Reports

This follow-up to the 2001 OECD Territorial Review of Bergamo monitors progress over the past 15 years and reassesses the main development challenges the region faces. Globalisation has intensified international competition in Bergamo’s traditional manufacturing sector, and the global financial crisis has exacerbated some of the structural weaknesses of Bergamo’s traditional industrial sectors. The region needs to upgrade production processes to generate more added value in economic activities to remain competitive. The review offers recommendations to help Bergamo transition to higher value-added and more technologically intensive activities. In particular, it calls for: a development plan supported by all local actors; a strategy for improving the skills of the adult population through education and training programmes; stimulating innovation systems; attracting foreign direct investment; and, finally, strategies for boosting the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Jordan Clean Energy Investment Policy Review is a country-specific application of the OECD Policy Guidance for Investment in Clean Energy Infrastructure. It aims to help Jordanian policy makers strengthen the enabling conditions for investment in renewable electricity generation in Jordan. The Policy Guidance is a non-prescriptive tool to help governments identify ways to mobilise private sector investment in clean energy infrastructure, especially in renewable electricity generation. The Policy Guidance was jointly developed by the OECD Working Party on Climate, Investment and Development (WPCID) of the Environment Policy Committee (EPOC) and the OECD Investment Committee, jointly with the Global Relations Secretariat (GRS). It benefited from significant inputs of the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Policy Guidance was annexed to the Communiqué of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors at their meeting on 10-11 October 2013.

Perspectives on Global Development 2017 presents an overview of the shifting of economic activity to developing countries and examines whether this shift has led to an increase in international migration towards developing countries. The report focuses on the latest data on migration between 1995 and 2015, and uses a new three-way categorisation of countries. It describes the recent evolution of migration overall as well as by groups of countries according to their growth performance.It analyses what drives these trends and also studies the special case of refugees. It examines the impact on migration of migration policies as well as various sectoral policies in developing countries of origin as well as of destination, and studies the impact of migration on these countries. The report also develops four illustrative future scenarios of migration in 2030 and recommends policies that can help improve the benefits of migration for origin and destination countries, as well as for migrants. Better data, more research and evidence-based policy action are needed to prepare for expected increases in the number of migrants from developing countries. More needs to be done to avoid situations that lead to refugee spikes as well as to foster sustainable development.

The fully revamped and re-titled OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook is a biennial publication that aims to inform policy makers and analysts on recent and future changes in global science, technology and innovation (STI) patterns and their potential implications on and for national and international STI policies. Based on the most recent data available, the report provides comparative analysis of new policies and instruments being used in OECD countries and a number of major emerging economies (including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and South Africa) to boost the contribution of science and innovation to growth and to global and social challenges. In this edition, detailed country and policy profiles are available on line.

An estimated 22% of the world’s largest firms are now effectively under state control, this is the highest percentage in decades. These firms are likely to remain a prominent feature of the global marketplace in the near future. The upsurge of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as global competitors has given rise to concerns related to a level playing field.  Some business competitors and observers claim that preferential treatment granted by governments to SOEs in return for public policy obligations carried out at home can give SOEs a competitive edge in their foreign expansion. The OECD has taken a multidisciplinary approach, looking at the issue from the competition, investment, corporate governance and trade policy perspectives.  The report aims to sort fact from fiction, and develop a stronger understanding, based on empirical evidence, on how to address growing policy concerns with regard to SOE internationalisation. The report concludes that although there is no clear evidence of systematic abusive behaviour by SOE investors, frictions need to be addressed, in view of keeping the global economy open to trade and investment.

This report examines Israel’s performance in stimulating SMEs and entrepreneurship and makes recommendations for government policy. A dual economy has gradually emerged in Israel, in which high rates of successful technology-based entrepreneurship contrast with low average productivity and growth in traditional SMEs. Israel has excellent framework conditions and programmes for technology-based start-ups and SMEs in areas such as R&D, high-level skills generation and venture capital finance. These strengths need to be maintained. At the same time, more needs to be done to spread success to all types of SMEs and all groups of the Israeli population. This report recommends a range of new and expanded interventions for example in access to credit, broad innovation, workforce skills development, management support and entrepreneurship education. It recommends underpinning these actions with a national SME and entrepreneurship policy strategy and new arrangements for inter-ministerial co-ordination.