Browse by: "2023"
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This report presents policy reform options to support Lithuania in meeting its climate neutrality target. It takes stock of Lithuania’s current and planned climate policies and assesses their potential for meeting the country’s climate ambitions. The report details the results of modelling carried out to assess the effectiveness of different policy scenarios, an analysis of carbon pricing and the role of innovation, an assessment of financial needs in the transition to net zero, and an analysis of the distributional implications of carbon pricing. Bringing together these findings the report offers recommendations for policy reform, highlighting the importance of setting price signals complemented by innovation support, as well as the potential of revenue recycling options in alleviating distributional concerns.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions greatly complicated overland freight transport between Europe and China via the so-called Northern Corridor, which runs through the Russian Federation. This has prompted renewed attention to the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, a multimodal route running through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye – the so-called “Middle Corridor”. The present report looks at the Middle Corridor’s potential and at the challenges that must be overcome to realise it, drawing on the perspective of relevant private-sector actors in the four Middle Corridor countries. Governments along the corridor have invested heavily to improve transport infrastructure, yet important bottlenecks remain due to the geography of the route, the number of border crossings and the lack of regional trade integration. This study, based on surveys from and interviews with the private sector, maps and sequences main reform priorities in relation to regional integration, infrastructure, trade facilitation and supra-national coordination. It suggests that the primary aim should be to develop the corridor not solely as a transit route for actors from outside the region but as an engine of integration and trade integration in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
The COVID-19 pandemic had massive consequences for societies and health systems across the OECD and beyond. Health systems were not resilient enough. Resilient health systems plan and are ready for shocks, such as pandemics, economic crises or the effects of climate change. They are able to minimise the negative consequences of crises, recover as quickly as possible, and adapt to become better performing and more prepared. Smart, targeted investments in health system resilience are needed to improve health and ensure the next shock is less disruptive and costly. This report reviews the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic and applies them to build policy recommendations to ensure the global community is ready for the next crisis. The reviews and recommendations cover health system issues – including workforce, digitalisation, continuity of care and mental health – and other topics, including long-term care, supply chains and international co-operation.
Countries are seeking ways to strengthen their financing systems to promote access to quality health services under their commitments to Universal Health Coverage. Chronic conditions account for a large burden of premature mortality, and gaps exist in patient receipt of recommended quality care. The objective of this publication is to describe experiences in purchasing arrangements and payment methods and how they have been used to attain quality of care and health outcomes for chronic conditions.
The publication builds on the existing body of empirical evidence and newly commissioned case studies from Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Germany, Indonesia, South Africa, and Spain to better understand the design of different purchasing arrangements that aim to promote quality for chronic disease care. We identify lessons learned in alignment of payment methods with service delivery models, key design issues in quality and payment, supporting purchasing policies, and monitoring and evaluation. Recognising that no single model is applicable to all settings, the publication aimed to share lessons learned and best practices and identify areas for future research, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.
In Malta, public procurement accounted for approximately 6% of GDP in 2019 and is recognised as a strategic instrument for achieving government policy goals, including recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite recent efforts, the public procurement system still faces several challenges in several areas. This report provides an overview of the procurement system and tailored recommendations in six main areas: i) the organisational structure of the public procurement system, ii) public procurement processes, iii) risk management, iv) the strategic use of public procurement, v) the professionalisation of the procurement workforce, and vi) the performance measurement framework.
This report outlines the findings of a review of public investment processes in Bulgaria and provides recommendations for improving its effectiveness and efficiency. It focuses on infrastructure planning, investment and delivery at the national and municipal levels. The report identifies what Bulgaria should retain and improve upon to ensure that investments made at the European, State and municipal levels achieve value for money and contribute to people’s well-being and living standards.
This report provides concrete recommendations for strengthening the legislative and institutional framework for elected and appointed officials in Malta. It reviews the institutional and procedural set-up of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and analyses the omissions, inconsistencies and overlaps in the Standards in Public Life Act. It also provides recommendations to the Government of Malta on developing the most feasible lobbying regulation, and identifies concrete measures to strengthen the existing codes of ethics for elected and appointed officials, as well as the system of asset and interest declarations.
This OECD Public Governance Monitor (PGM) provides a concise analysis of Sweden’s public governance system, instruments and capabilities, and helps identify areas of opportunities for public governance reforms. The report provides an overview of public administration in Sweden looking at public governance mechanisms around six key themes: public sector effectiveness, spending, citizen participation, the governance of climate change and other cross-cutting priorities, digital transformation, and public integrity. The report suggests several priorities for reforms to improve public sector effectiveness, increase the impact of participatory mechanisms, reinforce the governance of cross-cutting topics, strengthen the steering of digital government policy and take a more holistic approach to public sector integrity, in particular by revising the national anti-corruption plan.
This report analyses current public financial management practices in Peru in light of OECD recommendations and good practices, and identifies areas where Peru could improve.
It focuses on four areas: budgetary practices and governance; treasury modernisation and cash management systems; ensuring a fiscally sustainable, competitive pay regime for the Peruvian public sector; and public infrastructure programming, budgeting and management. It analyses these issues both at central government level and for sub-national governments.
The report provides detailed policy recommendations to overcome the main challenges and their implications in each of the areas.
This is the second edition of a regular publication on public employment and management issues. This edition explores the theme of flexibility in the public service workforce through the angles of workforce mobility, learning and development, and flexible working arrangements. It presents comparative data and analysis as well as country-specific case studies to help governments design and embed greater flexibility. This report also features a synthesis of the OECD review of public service leadership and capability in the Brazilian Federal Public Service. Taken together, the insights of this edition can help guide and shape flexible work practices for a high-performing public service.
This Public Communication Scan of the United Kingdom, the first such scan of an OECD Member country, brings new insights to the OECD’s work on understanding how public communication contributes to democratic governance. The scan analyses how the United Kingdom’s Government Communication Service (GCS) is building a more effective communication function amid changes to the information ecosystem and how it can help make policymaking more responsive to citizens' needs. The analysis and recommendations in this Scan highlight opportunities for the GCS and the UK Government to align ongoing communication reforms with actions to promote more inclusive and people-centred communication that contributes to greater engagement, improved public trust, and better policy outcomes.
The Republic of Moldova (Moldova hereafter) has made digitalisation a policy priority. The country is currently preparing its Digital Transformation Strategy 2023-30, which will emphasise digital literacy, as well as digital business skills, with a view to improving private sector competitiveness. Digitalisation has already brought significant benefits to Moldova, where ICT has been one of the most dynamic sectors over the past years; yet Moldovan firms in non IT sectors remain at the beginning of their digitalisation journey. Skills shortages are a major barrier in that regard, particularly affecting SMEs who encounter more difficulties in attracting and retaining skilled workers, as well as up skilling or reskilling their workforces.
Building on previous OECD work on digitalisation policies, the OECD provided guidance to Moldova throughout 2022 on how to build a conducive ecosystem and set the right policies to further advance the development and uptake of digital business skills among SMEs. This report presents an overview of those issues, looking at 1) the institutional and policy framework; 2) skills assessment and anticipation tools; and 3) SME specific support for digital skills development.
A risk management approach is important for promoting public integrity efficiently and effectively. This report reviews the current corruption risk management methodology in the Romanian central government through the lens of behavioural science. After introducing the Romanian corruption risk management methodology and analysing the challenges related to its implementation, the report provides four concrete avenues for its adoption and implementation. Behaviourally inspired strategies are designed to improve public officials' capacities, opportunities, and motivations to identify corruption risks, assess their probability and impact, and design more effective control measures.
Lithuania is one of the fastest-ageing countries in Europe. Its working-age population is not only ageing, but also expected to decline significantly, giving rise to considerable economic, labour market, social and public governance challenges. The inclusion of older persons has improved in many areas in the past two decades. Yet, many Lithuanians aged 55 and over continue to lag in fully engaging in society relative to younger people and their peers in neighbouring countries. This report takes a holistic approach to analyse Active Ageing policies in Lithuania in three dimensions: labour market inclusion, social policies, and participation in public and political life. It provides tailored policy recommendations to improve the well-being of older people in Lithuania in terms of better employment and lifelong learning outcomes, stronger integration in society, and participation in democratic institutions and processes.
Regulators act as “market referees”, balancing often competing interests of stakeholders, including governments, current and future actors in the markets, and consumers. At the same time, markets are changing at an unprecedented pace due to new technologies, the international drive toward carbon-neutral economies, shifts in consumer needs and preferences, and, more recently, the profound changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessing the performance of economic regulators must therefore be a continuous effort.
This progress review evaluates the changes put in place by Peru’s telecommunications regulator, OSIPTEL, since the previous OECD performance assessment review in 2018, in the interest of increasing the effectiveness of its regulatory activities and improving final outcomes for consumers and the economy.
At a time when global trade is under pressure and countries increasingly turn to regional integration to support their development, this Spotlight is a timely read for policy makers and business leaders in Africa and beyond. It shows how harnessing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can support industrialisation in Egypt, and more widely in Africa, by tapping the full potential of regional supply chains, including renewable energies, pharmaceuticals, logistics and creative industries. This report builds on and enriches the Production Transformation Policy Review of Egypt: Embracing Change, Achieving Prosperity.
Half a century after independence, Bangladesh has achieved impressive progress. The country has transformed from one of the poorest nations into a global textile manufacturing hub capable of meeting its medical needs almost entirely through domestic pharmaceutical production. The country will graduate from the least developed country (LDC) category in 2026 and aspires to be a high-income nation through industrialisation by 2041. Meeting this challenge requires accelerating economic transformation through diversification and innovation. This Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR), implemented with the support and collaboration of the European Union (EU), and in partnership with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), identifies concrete options for supporting Bangladesh’s development. It calls for leveraging digitalisation to address persistent fragilities and it advocates for a new pact based on shared responsibilities between the national government, the private sector and international partners to shift to a new development phase and ensure sustainable, smooth and irreversible graduation.
Located in the Caribbean Sea, Guadeloupe is a French Overseas Department and a European Outermost Region in search of a more sustainable economic development pathway. In support of that endeavour, this Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR) Spotlight looks at the region's opportunities and challenges, identifying priority actions in several areas, including the bio- and circular economy, creative sectors and renewable energies. The Spotlight enriches our understanding of the diversity of development pathways, including those of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It is the result of an extensive peer-review process involving public and private stakeholders from Colombia, Caribbean countries and other EU outermost regions.
Located in the mid-Atlantic, the archipelagos of the Azores is an autonomous region of Portugal and an European Union Outermost Region. Once central to global trade routes, the Azores are aspiring to regain a prominent international role by leveraging their unique geographical, natural and historical attributes. To that end, this Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR) Spotlight identifies priority actions in several areas, including scientific research and collaborations, the ocean economy, agro-food and renewable-energy value chains. It shows the importance for EU Outermost Regions, as well as for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), of building resilient international ties. It benefited from an extensive peer review process involving public and private stakeholders from Brazil, Iceland and the United States.
This document was prepared for the discussion at the OECD High Level Symposium meeting on Pro-competitive Policies for a Sustainable Economy held on 23 January 2023 and was updated to reflect the main points of the discussion, https://oe.cd/scer.