Reports

This report looks at the fiscal, environmental and social impacts of energy subsidy reform in Moldova with a particular focus on energy affordability. Reduced value added tax (VAT) rate on natural gas consumption and a VAT exemption on electricity and heat consumption by domestic users represent the largest fossil-fuel consumer subsidies in Moldova. Reforming these will imply an increase of the VAT rate, which will lead to an increase of gas, electricity and heat tariffs for households, and will in turn affect household consumption levels, related expenditures and energy affordability. If reform measures are to work, they will need to be accompanied by a carefully-designed social policy to protect poor households.

SMEs play an important role for economic growth and social inclusion in Indonesia. Based on data from the Ministry of Co-operatives and SMEs, Indonesian SMEs account for nearly 97% of domestic employment and for 56% of total business investment. 
Indonesia has a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Law and a specific ministry dedicated to co-operatives and SMEs. The wealth of public programmes for SMEs could be streamlined, and more could be done to support innovative companies able to generate productive jobs and participate in international markets. The development and implementation of an SME strategy would be instrumental to improve the overall coherence of national policy measures, objectives and measurable targets. 
The review of SME and entrepreneurship policy of Indonesia is part of a peer-reviewed series, by the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, which aims to improve the design, implementation and effectiveness of national SME and entrepreneurship policies.

The expansion of agricultural production in China has been remarkable, but at the expense of the sustainable use of its natural resources. To counter this, as well as to face problems due to rising labour costs and a rapidly ageing rural population, agricultural production must concentrate on a smaller number of more productive farms. It is in this light that this report reviews recent policy developments to assess whether they have been conducive to productivity growth and environmental sustainability. It finds that the conditions for structural change and innovation at the farm level in China could be further improved by securing the long-term stability of land rights as well as reducing transaction costs. Greater policy coherence with agri-environmental policy objectives could also be achieved through stricter enforcement of environmental regulations. Finally, the agricultural innovation system could play a greater role by placing the focus on public agricultural R&D in areas such as the environment and resource conservation, and in other areas which do not attract much private sector investment. 

The higher education sector in The Netherlands offers excellent examples of what it means to be innovative and entrepreneurial, and promote entrepreneurial mind sets, entrepreneurship and knowledge exchange. Creating value from academic knowledge through innovative services, products, processes and business models that meet economic, social and environmental needs lies at the core of this strategy. The current challenge is to strenghten the anchoring of value-creation processes in education and research. This can be achieved through increased interdisciplinarity, entrepreneurial mindset development across all subject areas, incentives for effective wider world engagement of researchers and students, and growth-oriented support for startups. This report presents an in-depth analysis of the policy framework and institutional practices and provides useful guidance for policy makers and university leaders across the world. HEInnovate is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the OECD to promote the innovative and entrepreneurial higher education institution.

This report looks at a range of key labour market, economic and social indicators related to Canada’s growing Indigenous population, which comprises First Nations, Inuit and Métis. In 2016, there were over 1.6 million Indigenous People in Canada, accounting for 4.9% of the total population, which is a significant increase from 3.8% in 2006. The report looks at the implementation of the federal government’s Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Strategy through in-depth analysis across four case study areas, including 1) the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resources and Development in Winnipeg, Manitoba; 2) Community Futures Treaty Seven in Calgary, Alberta; 3) MAWIW Council in Fredericton, New Brunswick; and 4) Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The report highlights critical success factors to better link Indigenous People to high quality jobs while also providing recommendations regarding future labour market and skills programming for Indigenous People in Canada.

Historically low productivity gains and record high inequality are major challenges for policy makers around the world. Both concerns have been exacerbated by the global financial crisis but took roots well before and reflect fundamental challenges with the way our economies function.
 
This report proposes a new comprehensive approach to promote better productivity performance and reduce inequalities. It not only gathers the most recent empirical evidence on the main factors behind slowing productivity gains and rising or persisting inequalities but also suggests possible common foundations and linkages between these two trends. It stresses the risk of a vicious cycle setting in, where individuals with fewer skills and poorer access to opportunities are confined to unproductive and often precarious jobs. This reduces aggregate productivity and widens inequality. The report focuses on how to expand the productive assets of an economy by investing in the skills of its people and providing an environment where all firms have a fair chance to succeed, including in lagging regions. It draws preliminary conclusions on the type of policy packages that are needed and on their implications for policy making. It also sets an agenda for future research to deepen empirical evidence and make concrete country-specific policy recommendations.

This report provides an in-depth analysis of major reforms undertaken between 2014 and 2018 to promote micro, small and medium-sized enterprise development in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia. The report focuses on five strategic areas for SME policy making: SME definitions, statistics and institutions; improving business environments for SMEs and entrepreneurs; fostering access to finance; nurturing start-ups and SME growth; and the development of entrepreneurial human capital.The report aims to showcase good practices and to point to areas where more efforts are needed. It provides valuable guidance for governments, private sector organisations, multilateral bodies and other stakeholders to intensify their efforts to support SMEs as essential vehicles for jobs and competitiveness. This is particularly relevant in a region striving to boost economic diversification, employment creation and the inclusion of youth and women in the economy.The report is the result of a process of close collaboration among governments, the OECD, the European Training Foundation and the European Commission.

STAN: OECD Structural Analysis Statistics 2018 provides analysts and researchers with a comprehensive tool for analysing industrial performance across countries. The publication includes the following annual measures: production, value added (at current and constant prices), gross fixed capital formation, number engaged and labour compensation. Data are presented in national currency for current price data, in terms of the current price value in the reference year (2010) for volume data and in number of persons for employment data. Coverage is provided for 36 OECD countries and for multiple sectors, with extended coverage of service sectors according to SNA08/ISIC Revision 4 classification.