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This review uses the OECD Policy Framework for Investment to present an assessment of the investment climate in Viet Nam and to discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by the government of Viet Nam in its reform efforts. It includes chapters on foreign investment trends and performance, the entry and operations of foreign investors, the legal framework for investment, corporate governance and competition policy, tax reforms, investment promotion and facilitation, infrastructure connectivity, investment framework for green growth and policies to promote and enable responsible business conduct.

Several of Portugal’s product markets remain among the most heavily regulated in the OECD, not least in the services sector. As vital inputs into the business sector, the liberal professions, such as legal services, architects and engineers, generate up to 1.8 times their value in outputs when they are used by firms. Having structural flaws such as access restrictions and reserved tasks, adversely affect the availability of such services for firms, there hence their ability to effectively compete in the markets. Regulatory restrictions also hamper innovation, efficiency and productivity within the liberal professions themselves. Against this backdrop, this report analyses Portuguese regulations for 13 self-regulated liberal professions (lawyers, solicitors, notaries, bailiffs, architects, engineers, technical engineers, certified accountants, auditors, economists, customs brokers, nutritionists and pharmacists). Using the OECD Competition Assessment Toolkit to structure the analysis, the project analysed 923 pieces of legislation. The report identifies 323 legal provisions which could be removed or amended to lift regulatory barriers to competition. The analysis of the Portuguese legislation and professions has been complemented by research into international experience and wide consultations with stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The OECD recommendations aim to remove or modify the identified provisions in order to be less restrictive in the access or exercise of the professions, to the benefit of businesses and consumers alike, while still achieving the policy objectives as stated by the Portuguese government. This report identifies the sources of those benefits and, where possible, provides quantitative estimates.

Several of Portugal’s product markets remain among the most heavily regulated in the OECD, not least in the services sector. The inland and maritime transports in Portugal are a vital part of the business environment, ensuring the movement of goods and passengers and allowing for inputs into the business sector to arrive when and where they are needed. Regulatory restrictions on entry, on the market structure, and on company formation adversely affect the ability of firms, whether providers or customers, to effectively compete in the markets. Regulatory restrictions also hamper innovation, efficiency and productivity. Against this backdrop, this report analyses Portuguese regulations for road, railway and maritime transport and many anxilary services (such as vehicle inspection centres), as well as Portugal’s ports. Using the OECD Competition Assessment Toolkit to structure the analysis, the project analysed 904 pieces of legislation. The report identifies 405 legal provisions which could be removed or amended to lift regulatory barriers to competition. The analysis of the Portuguese legislation has been complemented by research into international experience and wide consultations with stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The OECD recommendations aim to remove or modify the restrictive provisions in order to benefit businesses and consumers, while still achieving the policy of the Portuguese government. This report identifies the sources of those benefits and, where possible, provides quantitative estimates.

The publication Revenue Statistics in Africa is jointly undertaken by the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the OECD Development Centre, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF). It compiles comparable tax revenue and non-tax revenue statistics for 21 countries in Africa: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda. The model is the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well-established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending the OECD methodology to African countries enables comparisons about tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among African economies and with OECD, Latin American, Caribbean and Asian economies.SPECIAL FEATURE: STRATEGY FOR THE HARMONISATION OF STATISTICS IN AFRICA (SHaSA): 2017-2026

This first edition of Government at a Glance Southeast Asia is a joint project between the OECD and the ADB. It draws on data collections in 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) and compares their public management practices and procedures also with some OECD countries. This publication will better inform public sector reforms and evidenced-based policy making in the South East Asian region, as well as peer learning between the participating countries.

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.