Suchergebnisse

This 2010 edition of OECD`s periodic review of China`s economy finds that China`s spectacular expansion has continued in recent years, making for impressive improvements in living standards. The slowdown associated with the global financial and economic crisis was contained by massive fiscal and monetary policy stimulus, which has boosted domestic demand. This survey includes chapters on recent achievements and prospects, monetary policy, financial reforms, product market regulation and competition, inequality, the labour market, old-age security and the health care system.

This review presents a general picture of the overall regulatory reform frameworks in Italy, examining quality regulation, competition policy and professional services. The review also offers a special focus on multi-level governance, where key issues include local public services, commercial distribution, local transport and energy. The review finds that Italy has made significant progress using regulatory reform since the first OECD review in 2001. Administrative simplification and the increasing role of competition policy, combined with devolution of state powers to regions, have helped. But there are still key challenges for regulatory policy and its implementation, including enforcement, capacity in the civil service, impact analysis for evidence-based decision-making, and building a culture of consultation. The current global economic crisis is an opportunity for Italy to further clarify how the state intervenes in the economy, to improve multi-level co-ordination, and to expand competition in specific sectors.

Using this Guide will facilitate the practical implementation of theOECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprisesin the areas of transparency and accountability. It provides viable policy options and a step-by-step road map on how to address typical difficulties, risks and hurdles that may be encountered. It also provides concrete examples of good practices that can serve as a reference and inspiration. The Guidewill help governments, their ownership entities and other stakeholders to evaluate existing practices and support reforms. In most countries, improving transparency and accountability in state-owned enterprises entails a number of complex challenges. Addressing these, with the help of this Guide, is an important step in the process of establishing well-governed and economically sound state-owned enterprises

The tourism sector, a vital driver of job-creation and growth, is under pressure. Facing an increasingly competitive landscape, tourism in many OECD countries has started to lag, in both growth rate and productivity. This book defines the major trends and challenges facing tourism in the next decade – from globalisation to environmental issues. To address these challenges, the book then provides specific policy guidance and recommendations for making tourism more competitive and environmentally sustainable. Tourism data from 42 countries are presented and analysed including all OECD countries, and fast-growing tourism centres such as Brazil, Chile, China and India.

OECD`s 2010 survey of Chile`s economy. This edition focuses on four key issues currently challenging Chile: overcoming the crisis, strengthening fiscal policy, fostering productivity growth, and improving the quality of Chile`s schools. The survey finds that Chile is now emerging from the crisis and that the financial system has held up well, but that some areas of regulation and the fiscal framework need to be strengthened. Chile needs to enhance productivity growth, broaden innovation policy beyond basis research, and improve the quality of education.

This 2009 IEA review of Italy`s energy policies and programmes finds that the Italian government has made substantial progress in a number of sectors since the last IEA in-depth energy policy review in 2003. The success of the green certificate and white certificate schemes and continued reform of the electricity and natural gas supply markets are just a few examples and build on the recommendations contained in the previous review. Nonetheless, many challenges remain.Italy recognises the need to diversify its energy supply portfolio to reduce its heavy dependence on fossil fuels and electricity imports, and to decrease its growing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2008, the government announced its intention to recommence the country`s nuclear power program and start building a new nuclear power plant by 2013. To do so, Italy must first develop an efficient process for identifying critical energy infrastructure, including nuclear power, and subjecting it to an effective, streamlined siting and permitting process.Italy will face another major challenge in complying with Europe's new climate and energy package, particularly in relation to renewable energy and emissions targets. The government must step up efforts to comply with its new responsibilities, specifically by developing and putting in place a comprehensive climate change strategy for the years until 2020.In mid-2009, the legislature enacted a wide-ranging new law that will facilitate the emergence of a robust long-term energy policy. The government must respond to this opportunity and elaborate, with industry, a long-term strategy for the development of the energy sector.This review analyses the energy challenges facing Italy and provides sectoral critiques and recommendations for further policy improvements. It is intended to help guide Italy towards a more sustainable energy future.

Information communication technologies (ICTs) are crucial to reducing poverty, improving access to health and education services andcreating new sources of income and employment for the poor. Being able to access and use ICTs has become a major factor in driving competitiveness, economic growth and social development. In the last decade, ICTs, particularly mobile phones, have also opened up new channels for the free flow of ideas and opinions, thereby promoting democracy and human rights.The OECD and infoDev joined forces at a workshop on 10-11 September 2009 to examine some of the main challenges in reducing the discrepancies in access to ICTs and use of ICTs between developing countries. The workshop discussed best practices for more coherent and collaborative approaches in support of poverty reduction and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.There is much work to be done on improving policy coherence and there is a need to engage more actively with partner countries. Making the most of ICTs requires that they are seen as part of innovation for development, rather than just another development tool.This publication examines access to ICTs, as a precondition to their use, broadband Internet access and governments` role in making it available, developments in mobile payments, ICT security issues, ICTs for improving environmental performance, and the relative priority of ICTs in education.For more informationThe OECD/infoDev workshop on ICTs for Development: www.oecd.org/ICT/4DOECD work on Policy Coherence for Development: www.oecd.org/development/policycoherenceinfoDev: www.infoDev.org

This publication presents comprehensive statistics on aid flows to agriculture. The analysis covers the years 2002-2007, including trends in donors' aid, geographical focus of flows, and a broader picture of donors' short and long term interventions to address food security issues.Individual donor profiles provide summary statistics in the form of charts and tables. The publication also records the relevant aid activities reported by DAC members and multilateral institutions to the CRS Aid Activity database (Creditor Reporting System) in 2007.The information is based on individual commitments and disbursements of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to agriculture.Data presented are unique, comparable and consistent with definitions and methodologies of DAC statistics. The information is designed to meet the needs of development agencies and institutions for information relevant to programming and analysis by country and by sector.

In the Accra Agenda for Action (2008), donors and developing country governments commit to deepening their engagement with civil society organisations (CSOs). Better aid requires a broader understanding of the aid effectiveness agenda and a place for CSOs as development actors in their own right and as aid donors, recipients and partners. This book is a resource for implementing the recommendations on civil society and aid effectiveness emerging from the Accra High Level Forum and its preparatory process. These recommendations address a broad community, including developing country governments, donors, and CSOs from developing and developed countries.

Eco-innovation will be a key driver of industry efforts to tackle climate change and realise "green growth" in the post-Kyoto era. Eco-innovation calls for faster introduction of breakthrough technologies and for more systemic application of available solutions, including non-technological ones. It also offers opportunities to involve new players, develop new industries and increase competitiveness. Structural change in economies will be imperative in coming decades. This book presents the research and analysis carried out during the first phase of the OECD Project on Sustainable Manufacturing and Eco-innovation. Its aim is to provide benchmarking tools on sustainable manufacturing and to spur eco-innovation through better understanding of innovation mechanisms. It reviews the concepts and forms an analytical framework, analyses the nature and processes of eco-innovation, discusses existing sustainable manufacturing indicators, examines methodologies for measuring eco-innovation, and takes stock of national strategies and policy initiatives for eco-innovation.

In all OECD countries, governments collect revenues through taxes and redistribute this public money, often by obligatory spending on social programmes such as education or health care. Their tax systems usually include "tax expenditures" – provisions that allow certain groups of people, such as small businessmen, retired people or working mothers, or those who have undertaken certain activities, such as charitable donations, to pay less in taxes.The use of tax expenditures by governments is pervasive and growing. At a time when many government budgets are threatened by population ageing and adverse cyclical developments, there is a pressing need to avoid inefficient government programmes, some of which may utilise tax expenditures.This book sheds light on the use of tax expenditures, mainly through a study of ten OECD countries: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. This book will help government officials and the public better understand some of the technical and policy issues behind the use of tax expenditures. It highlights key trends and successful practices, and addresses a broad range of government finance issues, including tax policy making, tax and budget efficiency, fiscal responsibility and rule making.

Intro -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Table of contents -- Executive Summary -- Introduction -- 1. Improving the Evidence Base on the Costs of Disasters -- 1.1. The rationale for improving the evidence base on the costs of disasters -- The importance of assessing critical infrastructure damage and losses -- The value of disaster loss data collected by non-government agencies -- Economic cost information for project level decisions and macro policy evaluations -- Comprehensive damage and loss data foster a whole-of-society engagement in disaster risk management -- 1.2. The benefits of recording public disaster risk management expenditures -- Tracking disaster risk management expenditure in a central framework enables a better understanding of potential disaster-related contingent liabilities -- Transparency in the allocation of disaster risk management expenditures -- 1.3. Conclusion -- References -- 2. Progress in measuring and accounting for disaster damage and losses in OECD countries -- 2.1. Introduction -- 2.2. Accounting for the cost of disasters: What needs to get measured and how -- 2.3. Accounting for the cost of disasters: Countries' approaches to measuring disaster damages and losses -- Centralised versus fragmented approaches to collecting disaster damage and loss data -- Formal conditions for establishing disaster damage and loss repositories -- Single versus multi-hazard databases -- Thresholds and time periods covered by disaster loss data differs significantly across countries -- Accessibility of disaster damage and loss information -- 2.4. Comprehensiveness of disaster damage and loss information -- Distributional disaster impacts: differentiating costs by type of actor that incurs them -- Comparability of existing national level disaster damage and loss data -- 2.5. Estimating disaster damages and losses ex-ante

Intro -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Table of contents -- Executive summary -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- 1.1. Background -- Inequality is increasing -- Figure 1.1. Disposable income Gini coefficients, mid-1980s and 2015 (or latest available year) in 22 OECD countries -- Figure 1.2. Distributions of household disposable income and net wealth across deciles -- Populations are ageing -- Figure 1.3. Old-age dependency ratios, 2015 -- Figure 1.4. Old-age dependency ratio over time, OECD average -- 1.2. The effects of taxation on savings -- The effect of taxation on portfolio composition -- The effect of taxation on the level of savings -- 1.3. Outline of the report -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 2 How countries tax savings -- 2.1. Introduction -- 2.2. Approaches taken to taxing household savings -- 2.3. Overall trends in countries' approaches to taxing savings -- Table 2.1. Broad approaches to taxation of savings -- 2.4. Results across asset types -- Bank accounts -- Bonds -- Equities (purchase of corporate shares) -- Investment funds -- Pension funds -- Tax-favoured savings accounts -- Owner-occupied residential property -- Rented residential property -- Table 2.2. Tax treatment of different forms of saving: bank accounts -- Table 2.3. Tax treatment of different forms of saving: bonds -- Table 2.4. Tax treatment of different forms of saving: shares -- Table 2.5. Tax treatment of different forms of saving: investment funds -- Table 2.6. Tax treatment of different forms of saving: private pensions -- Table 2.7. Tax treatment of different forms of saving: tax-favoured savings accounts -- Table 2.8. Tax treatment of different forms of saving: owner-occupied residential property -- Table 2.9. Tax treatment of different forms of saving: rented residential property -- Notes -- Chapter 3 Marginal effective tax rates on household savings

This review examines how Morelos seeking to boost its economy, particularly through inclusive growth policies such as enhancing human capital and promoting innovation. It highlights areas of untapped potential for economic growth and suggests ways to address governance challenges.