Publications

Boards of Directors of State-Owned Enterprises: An Overview of National Practices

Boards of directors of SOEs play a fundamental role in corporate stewardship and performance. Over the last decade, OECD governments have sought to professionalise SOE boards, ensure their independence and shield them from ad hoc political intervention. In general these approaches have worked; yet, more remains to be done. This report seeks to shed slight on good practices drawing on national practices from over 30 economies.

Structural reform and supervision of the banking sector in France

The crisis has shown that there is no such thing as an optimal banking structure or model. The Liikanen report highlighted excessive risk taking and excessive reliance on short-term funding not matched with adequate capital protection. The French reform of the banking sector builds on this insight as well as the agreement reached by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the European CRD 4 to foster financial stability.

Interconnected Economies - Benefiting from Global Value Chains

OECD-China co-operation in the field of international investment

China is increasingly interested in further advancing its investment co-operation with the OECD. This is in large part due to the fact that China wants to attract more "quality" foreign direct investment (FDI) from OECD-based companies and the perception that the OECD could provide useful best policy practices and experiences for China.

Long-term investment, the cost of capital and the dividend and buyback puzzle

The paper argues that interest rates are at extremely low levels to support banks, and the search for yield has pushed the liquidity driven speculative bubble from real estate, derivatives and structured products markets into the corporate debt market. Equities have rallied strongly too. This asset cycle is certainly helping banks reduce hidden losses on illiquid securities and could also help reduce the cost of equity.

International Regulatory Co-operation: Case Studies, Vol. 3 - Transnational Private Regulation and Water Management

Leniency for Subsequent Applicants, Competition Policy Roundtable

Competition authorities widely rely on leniency policies to detect, investigate and prosecute hard-core cartels. Jurisdictions that operate leniency programmes recognize the benefits of rewarding not only the first-in applicant who denounces the cartel but also subsequent applicants who provide useful corroboration or new evidence. This publication reviews the findings from a roundtable discussion held in October 2012.