Well-timed and targeted innovation boosts productivity, increases economic growth and helps solve societal problems. But how can governments encourage more people to innovate more of the time? And how can government itself be more innovative?
The OECD Innovation Strategy provides a set of principles for fostering innovation in people (workers and consumers), in firms and in government. It takes an in-depth look at the scope of innovation and how it is changing, as well as where and how it is occurring. The result is the formulation of far-reaching policies for innovation using recent research and data.
"a thoughtful new report on how governments can do better at spurring and measuring innovation." The Economist
This publication examines the opportunities and challenges, for business and government, associated with technologies bringing about the “next production revolution”. These include a variety of digital technologies (e.g. the Internet of Things and advanced robotics), industrial biotechnology, 3D printing, new materials and nanotechnology. Some of these technologies are already used in production, while others will be available in the near future. All are developing rapidly. As these technologies transform the production and the distribution of goods and services, they will have far-reaching consequences for productivity, skills, income distribution, well-being and the environment. The more that governments and firms understand how production could develop in the near future, the better placed they will be to address the risks and reap the benefits.
In 2000 commentators everywhere were hailing the boom in some western economies as the dawn of a new economy. In 2001, with a slowdown biting in the US economy, dot.coms folding and information and communications technology firms feeling the pinch globally, the headline writers have swung the other way, saying that it was all a myth. Was it?
The New Economy: Beyond the Hype looks past the elation and gloom to help policymakers think and act with the facts. It explores the causes of the discrepancy in economic performance in the OECD area. It shows that while technology has had a pervasive and profound effect on economies and societies, it alone was not the reason for fast growth. What counts more is how that technology is put to work. The book argues forcefully that whatever the outlook for the business cycle, we are now faced with a new economic environment. It urges policymakers to adopt a comprehensive growth strategy combining five policy areas that can engage ICT, human capital, innovation and entrepreneurship in the growth process alongside policies to mobilise labour and increase investment for the long term. Naturally, good fundamentals -- macroeconomic stability, openness and competition, as well as sound economic and social institutions, and proper social protection -- are a prerequisite for success.
Analysts and policy makers have made increasing use of patent indicators to analyse the rate and direction of technological activity. The Patents Manual, issued in 1994, provides information on how patent data can be used as indicators, and also shows how these can be linked to other statistics on science, technology and economic activity (R&D, scientific publications, trade, production, etc.).
The Frascati Manual, issued in 1994, is the basic international source of methodology for collecting and using research and development statistics. This fifth edition reflects recent changes in the structure of national science and technology systems and revisions in standard international classifications.
This publication reviews progress made since the 2008 OECD Seoul Declaration for the Future of the Internet Economy and identifies areas for future work. Seven themes are addressed in the work as follows:
- High-speed infrastructure
- Digital content and green ICTs
- The development of smarter applications
- Cybersecurity and privacy
- Consumer empowerment and protection
- An open Internet economy
- Global participation for development.
Overall, the review shows that the Internet economy has now reached a point where it has become a new source of growth, with the potential to boost the whole economy, to foster innovation, competitiveness and user participation, and to contribute effectively to the prosperity of society as a whole.
Globalisation is quickly reshaping the international economic landscape, resulting in an increasing global supply of science and technology (S&T) resources and capabilities. This book analyses trends in the offshoring of R&D, examines its drivers and motivations, and identifies implications for innovation policy. It examines the internationalisation of R&D through foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational enterprises (MNEs), which account for the bulk of business R&D in the OECD area. It also discusses complementary aspects of the global innovation landscape, such as the internationalisation of science, the growing importance of international technology co-operation and the growing international mobility of researchers.
Well-timed and targeted innovation boosts productivity, increases economic growth and helps solve societal problems. But how can governments encourage more people to innovate more of the time? And how can government itself be more innovative?
The OECD Innovation Strategy provides a set of principles to spur innovation in people, firms and government. It takes an in-depth look at the scope of innovation and how it is changing, as well as where and how it is occurring, based on updated research and data.
Nanotechnology has its origin in the converging abilities of physics, chemistry and materials science. Its purpose is the manipulation of atoms and molecules in order to create new properties of materials and systems for a wide variety of applications in a very broad range of sectors. Nanotechnology is forecast to create large markets and many new jobs and may be the springboard for industrial renewal and long-term growth. Governments around the world have targeted this emerging technology in their R&D investments and are strategising about the best ways to promote the responsible development and use of nanotechnology given the absence of any in-depth analysis of its commercialisation.
What are the potential economic impacts of nanotechnology, how are companies using nanotechnology for innovation, and what are the key challenges in its commercialisation? These are some of the issues that this book addresses, based on a large number of company case studies in several countries.
This report aims at assisting tax authorities in designing and implementing an effective Value Added Tax/Goods and Services Tax (VAT/GST) policy response to the growth of the sharing and gig economy. The rise of this phenomenon, powered by digital platforms, has transformed a number of industries within just a few short years. It involves large numbers of new economic operators (often private individuals), who monetise (often) underutilised goods and services by offering these, via digital platforms, for temporary (“shared”) use by primarily private consumers. Questions have been raised whether existing VAT/GST policy and administration frameworks are sufficiently capable of dealing with this new economic reality notably with a view to protecting VAT/GST revenue and minimising economic distortions. This report sets out the core components of a comprehensive VAT/GST policy strategy for tax authorities to consider in response. It analyses the key features of the sharing and gig economy and its main business models; identifies the associated VAT/GST challenges and opportunities; and presents a wide range of possible measures and approaches to support an effective policy response. This includes detailed guidance on the possible role of digital platforms in facilitating and enhancing VAT/GST compliance in the sharing and gig economy.
Most countries offer a range of policies focused on assisting and encouraging mobility, although few have a specific and coherent mobility strategy. Many nations aim to attract the same pool of highly skilled talent; thus, relying on international flows to fill existing or future gaps in supply may entail risks. Addressing shortcomings in national policies that may limit domestic supply of skilled workers, and ensuring that the wider environment for innovation and scientific endeavour is sound, are key policy challenges for countries.
This book addresses the rising productivity gap between the global frontier and other firms, and identifies a number of structural impediments constraining business start-ups, knowledge diffusion and resource allocation (such as barriers to up-scaling and relatively high rates of skill mismatch).
Analysis based on micro and industry-level data highlights the importance of reallocation-friendly policies, including well-functioning product, labour and risk capital markets, efficient judicial systems, bankruptcy laws that do not excessively penalise failure, housing policies that do not unduly restrict labour mobility, and improvements in public funding and organisation of basic research which do not excessively favour applied vs basic research and incumbents vs young firms.
This report explores likely future changes in family and household structures in OECD countries; identifies what appear to be the main forces shaping the family landscape between now and 2030; discusses the longer-term challenges for policy arising from those expected changes; and on the basis of the three subsequent thematic chapters, suggests policy options for managing the challenges on a sustainable basis.
The development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to expand opportunities for the achievement of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including gender equality.
Taking a closer look at the intersection of gender and technology, this collaboration between UNESCO, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) examines the effects of AI on the working lives of women. This report describes the challenges and opportunities presented by the use of emerging technology such as AI from a gender perspective. The report highlights the need for more focus and research on the impacts of AI on women and the digital gender gap, in order to ensure that women are not left behind in the future of work.
Earth's orbits are polluted by more than 100 million debris objects that pose a collision threat to satellites and other spacecraft. The risk of perturbing highly valuable space-based services critical to life on Earth, such as weather monitoring and disaster management, is making debris mitigation an urgent policy challenge. This book provides the latest findings from the OECD project on the economics of space sustainability, which aims to improve decision makers’ understanding of the societal value of space infrastructure and costs of space debris. It provides comprehensive evidence on the growth of space debris, presents methods to evaluate and quantify the value of the satellites at risk and discusses ways to ensure a more sustainable use of the orbital environment. It notably includes case studies from Italy, Japan and Korea on the socio-economic value of different types of space infrastructure and discusses the feasibility and optimal design of fiscal measures and voluntary environmental rating schemes to change operator behaviour. This work is informed by contributions from researchers worldwide involved in the OECD project.
Though only three years old, electronic commerce over the Internet has the potential to transform the marketplace. E-commerce will change the way business is conducted. Traditional intermediary functions will be replaced, new products and markets will be developed, and new relationships will be created between business and consumers. It will alter the way work is organised and open new channels of knowledge diffusion and human interactivity in the workplace. Workers will need to be more flexible as their functions and skills are redefined. The changes e-commerce will bring are far-reaching. They require new frameworks for doing business and a re-examination of government policies relating to commerce and skills. What is electronic commerce? What is the current state and likely future direction of e-commerce? What are the drivers and what are the inhibitors? What is its impact on costs, prices, and ultimately on economic efficiency? How is it affecting intermediaries? How do firms compete in the electronic environment? What market structure is likely to emerge? What is the impact on jobs? What types of skills will be needed? What major societal transformations will it entail? The full impact of e-commerce remains to be seen. This book begins to address these questions and provides a ground-breaking assessment of the economic and social impacts of electronic commerce and its effects on jobs by drawing on existing qualitative and quantitative evidence. This early analysis of an extremely dynamic activity identifies a number of areas where research is urgently needed and serves as the basis for an informed policy debate.
Information and communications technology (ICT) has become a key driver of economic growth over the past decade. The rapid diffusion of the Internet, of mobile telephony and of broadband networks all demonstrate how pervasive this technology has become. But how precisely does ICT affect economic growth and the efficiency of firms? And how well can these effects be measured?
This report provides an overview of the economic impact of ICT on economic performance, and the ways through which it can be measured. Using available OECD data, the first part of the book examines the available measures of ICT diffusion, the role and impact of ICT investment and the role of ICT-using and ICT-producing sectors in overall economic performance. The second part of the book offers nine studies for OECD countries, based on detailed firm-level data and prepared by researchers and statisticians from a wide range of OECD countries. These studies use a variety of methods and provide detailed insights on the effects of ICT in individual countries.
Counterfeiting and piracy are illicit businesses in which criminal networks thrive. The report shows that the items that they and other counterfeiters and pirates produce and distribute are often substandard and can even be dangerous, posing health and safety risks that range from mild to life-threatening. Economy-wide, counterfeiting and piracy undermine innovation, which is key to economic growth.
The magnitude and effects of counterfeiting and piracy are of such significance that they compel strong and sustained action from governments, business and consumers. More effective enforcement is critical in this regard, as is the need to build public support to combat the counterfeiting and piracy. Increased co-operation between governments, and with industry, would be beneficial, as would better data collection.
This report examines digitalisation’s effects on science, technology and innovation and the associated consequences for policy. In varied and far-reaching ways, digital technologies are changing how scientists work, collaborate and publish. While examining these developments, this book also assesses the effects of digitalisation on longstanding policy themes, from access to publicly funded research data, to the diffusion of technology and its absorption by firms. New and emerging topics are also explored. These include the roles of artificial intelligence and blockchain in science and production, using digital technology to draw on the collective intelligence of the scientific community, advances in the digitalisation of biotechnology, and possible "dark sides" of digitalisation.