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This brochure is published within the framework of the Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables established by OECD in 1962. It comprises explanatory notes and illustrations to facilitate the uniform interpretation of the current mango standard. This updated brochure illustrates the revised standard text on mangoes. It demonstrates the quality parameters on high quality photographs. Thus it is a valuable tool for the inspection authorities, professional bodies and traders interested in international trade in mangoes. The brochure is available in electronic format only.
This joint report by the International Energy Agency and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency is the ninth in a series of studies on electricity generating costs. As countries work towards ensuring an electricity supply that is reliable, affordable and increasingly low carbon, it is crucial that policymakers, modellers and experts have at their disposal reliable information on the cost of generation. This report includes cost data on power generation from natural gas, coal, nuclear, and a broad range of renewable technologies. For the first time, information on the costs of storage technologies, the long-term operation of nuclear power plants and fuel cells is also included. The detailed plant-level cost data for 243 power plants in 24 countries, both OECD and non-OECD, is based on the contributions of participating governments and has been treated according to a common methodology in order to provide transparent and comparable results.
Low-carbon electricity systems are characterised by increasingly complex interactions of different technologies with different functions in order to ensure reliable supply at all times. The 2020 edition of Projected Costs of Generating Electricity thus puts into context the plain metric for plant-level cost, the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE). System effects and system costs are identified with the help of the broader value-adjusted LCOE, or VALCOE metric. Extensive sensitivity analyses and five essays treating broader issues that are crucial in electricity markets round out the complementary information required to make informed decisions. A key insight is the importance of the role the electricity sector plays in decarbonising the wider energy sector through electrification and sector coupling.
The key insight of the 2020 edition of Projected Costs of Generating Electricity is that the levelised costs of electricity generation of low-carbon generation technologies are falling and are increasingly below the costs of conventional fossil fuel generation. Renewable energy costs have continued to decrease in recent years and their costs are now competitive, in LCOE terms, with dispatchable fossil fuel-based electricity generation in many countries. The cost of electricity from new nuclear power plants remains stable, yet electricity from the long-term operation of nuclear power plants constitutes the least cost option for low-carbon generation. At the assumed carbon price of USD 30 per tonne of CO2 and pending a breakthrough in carbon capture and storage, coal-fired power generation is slipping out of the competitive range. The cost of gas-fired power generation has decreased due to lower gas prices and confirms the latter’s role in the transition. Readers will find a wealth of details and analysis, supported by over 100 figures and tables, that establish the continuing value of the Projected Costs of Generating Electricity as an indispensable tool for decision-makers, researchers and experts interested in identifying and comparing the costs of different generating options in today’s electricity sector.
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is a multilateral framework for tax transparency and information sharing, within which over 160 jurisdictions participate on an equal footing. The Global Forum monitors and peer reviews the implementation of the international standards of Exchange of Information on Request (EOIR) and Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI).
AEOI provides for the automatic exchange of a predefined set of financial account information between tax authorities on an annual basis in order to assist them in ensuring the correct amount of tax is paid. To ensure the AEOI standard is fully effective, the Global Forum carries out a review of each jurisdiction’s domestic and international legal frameworks to ensure they are complete, and a review of the effectiveness of the implementation of the standard in practice.
This report presents the conclusions of the peer reviews of the legal frameworks put in place by each jurisdiction to implement the AEOI standard. The results relate to the 100 jurisdictions that committed to commence AEOI from 2017 or 2018. The Global Forum has also begun the reviews of the effectiveness in practice of the implementation of the standard, the results of which are expected to be published in 2022.
Les économies et les sociétés sont en pleine transformation numérique. Ces changements apportent à la fois des opportunités et des défis et l’aptitude des pays à tirer parti des avantages d’un monde numérique dépend largement des compétences de leur population. Cette édition des Perspectives de l’OCDE sur les compétences a pour objectif de comprendre comment les politiques, en particulier celles qui affectent le développement et l’utilisation des compétences, peuvent influencer les résultats de la transformation numérique et garantir que la nouvelle vague technologique se traduise par un partage plus équitable des avantages entre les populations des pays et au sein de celles-ci. Pour que les individus puissent tirer parti des nouvelles technologies et ne soient pas laissés pour compte, un effort politique global et coordonné est nécessaire. Cet ensemble de politiques doit à la fois promouvoir la numérisation lorsque cette dernière augmente la productivité et le bien-être, et atténuer ses impacts négatifs.
The Guiding Principles for Durable Extractive Contracts (the Guiding Principles) provide guidance on how resource projects can be developed to reflect the balance of risks and rewards that underpins durable contracts, while taking into account community interests and concerns since the very beginning. The Guiding Principles offer a blueprint for the content and negotiation of durable extractive contracts that can reduce the drivers of renegotiation and can provide adaptive and flexible provisions that, for example, can automatically adjust to prevailing market conditions. They also aim to assist host governments and investors in explaining the content of the contract to the public, thereby helping to overcome tensions between stakeholders. The Guiding Principles set out eight principles and supporting commentary that host governments and investors, as well as negotiation support providers and legal practitioners, can use as a common reference for future negotiations of enduring, sustainable and mutually beneficial extractive contracts.
La COVID-19 a durement frappé la société polonaise et son économie, même si le choc a été moindre que dans d'autres pays Européens. L'emploi a diminué et la dette publique a augmenté rapidement, ce qui compliquera la résolution des problèmes de long terme, tels que la faible productivité de certains travailleurs, les faibles résultats environnementaux et la hausse des coûts liés au vieillissement. Assurer une vie active plus longue en bonne santé sera essentiel pour garantir la viabilité du système de retraite. Pour stimuler la reprise et soutenir la croissance du niveau de vie observée avant la crise, la Pologne doit investir dans des infrastructures plus vertes, des capacités de soins de santé supplémentaires et de meilleures compétences. Faciliter la réallocation des entreprises et des travailleurs permettrait de faire face aux changements de structure économique induits par la crise actuelle et augmenterait la productivité. Enfin, renforcer la capacité d'innovation des petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) les aiderait à exporter davantage et à s'adapter à un environnement international en évolution rapide.
The German economy entered a deep recession in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. A strong government response has reinforced health system capacity while protecting jobs and firms. The response to the crisis has included increases in investment to meet structural challenges from the energy transition and digital transformation. Further public investment is needed to resolve the infrastructure backlog, along with steps to remove delivery bottlenecks. Emissions pricing in transport and heating will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, though further steps will be needed to meet targets. The German government has made good progress in addressing some key barriers to digital transformation, but can do more to unleash its full benefits. Alleviating connectivity bottlenecks, incentivising investment in knowledge-based capital and supporting business dynamism during the recovery by reducing administrative burden, facilitating access to financing, and accelerating progress towards digital government can boost technology diffusion and productivity. To empower everyone to thrive in digital environments, computational thinking should be introduced earlier and training for teachers increased to ensure effective use of digital technologies in schools.
SPECIAL FEATURE: UNLEASHING THE BENEFITS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
This report sets out a vision for the digital transformation of tax administration, under which taxation becomes more of a seamless and frictionless process over time. The intention of this discussion paper, requested by Commissioners at the 2019 OECD Forum on Tax Administration Plenary in Santiago, is to stimulate debate and conversation, both on the vision and its component building blocks.
Die deutsche Wirtschaft ist 2020 aufgrund der Corona-Pandemie in eine tiefe Rezession geraten. Durch entschlossenes staatliches Handeln gelang es, die Kapazitäten des Gesundheitssystems zu stärken und zugleich Arbeitsplätze und Unternehmen zu schützen. Im Rahmen der Krisenantwort wurden auch die Investitionen zur Bewältigung der strukturellen Herausforderungen aufgestockt, die sich aus der Energiewende und der digitalen Transformation ergeben. Es muss aber noch mehr getan werden, um den Investitionsstau im Infrastrukturbereich aufzulösen. Die Emissionsbepreisung im Verkehrs- und Wärmesektor wird helfen, die Treibhausgasemissionen zu reduzieren. Allerdings sind weitere Schritte erforderlich, um die gesetzten Ziele zu erreichen. Die Bundesregierung hat bei der Beseitigung einiger zentraler Hindernisse für die Digitalisierung erhebliche Fortschritte erzielt. Sie kann aber noch mehr tun, um die Vorteile der digitalen Transformation voll auszuschöpfen. Technologieverbreitung und Produktivität lassen sich steigern, wenn es gelingt, Engpässe in der Internetversorgung zu beseitigen, Anreize für Investitionen in Wissenskapital zu setzen und die Unternehmensdynamik in der Erholungsphase zu unterstützen. Dazu gilt es, den Bürokratieaufwand zu reduzieren, den Zugang zu Finanzmitteln zu erleichtern und die Digitalisierung der öffentlichen Verwaltung zu beschleunigen. Damit alle in der digitalen Welt erfolgreich sein können, sollte „informatisches Denken“ zudem schon früher gefördert werden. Außerdem sollten mehr Fortbildungen für Lehrkräfte angeboten werden, um einen effektiven Einsatz digitaler Technologien in den Schulen sicherzustellen.
SCHWERPUNKTTHEMA: DIE VORTEILE DER DIGITALEN TRANSFORMATION VOLL AUSSCHÖPFEN
Non-exhaust emissions of particulate matter constitute a little-known but rising share of emissions from road traffic and have significant negative impacts on public health. This report synthesizes the current state of knowledge about the nature, causes, and consequences of non-exhaust particulate emissions. It also projects how particulate matter emissions from non-exhaust sources may evolve in future years and reflects on policy instrument mixes that can address this largely ignored environmental issue.
The 2020 edition of the OECD Pensions Outlook examines a series of policy options to help governments improve the sustainability and resilience of pension systems. It considers how to ensure that policy makers balance the trade-off between the short-term and long-term consequences of policy responses to COVID-19; how to determine and assess the adequacy of retirement income; how funded pension arrangements can support individuals in non-standard forms of work to save for retirement; how to select default investment strategies; how to address the potential negative consequences from frequent switching of investment strategies; and, how retirement income arrangements can share both the investment and longevity risks among different stakeholders in a sustainable manner. This edition also discusses how governments can communicate in a way that helps people choose their optimal investment strategies.
Given the increasingly digital environment for financial products and services, now further accelerated by responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the potential for digitalisation to support greater financial inclusion and inclusive growth, effective financial consumer protection is more important than ever. It is equally important that the policies and approaches developed and adopted by financial consumer protection authorities evolve and adapt in line with the changing environment.
After a long period of impressive convergence to the OECD average incomes, the Czech Republic is now battling the social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The economy contracted due to strict containment measures, but the authorities extended generous support to maintain incomes, employment and liquidity. The economic recovery is expected to be gradual. The crisis heightens the need to continue addressing long-term challenges with disappointing productivity growth, low labour participation of mothers, pressures due to population ageing and high energy and carbon dependence. Sustainable growth will raise living standards and help restore fiscal and monetary policy space. In addition, despite overall low inequality, there is considerable regional variation in incomes and poverty, and the gaps have grown over time. The Czech Republic suffers from a highly fragmented subnational government with the highest number of municipalities per head in the OECD. The resulting lack of capacity at the local level impacts the quality of public services and impedes the uptake of effective development projects.
SPECIAL FEATURE: ENHANCING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION
The stock of laws has been growing steadily over time in countries as a result of governments responding to new and emerging challenges. Yet these and other new laws do not always fit well with existing regulatory frameworks, especially as economies and countries are becoming ever-increasingly more interconnected. The OECD Best Practice Principles for Reviewing the Stock of Regulation offers a practical and flexible framework for countries to follow when reviewing laws. The principles provide assistance to countries in establishing their ex post evaluation regimes, whilst also providing practical guidance about relevant methodologies to adopt. This report is part of a series on “best practice principles” produced under the auspices of the OECD Regulatory Policy Committee. As with other reports in the series, it extends and elaborates on principles highlighted in the 2012 Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance.
The sale of publicly-owned oil, gas and minerals can have a significant impact on the development trajectory of resource-rich developing and emerging economies due to the large volume of commodities sold and the amount of money involved. Therefore, getting the buyer selection process right is a crucial step to prevent potential public revenue losses that can arise through sub-optimal allocation and corruption.
This Guidance is intended to strengthen state-owned enterprises (SOEs)’ capacity to market commodities and optimise the value of resources sold. It explains how SOEs can set up transparent and competitive buyer selection procedures that reduce discretion, close opportunities for favouritism and corruption, ultimately leading to increased revenues for improved development outcomes. Based on the review of existing selection and procurement processes, the Guidance provides recommendations for countering key corruption challenges at each step of the buyer selection process, and identifies examples of best practices. This Guidance complements the work of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on recommended disclosures of buyer selection procedures by SOEs.
COVID-19 has hit the Polish society and its economy hard, even if to a lesser extent than other European countries. Employment has declined and public debt has increased abruptly, which will make it more challenging to solve long-term issues, such as the low productivity of some workers, weak environmental outcomes and rising ageing costs. Ensuring longer working lives in good health will be key to secure the pension system’s sustainability. To boost the recovery and sustain the pre-crisis growth in living standards, Poland needs to invest in greener infrastructure, additional healthcare capacity and better skills. Easing the reallocation of firms and workers would facilitate shifts in the economic structure induced by the current crisis and raise productivity. Finally boosting the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to innovate would help them to export more and adapt to a rapidly changing international environment.
SPECIAL FEATURE: BOOSTING SMEs’ INTERNATIONALISATION
Data on government sector receipts, and on taxes in particular, are basic inputs to most structural economic descriptions and economic analyses and are increasingly used in economic comparisons. This annual publication gives a conceptual framework to define which government receipts should be regarded as taxes. It presents a unique set of detailed and internationally comparable tax data in a common format for all OECD countries from 1965 onwards.
COVID-19 is testing the Basque Country’s (Spain) resilience. Before COVID-19, employment indicators were recovering from the 2008 crisis, while automation of production was underway. Job quality remained low despite rising educational attainment in the region. COVID-19 is likely to accelerate structural changes in the labour market, including automation and digitalisation. Firms may increasingly look to technology as a way to pandemic proof their operations, while individuals may develop preferences for automated services as opposed to face to face contact. This OECD report sheds light on the potential impacts of automation on the Basque labour market, including which types of jobs and groups of workers are most likely to be impacted, in light of COVID-19 and other labour market changes. The report also highlights the critical role to be played by employment services, training policies and social dialogue to help people and firms make labour market transitions while upholding social cohesion. The report delves into how the Basque Country’s employment and skills system can continue to be at the front line as the crisis evolves.
Consumption Tax Trends provides information on Value Added Taxes/Goods and Services Taxes (VAT/GST) and excise duty rates in OECD member countries. It also contains information about international aspects of VAT/GST developments and the efficiency of this tax. It describes a range of other consumption taxation provisions on tobacco, alcoholic beverages, motor vehicles and aviation fuels.
Les données sur les recettes des administrations publiques, et sur le produit de la fiscalité en particulier, constituent la base de la plupart des travaux de description des structures économiques et d’analyse économique, et sont de plus en plus utilisées pour comparaisons internationales. Cette publication annuelle présente un cadre conceptuel dont le but est de définir les recettes publiques devant être assimilées à des impôts et de classifier les différentes catégories d’impôts. Elle constitue également un ensemble unique de statistiques fiscales détaillées et comparables au niveau international, utilisant une présentation identique pour tous les pays de l’OCDE depuis 1965.