classification) for the transition, along with strategies for developing support infrastructure and innovative financing models.

For the first time ever, PISA measured the creative thinking skills of 15-year-old students across the world. Alongside assessments in mathematics, science and reading, students in 64 countries and economies sat an innovative test that assessed their capacity to generate diverse and original ideas, as well as to evaluate and improve upon others’ ideas in creative tasks. These ranged from written and visual expression to scientific and social problem solving. This PISA in Focus highlights some of the main findings from Volume III of PISA 2022. It focuses on the main factors linked to students’ creative thinking performance, including their proficiency in other academic subjects, their gender, socio-economic profile, views on creativity, attitudes, social-emotional characteristics and their school environment.

The social and solidarity economy (SSE) is gaining traction in public policy at subnational, national and international level. However, despite increasing interest, available data on the SSE remain limited. Collecting data on the SSE helps better understand its reach and contribution to the total economy, while also helping policy makers to design effective policies for its promotion and SSE actors to access new audiences, markets and finance. The OECD produced country fact sheets for 34 countries to provide a snapshot of their social and solidarity economy at the national level, collating information on official definitions, number and size of entities, employment patterns, sectors of activity and economic contribution as well as surrounding legal frameworks and social impact initiatives. This paper looks at commonalities across these countries in their SSE ecosystems to present overall insights and trends.

The increase in human longevity is a major achievement, which brings individual well-being and strong contributions to society, but population ageing also generates challenges. This paper documents demographic trends in OECD countries, highlighting that ageing today largely reflects past fertility, longevity, and migration developments. Policies have moderate or delayed impacts on population ageing, hence they should also focus on adapting to ongoing demographic trends. The paper quantifies ageing’s potential impacts on labour supply and GDP per capita, showing that the extension of working lives as longevity rises could mitigate, but not completely offset, the negative effects of ageing on employment. It also examines how ageing may affect productivity through various micro and macroeconomic mechanisms. Finally, it provides policy directions for addressing the ageing challenge, through supporting healthy ageing, boosting employment, job quality and labour mobility in all age groups, and promoting older workers’ productivity by further developing lifelong learning and fostering an age-friendly management culture.

Housing affordability has deteriorated in the past decade. There is scope for eliminating barriers to expand housing supply by reforming land use policy and streamlining the administration of building permits. Measures can be taken to promote the expansion of the rental market and reform housing taxation to reduce the bias in favour of owner-occupied housing. Ensuring adequate supply and funding for construction and operation of social housing is crucial to improve living conditions for the most vulnerable. Accelerating the formalisation of property rights in Roma settlements would help to provide basic infrastructures for adequate access to water and sanitation. Implementing stricter regulation and targeted financial assistance to households most in need would help incentivise housing renovations, reduce energy poverty and advance environmental objectives.

The frequency and severity of extreme wildfires are on the rise in Greece, causing unprecedented disruption and increasingly challenging the country’s capacity to contain losses and damages. These challenges are set to keep growing in the context of climate change, highlighting the need to scale up wildfire prevention and climate change adaptation. This paper provides an overview of Greece's wildfire policies and practices and assesses the extent to which wildfire management in the country is evolving to adapt to growing wildfire risk under climate change.

With interest rates at their highest levels in two decades, subnational governments (SNGs) are grappling with growing debt sustainability concerns. This paper investigates SNGs’ financing vulnerabilities by examining their debt levels and sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations. It provides an in-depth analysis of SNG debt portfolios, with a particular focus on marketable debt or bonds. While most SNG bonds have fixed rates and long maturities, some jurisdictions are significantly exposed to interest rate and foreign currency risks. Simulations reveal that interest expenses could rise substantially for some SNGs. Yet, worryingly, the variation in borrowing costs among SNGs within countries is often limited, suggesting potential weaknesses in market discipline. To navigate these challenges, the paper briefly explores how well-crafted fiscal rules, tax autonomy, and insolvency frameworks can help mitigate risks. It also highlights the need for further assessment of bank loans, as systematic information remains scarce. The paper provides insights for policymakers seeking to address risks and inform future reforms of SNG bond markets, reinforcing market discipline and bolstering fiscal resilience.

Even as countries have long emerged from the dramatic restrictions imposed on populations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, an important subset of people infected with COVID-19 continue to struggle with symptoms, in some cases debilitating, that persist for weeks or even months after their initial infection. The analysis in this paper looks at the burden of long COVID across OECD countries. It examines its implications for the health of individuals and how long COVID may impact productivity and the labour force, as well as what countries are doing to address the condition. It further identifies priorities for improving care for people living with long COVID.

OECD countries are increasingly investing in better understanding the potential value of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve public governance. The use of AI by the public sector can increase productivity, responsiveness of public services, and strengthen the accountability of governments. However, governments must also mitigate potential risks, building an enabling environment for trustworthy AI. This policy paper outlines the key trends and policy challenges in the development, use, and deployment of AI in and by the public sector. First, it discusses the potential benefits and specific risks associated with AI use in the public sector. Second, it looks at how AI in the public sector can be used to improve productivity, responsiveness, and accountability. Third, it provides an overview of the key policy issues and presents examples of how countries are addressing them across the OECD.

As part of broader digitalisation efforts, half of public employment services (PES) in OECD countries are employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance their services. AI is being adopted across all key tasks of PES, including most commonly to match jobseekers with vacancies. While several PES have been using such tools for a decade, adoption of AI has been increasing in recent years as these become more accessible. New AI use cases have emerged to assist employers in designing vacancy postings and jobseekers in their career management and job-search strategies. AI initiatives have significant impact on PES clients, changing how they interact with the PES and receive support, and PES staff, altering their day-to-day work. As PES seek to maximise the opportunities brought by AI, proactive steps should be taken to mitigate associated risks. Key considerations for PES include prioritising transparency of AI algorithms and explainability of results, establishing governance frameworks, ensuring end-users (staff and clients) are included and supported in the development and adoption process, and committing to rigorous monitoring and evaluation to increase the positive and manage any negative impact of AI solutions.

Subnational governments face a range of fiscal risks, defined as events whose realisation leads to significant deviations of revenue and/or expenditure from budgeted amounts. Fiscal risks reflect unforeseen macroeconomic developments, as well as structural shifts in the economy, including digitalisation and climate change. Sound management of these risks requires a comprehensive framework involving their identification, analysis, mitigation, sharing or transfer, and prudent accommodation. Within this framework, subnational governments need to strengthen their capacity to manage their own risks, but national governments also have a role to play. This includes mitigating risks created by national policies, minimising moral hazard in supporting subnational governments affected by exogenous shocks, and using their legislative powers to avert excessive subnational risk-taking. Effective intergovernmental cooperation is key to the sound management of subnational fiscal risks. The paper discusses how different levels of government can work together in applying this framework to the main types of risks. It also provides some examples of good international practices in the management of risks.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data is essential for tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement’s global temperature goals. In addition to the emissions inventories based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines, which are used for tracking progress under the framework of the Paris Agreement, there are other GHG emissions datasets that cater to different users and policy objectives. This paper evaluates three OECD datasets on GHG emissions: Air emissions – Greenhouse gas emissions inventories, Agricultural greenhouse gases emissions, and the Air Emissions Accounts (AEAs) based on the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting. It also looks at one dataset from the International Energy Agency: CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. It discusses the inventory and AEA approaches in terms of accounting principles (production- versus demand-based, territory versus residence), as well as classifications and scope of emissions. It looks at the coverage of the GHG emissions datasets and identifies the data gaps. Finally, the paper outlines several steps to enhance data coverage and quality of the datasets.

Governments worldwide are increasingly adopting behavioural science methodologies to address "sludge" – the unjustified frictions impeding people' access to government services and exacerbating psychological burdens. Sludge audits, grounded in behavioural science, provide a structured approach for identifying, quantifying, and preventing sludge in public services and government processes. This document delineates Good Practice Principles, derived from ten case studies conducted during the International Sludge Academy, aimed at promoting the integration of sludge audit methodologies into public governance and service design. By enhancing government efficiency and bolstering public trust in government, these principles contribute to the broader agenda on administrative simplification, digital services, and public sector innovation.

Despite European Union efforts to fight discrimination as part of its Union of Equality strategies, it is difficult to analyse discrimination in EU Member States given the scarcity of official data sources. This paper uses new survey data to examine discrimination against people from racialised communities, LGBTIQ+ people, persons with disability and religious minorities. It explores the role discrimination plays in driving well-being gaps between at-risk groups and the majority of the population. Discrimination, particularly when it occurs frequently, is associated with severe effects across many aspects of people’s lives – constraining income-earning opportunities, exacerbating housing and financial stress, subjecting people to violence, fear and low self-esteem, and contributing to mental ill health. These consequences come at a huge personal cost to the individuals directly affected and to society as a whole.

Since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 10 million people have been displaced, either within Ukraine or abroad. Labour market integration of internally and externally displaced individuals remains challenging. While many immediate measures were undertaken in Ukraine and in host countries to support displaced Ukrainians, longer-term solutions are needed to enhance their human capital, and allow them not only to integrate into their receiving communities but also contribute to the recovery of Ukraine.

As populations age and the number of people with chronic conditions increases, countries need to assess how their health systems perform with regard to the management of chronic conditions. OECD's Patient-Reported Indicator Surveys (PaRIS) initiative aims to measure outcomes and experiences of healthcare as reported by patients with chronic conditions as part of the efforts to improve quality of care. The PaRIS survey, an international survey of people living with chronic conditions who are managed in primary care, is implemented in twenty countries. Following a rigorous design and development phase, the PaRIS survey was field-tested in participating countries. This paper reports on the implementation and the results of the Field Trial. The Field Trial provided important lessons which have been used to improve the survey tools and the implementation of the Main Survey.

Data plays an increasingly important role for online platforms and the majority of digital business models. Along with data becoming central to competition and the conduct of actors in digital markets, there has been an increase in data privacy regulations and enforcement worldwide. The interplay between competition and data privacy has prompted questions about whether data privacy and the collection of consumers’ data constitute an antitrust issue. Should competition considerations be factored into decisions by data protection authorities, and, if so, how can synergies between the two policy areas be enhanced and tensions overcome? This paper explores the links between competition and data privacy, their respective objectives, and how considerations pertaining to one policy area have been, or could be, included into the other. It investigates enforcement interventions and regulatory measures that could foster synergies or lead to potential challenges, and offers insights into models for co-operation between competition and data protection authorities. This is a joint working paper from the OECD Competition and Digital Economy Policy Secretariat.

Inter-municipal co-operation (IMC) has proved to be a constructive and efficient instrument in many EU and OECD countries for solving several issues at the local government level, including the lack of resources, administrative fragmentation, the investment burden of individual municipalities or better and more efficient organisation of public service provision. Although IMC is still often thought of as an alternative to the politically sensitive merging of small municipalities, nowadays its use has raised the interest of public administrations whose local governments are medium- and large-sized and that see this instrument as a way to empower local governments, provide them with more responsibilities, ensure sustainability of public services and fuel planning capacities and strategic thinking at the local and regional level. This paper summarises examples from EU and OECD countries where IMC either has a long-standing history or has recently received increased support and attention. It also provides an analysis of the legislative basis, support and incentives and practical data of IMC in the Western Balkan administrations. The paper offers several recommendations specific to the Western Balkan administrations for how to benefit from IMC.