Browse by: "2016"

The fully revamped and re-titled OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook is a biennial publication that aims to inform policy makers and analysts on recent and future changes in global science, technology and innovation (STI) patterns and their potential implications on and for national and international STI policies. Based on the most recent data available, the report provides comparative analysis of new policies and instruments being used in OECD countries and a number of major emerging economies (including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and South Africa) to boost the contribution of science and innovation to growth and to global and social challenges. In this edition, detailed country and policy profiles are available on line.

After decades of innovation, satellites now play a discrete but pivotal role in the efficient functioning of modern societies and their economic development. This publication provides the findings from a OECD Space Forum project on the state of innovation in the space sector, with a view to examine how space innovation may impact the larger economy. New analysis and indicators contribute to answering some of the following questions: is the space sector still a driver for innovation in the 21st century? What are the determinants for an innovative space sector? And what are the policy responses to encourage and harness better space-related innovation?

This publication presents an original collection of indicators for measuring the state of entrepreneurship and its determinants, produced by the OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme. The 2016 edition introduces data from a new online small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) survey prepared by Facebook in co-operation with the OECD and the World Bank. It also features a special chapter on SME productivity, and indicators to monitor gender gaps in entrepreneurship.

This report updates the 2001 Guidance Manual for Governments on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which provided a broad overview of the key issues, general considerations, and the potential benefits and costs associated with producer responsibility for managing the waste generated by their products put on the market. Since then, EPR policies to help improve recycling and reduce landfilling have been widely adopted in most OECD countries; product coverage has been expanded in key sectors such as packaging, electronics, batteries and vehicles; and EPR schemes are spreading in emerging economies in Asia, Africa and South America, making it relevant to address the differing policy contexts in developing countries.
 
In light of all of the changes in the broader global context, this updated review of the guidelines looks at some of the new design and implementation challenges and opportunities of EPR policies, takes into account recent efforts undertaken by governments to better assess the cost and environmental effectiveness of EPR and its overall impact on the market, and addresses some of the specific issues in emerging market economies.

The OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy offer a comprehensive assessment of the innovation system of individual OECD countries and partner economies, focusing on the role of government. They provide concrete recommendations on how to improve policies that affect innovation performance, including R&D policies. Each review identifies good practices from which other countries can learn.

National intellectual property (IP) systems can play a pivotal role in fostering innovation and knowledge diffusion. This report analyses Kazakhstan’s IP system with regards to its support of the country’s innovation performance. In particular, it assesses the organisation and governance of Kazakhstan's IP system as well as the needs and challenges faced by different groups of actual and potential IP users – ranging from universities and public research institutions to state-owned enterprises and small businesses. The review provides a comprehensive set of statistics describing the use of IP in Kazakhstan in recent years, identifies the system’s strengths and weaknesses, and presents a range of specific policy recommendations to address existing challenges.

The Productivity-Inclusiveness Nexus proposes a new approach to boost productivity growth while, at the same time, reducing inequalities of income and opportunities. The report begins by examining the trend slowdown of productivity growth, which has been observed in many OECD countries over recent years, and the longer-standing rise - and persistence - of inequalities of income, wealth, well-being and opportunities. It then gathers the most recent empirical evidence on some of the common foundations behind these trends and considers possible linkages. The analysis aims to shed light on policy insights to address both issues together, creating room for synergies and win-win policies.

Référence méthodologique internationale en matière de recueil et d’exploitation des statistiques de R-D, le Manuel de Frascati de l’OCDE est un outil essentiel pour les statisticiens et les responsables des politiques de la science et de l’innovation du monde entier. Dans cette nouvelle édition du Manuel, les définitions des concepts de base, les lignes directrices sur le recueil des données et les classifications utiles à l’établissement des statistiques de R-D ont été enrichies à la lumière de l’évolution récente des modes d’exécution et de financement de la R-D, et compte tenu du recours accru aux statistiques et définitions de la R-D. Y figurent de nouveaux chapitres traitant d’aspects concrets du recueil des données de R-D dans différents secteurs ainsi que des orientations concernant plusieurs formes de soutien public à la R-D, comme les incitations fiscales.

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the innovation policy of Luxembourg. It is the second such OECD review of Luxembourg's innovation system, following an earlier review published in 2007. Since that time, the system has undergone profound change, notably a rapid expansion in the scale and scope of public sector research, which offers new opportunities for Luxembourg, but also new challenges for innovation policy. The review focuses on the role of government and includes concrete recommendations on how to improve policies that affect innovation and R&D performance.

Ce rapport examine les pratiques de gestion des exploitations propices à la croissance verte, aussi bien les innovations menées par les agriculteurs (comme celles qui sont liées aux sols et à l’eau, la lutte intégrée contre les ennemis des cultures, l’agriculture biologique) que les technologies axées sur la science (comme les biotechnologies et l’agriculture de précision). La demande alimentaire mondiale pourra être satisfaite de façon durable uniquement si de nouvelles formes de production agricole et des technologies innovatrices peuvent être découvertes pour augmenter la productivité, la stabilité et la résilience des systèmes de production en ayant non seulement pour objectif d’augmenter les rendements mais aussi d’économiser l’eau et l’énergie, réduire les risques, améliorer la qualité des produits, protéger l’environnement et atténuer le changement climatique.

This series represents a compilation of the biosafety consensus documents developed by the OECD Working Group on Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology over the periods 2011-12 (Volume 5) and 2013-15 (Volume 6). Volumes 5 and 6 describe the biology, centres of origin, genetics, hybridisation, production and use, and ecology elements of several crops (sugarcane, cassava, sorghum, common bean, cucurbits) and trees (eucalyptus species). They also provide considerations on pathogenicity factors in assessing the potential adverse health effects of bacteria, and the low level presence of transgenic plants in seed and grain commodities.
The consensus documents contain information for use during the regulatory assessment of products of modern biotechnology, i.e. transgenic organisms (plants, animals, micro-organisms), when intended for release in the environment. As such, it should be of value to applicants for use of genetically-engineered organisms in agriculture mainly, to regulators and risk assessors in national authorities for their biosafety assessments, as well as the wider scientific community. More information on this OECD programme is found at BioTrack online (www.oecd.org/biotrack).
 

Three billion people live in rural areas in developing countries. Conditions for them are worse than for their urban counterparts when measured by almost any development indicator, from extreme poverty, to child mortality and access to electricity and sanitation. And the gulf is widening, contributing to large-scale migration to urban areas. This situation exists despite half a century of rural development theories and approaches, and despite the global momentum built around the Millennium Development Goals between 2000 and 2015. Without greater progress on rural development, it is unlikely that the new Sustainable Development Goals will be met. This book calls for a new paradigm for rural development that is equipped to meet the challenges and harness the opportunities of the 21st century – including climate change, demographic shifts, international competition and fast-moving technological change.