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Going Digital in Latvia analyses recent developments in Latvia’s digital economy, reviews policies related to digitalisation and make recommendations to increase policy coherence in this area, based on the OECD Going Digital Integrated Policy Framework. The review uses strategic foresight to explore three alternative future scenarios, which could result from the digital transformation of the global economy and society. It also examines the availability and quality of communication networks and services in Latvia as well as related policies and regulations. Further, it reviews trends in digital technology usage among individuals, businesses and the government, and examines policies to foster diffusion. Finally, the review analyses opportunities and challenges raised by digitalisation in key areas, from innovation and skills to digital security and data governance, and evaluates policy responses to these changes in Latvia.

Cette version abrégée est la traduction partielle de la version anglaise de Science, technologie et innovation : Perspectives de l'OCDE 2021. Elle contient les pages préliminaires, le résumé ainsi que le premier chapitre de la publication d'origine qui décrit le rôle essentiel de la science et de l'innovation dans la réponse immédiate à la crise du COVID-19. Les secteurs tant public que privé ont consacré des milliards de dollars à ces efforts et la coopération mondiale a atteint des niveaux sans précédent. Pour autant, la crise économique induite par la pandémie devrait donner lieu à une réduction notable des dépenses de recherche et d’innovation dans les entreprises, tandis que les gouvernements devront affronter à la fois une dette publique abyssale et des besoins multiples et concurrents d’aides financières. Ces évolutions pourraient avoir des répercussions à long terme sur les systèmes d’innovation, au moment où la science et l’innovation sont plus que jamais indispensables pour lutter contre l’urgence climatique, atteindre les Objectifs de développement durable et accélérer la transformation numérique. Les pouvoirs publics devront certes prévoir dans leurs plans de relance des mesures pour protéger leurs systèmes d’innovation, mais ils devraient également profiter de cette occasion pour mener à bien des réformes. Les politiques de la science, de la technologie et de l’innovation (STI), en particulier, devraient servir un programme de transformation systémique plus ambitieux favorisant une transition encadrée vers un avenir plus durable, équitable et résilient.

Online personalised pricing is a form of price discrimination that involves charging different prices to different consumers, often based on a consumer’s personal data. Policymakers are currently discussing ways to protect consumers from potential adverse effects of personalised pricing. One option involves displaying disclosures on the websites of retailers that use personalised pricing, in order for consumers to make informed purchase decisions. This paper summarizes findings from a laboratory experiment on the effects that online disclosures about personalised pricing have on consumers. Results from the experiment suggest that online disclosures have only limited effects on consumers’ ability to identify and comprehend online personalised pricing, and cannot confirm a significant effect on participants’ purchasing behaviour. Results from a questionnaire distributed to participants reveal that on average personalised pricing is considered an unfair practice that should be prohibited.

This report assesses the impact of digitalisation on competition by examining the evolution of mark-ups and multifactor productivity (MFP) across firms of different sizes. It finds that size is positively related to mark-ups and that this relationship has strengthened over time. This trend has been accompanied by an increase in the relative productivity advantage of larger firms and both changes are more pronounced in digital-intensive sectors, suggesting that digitalisation may be an underlying driver. Policy makers may need to consider appropriate responses if digital technologies affect larger and smaller firms in a heterogeneous manner.

The digital environment has become an integral part of children’s everyday lives and interactions. The benefits can be tremendous, but there also risks. In 2011, the OECD adopted a Typology of Risks in an effort to broadly categorise those risks. Since then the digital environment has changed significantly, as risks have evolved in nature and new ones have emerged. This report informs the OECD’s broader work on children in the digital environment by examining these trends and presenting an updated Typology of Risks. The Typology provides a high-level overview of the risk landscape, and outlines four risk categories and their manifestations. The Typology also identifies and analyses risks that cut across these four risk categories, and that can therefore have wide-ranging effects on children’s lives.