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Highly publicised outbreaks of food-borne diseases have put food safety at the heart of a topical debate. Demands for increased food safety regulation and stricter enforcement have gained momentum. In fact, consumer concerns go well beyond basic food safety. The quality of food and how it is produced, animal welfare, the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), hormones and other growth promoters, cultural preferences, resource sustainability and protection of the environment have all become major issues in the public debate over regulation of the food industry. The issues are complex and the required policy response remains unclear. With the strengthening of international rules, increased trade in consumer food products and the growing use of biotechnology, trade conflicts over food regulatory issues and their reform could become more common. The economic stakes are high and such disputes are likely to remain a priority in the future trade agenda. This report examines the trade conflicts arising from food safety and quality issues. It summarises the key international agreements, illustrates the range and nature of current disputes, reviews the potential contributions of economic analysis to conflict resolution, and identifies areas requiring further analysis.
This reliable source of annual commodity trade data provides detailed statistics in value by commodity and by partner country for trade of OECD countries with most partner countries. This issue covers 1993-1998 for Hungary, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, spain, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
For each country, this publication provides tables relating to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), Revision 3, Sections and Divisions (one and two digit). Each table shows both imports and exports over the latest six-year period available by commodity with about one hundred partner countries or country groupings.
The aim of every politician is to transform the city into an environmentally sustainable entity. However, while the planning and organisation of passenger services within cities is commonly perceived as a major issue, freight transport is not given the full attention it deserves. As a general rule, the role which freight transport plays in the economy of cities is simply not understood. What invariably attracts attention, on the other hand, is the added pollution and congestion caused by freight transport.
Europe has recently produced a host of new urban development schemes which place more or less severe restrictions on freight movements in cities. While some cities have introduced measures in line with the town planning objectives of territorial development plans, others have adopted short-term solutions to traffic management problems. Since we know that cities are living entities whose vital processes can be disrupted, how can we be sure that all of these measures are a step in the right direction? Our lack of experience makes this a question we would be well advised to consider.
The Round Table reviewed the various aspects of freight transport by examining experiences in different countries and by discussing some of the more innovatory approaches adopted.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is one of the driving forces binding countries into closer economic interdependence. The rapid increase in FDI flows has generated considerable debate about its environmental implications, in particular the impacts on environmental quality in the investment host country. A broader issue is the role of FDI in promoting sustainable development. To date, much of the debate has been polemical in nature. This volume moves the debate forward by analysing in a clear and considered manner the key issues in the FDI and environment relationship. Empirical evidence from OECD and non-OECD countries is presented and the strengths and weaknesses of policy and institutional frameworks that guide investors' environmental behaviour are discussed. In addition, the emerging role of voluntary commitments on the environment is examined. Best practices in this area are highlighted. The papers were presented at the OECD Conference on Foreign Direct Investment and the Environment held in January 1999 in The Hague.
What is the investment policy orientation in Latin America in the light of the present world financial environment? What are the perspectives for developing a multilateral framework for investment rules and what would be the Latin American involvement in this effort? How can appropriate policies and regulatory environment for attracting foreign direct investment in Latin America be created?
These were the main issues of the Lima Workshop on "Foreign Direct Investment Policy and Promotion in Latin America" organised in December 1998 by the OECD and the Commission of the European Union in co-operation with the Peruvian Government. This set of texts can constitute a reference work on foreign investment policy for policy makers and experts in the public sector, actors in the private sector and academics both in emerging market economies and in OECD countries.
This reliable source of annual commodity trade data provides detailed statistics in value by commodity and by partner country for trade of OECD countries with most partner countries. This issue covers 1992-1997 for Austria, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.
For each country, this publication shows detailed tables relating to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), Revision 3, Sections and Divisions (one and two digit). Each table shows both imports and exports over the latest six-year period available by commodity with about one hundred partner countries or country groupings (e.g. NAFTA, etc.).
This collection of experiences of fiscal decentralisation across a wide range of OECD-Member and non-member economies reveals lessons which are equally of relevance to both groups of countries. A major finding is that fiscal decentralisation is often confused in the latter group of countries with the removal of central-government control over subnational finances. This is a mistake; it may lead to fiscal irresponsibility on the part of local authorities, deteriorating fiscal positions at both levels, and high costs due to duplication of fiscal institutions. The book also finds that insufficient attention has been given to local revenue generation, as opposed to intergovernmental transfers.
The issue of fiscal decentralisation in emerging economies is particularly important, because it arises, in part, from a desire to enhance democracy and local accountability. However, the devolution of responsibilities must take place in an atmosphere of transparency, where the local expertise exists to manage budgeting. Serious consideration must be given to revenue sourcing and effective expenditure control. Finally, local spending must match available revenues without becoming an additional strain on central government resources.
This reliable source of annual commodity trade data provides detailed statistics in value by commodity and by partner country for trade of OECD countries with most partner countries. This issue covers 1992-1997 for the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
For each country, this publication shows detailed tables relating to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), Revision 3, Sections and Divisions (one and two digit). Each table shows both imports and exports over the latest six-year period available by commodity with about one hundred partner countries or country groupings (e.g. NAFTA, etc.).
Rapid globalisation has brought substantial benefits to developing Asia, but it has also heightened the risks associated with policy mistakes, weak financial institutions, and problems in corporate and public governance. The 1997 Asian crisis has demonstrated the urgent need to rethink the sequencing and comprehensiveness of financial liberalisation. Would further opening of Asia's financial systems be helpful or counterproductive in fostering financial stability? What structural reforms do emerging economies need to undertake to ensure that capital inflows are transformed into productive investment? Which regulatory and other requirements would have to be attached to further financial liberalisation? And what role should international organisations and the private sector play in crisis resolution?
This volume seeks to provide answers to these questions by discussing the roots of the Asian financial crisis and suggesting some constructive approaches to crisis resolution. It was produced jointly by the Asian Development Bank and OECD Development Centre based on their fourth joint annual Forum on Asian Perspectives.
OECD's journal on international financial markets. This issue includes articles on recent developments, structural and regulatory developments, financial market implications of ageing populations, financial security of private pension systems, development of capital markets in Asia, and FDI.
What is "entrepreneurship"? It is much more than the competition and risk taking of starting your own business. Enterprises create jobs and wealth. Without the dynamism they bring to the economy, the challenges of globalisation and structural change would be all but insurmountable. Fostering entrepreneurship means channelling entrepreneurial drive into a dynamic process which takes advantage of all the opportunities the economy can provide. This book analyses the factors that favour entrepreneurship and the obstacles that hinder it. It is the first to provide an international synthesis of entrepreneurship policies undertaken in countries as diverse as Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United States. Despite varying degrees of entrepreneurship from one country to another, international comparisons show that success comes from a synergy between a conducive institutional environment, well-designed government programmes and supportive cultural factors. To flourish, entrepreneurship requires efficient financial markets, a flexible labour market, a simpler and more transparent corporate taxation system and bankruptcy rules better adapted to the realities of the business world. This book examines experiences in all of these fields, as well as addressing the increasingly important roles played by local and regional authorities, the contribution of entrepreneurship in the non-profit sector, and the emergence of entrepreneurship in transition economies. Clearly, the right balance between these factors is not easy to strike. But strike it we must, because fostering entrepreneurship is not only a major economic imperative but also an urgent challenge that must be met to reconcile the goals of economic growth and social cohesion. This book is the most recent in a series on the OECD Jobs Strategy and an integral part of this international organisation’s broader mission to develop public policies to help OECD economies adapt to structural change and globalisation. This publication was prepared under the supervision of the OECD’s Territorial Development Service.
This study examines the link between FDI and development in six dynamic non-Member economies: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. These countries have all adopted different policies towards FDI in the past, but to a great extent they are all converging on a more open approach. This greater openness, and the overall economic reforms of which FDI liberalisation is but one part, will provide a more fertile environment in which to reap the potential benefits from FDI. FDI can play a key role in improving the capacity of the host country to respond to the opportunities offered by global economic integration, a goal increasingly recognised as one of the key aims of any development strategy. In an environment made more competitive by a decade of economic reforms, many restrictions to FDI in these host countries are at best ineffective and at worst counter-productive.
OECD's journal on international financial markets. In addition to it's assessment of recent developments, this issue includes article on ageing populations, trends in FDI, the development of securities markets in transition economies, and structural and regulatory developments.
Major nuclear regulatory challenges will arise from government policies to liberalise energy sectors. In a context of growing competition and market deregulation, it is becoming increasingly important to reconcile commercial interests with safety requirements. For nuclear regulatory bodies, the first challenge will be to ensure that economic pressures do not erode nuclear safety. In their strive to maintain nuclear safety culture, regulatory bodies will also need to adapt to an increasingly market-oriented environment and new working relationships with operators. This report identifies the challenges that regulators are likely to be confronted with over the next ten years.
OECD's Journal on financial markets. In addition to the usuual survery of recent developments, this issue includes chapters on shareholder value and the market in corporate control and on the new banking landscape in Central and Eastern Europe.
Financial Market Trends provides, three times each year, an assessment of trends and prospects in the international and major domestic financial markets of the OECD area. Each issue includes comprehensive commentary, statistics, and graphs on current developments in internationally syndicated medium-term euro-credits, other international bank lending, euro-bonds and traditional foreign bond issues, and a review of monetary and financial trends in major OECD Member countries. This issue's special features cover the Impact of Institutional Investors on OECD Financial Markets and the annual report of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.
OECD's three-time-yearly report on financial markets in its Member countries. This issue's special report focuses on recent trends in foreign direct investment. There are also some new statistics on institutional investment in OECD countries.
OECD's three-times-yearly analysis of trends and developments in national and international financial markets. This issue's special feature covers recent trends in privatisation.