Argentina

Ensuring long-term water security is essential in the pathway towards sustainable development in Argentina. Floods cause 60% of all critical events in the country and are responsible for 95% of economic losses. Severe droughts, in a country where the agricultural sector accounts for 6.4% of GDP as compared to a global average of 3.6%, have a strong impact in the economy. The country is also home to some of the most polluted basins worldwide. Furthermore, climate change will likely shift further water availability, uses and demand. The report is the result of a policy dialogue with more than 170 stakeholders at different levels in Argentina. It assesses water governance in Argentina, identifies several key challenges to effective, efficient and inclusive water policies, and provides a set of policy recommendations to enhance water governance as a means to address relevant societal challenges, both within the scope of water management and beyond. In particular, ways forward for Argentina include strengthening the co-ordination between national and provincial water policies, setting up a multilevel water planning and investment framework, improving basin management practices, and enhancing economic regulation for water services.

This report assesses well-being in the four largest urban agglomerations of the province of Córdoba and provides policy recommendations to strengthen regional development practices, and ultimately improve people’s well-being. Using around 30 statistical indicators, the report analyses the performance of Córdoba’s agglomerations in 12 well-being dimensions in comparison with 391 regions of 36 OECD countries and 98 regions of Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Costa Rica. The report also documents the well-being inequalities between Córdoba’s four agglomerations and suggests three priorities areas which the province should focus on to tackle well-being challenges: i) Ensure that well-being indicators guide future decision-making; ii) Continue strengthening and modernising the provincial statistical system to expand the evidence-base; and, iii) Strengthen governance arrangements for more effective, efficient and inclusive regional development policy outcomes.

Under Action 14, countries have committed to implement a minimum standard to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP). The MAP is included in Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention and commits countries to endeavour to resolve disputes related to the interpretation and application of tax treaties. The Action 14 Minimum Standard has been translated into specific terms of reference and a methodology for the peer review and monitoring process. The minimum standard is complemented by a set of best practices.The peer review process is conducted in two stages. Stage 1 assesses countries against the terms of reference of the minimum standard according to an agreed schedule of review. Stage 2 focuses on monitoring the follow-up of any recommendations resulting from jurisdictions' stage 1 peer review report. This report reflects the outcome of the stage 1 peer review of the implementation of the Action 14 Minimum Standard by Argentina.

Argentina is undertaking an ambitious reform to move beyond open government to become an 'open state'. This review assesses Argentina’s progress with implementing the 10 provisions of the 2017 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Open Government. Based on extensive data gathered from all branches and levels of government, as well as civil society, this review assesses the progress made to date in these reforms and highlights good practices. It also provides guidance on how Argentina can better align its public sector reform with the Recommendation to achieve its vision.

This Digital Government Review highlights the efforts taking place in Argentina to digitalise and improve data governance in its public sector and build the foundations for a digital government. The review explores Argentina’s institutional, legal and policy frameworks and their strategic role in the digital transformation of the public sector. The report also discusses how to reinforce the capacity of the public sector to 'go digital' and better respond to citizens' needs. It explores how ICT procurement, management, and commissioning can help improve public sector accountability and efficiency, as well as support greater policy coherence and compliance with digital government standards. The review ends with a discussion on the state of data governance in the public sector, including data leadership and stewardship, rules and platforms for data production, sharing and interoperability, data protection, data federation, and open government data initiatives.

Over many decades, Argentina’s economy has been held back by weak policy settings and productivity has stagnated. Recent and additional reforms will help to raise prosperity for all Argentinians in the medium term. Strengthening competition by reducing barriers to market entry and foreign trade has particularly high payoffs. Tariff barriers have prevented a stronger integration into the world economy, which could raise consumer purchasing power, reduce the cost of firms’ inputs and lead companies in shielded sectors to become more productive. Currently, many jobs are trapped in activities with limited potential for productivity and wage growth. As job reallocation can result in temporary income losses, policies should ease the transition by enhancing training and social protection. Social policies are effective in reducing inequalities and poverty continued its declining trend during 2016 and 2017, until a severe economic crisis pushed the economy into a deep recession in 2018. This has shifted the immediate policy focus to restoring confidence and unwinding significant fiscal and external imbalances. Swift and decisive policy responses were necessary and their implementation will lay the grounds for a return of macroeconomic stability and a recovery from the recession, although significant risks remain.SPECIAL FEATURE: FOSTERING INTEGRATION INTO THE WORLD ECONOMY