Publications & Documents

This report examines official development assistance (ODA) allocations by regime context, the kind of support donors provide to different regime types and if and how donors respond to processes of democratisation and autocratisation. The analysis covers country allocable ODA provided by all official donors to 124 ODA recipients. The report aims to inform policy discussions on existing ODA allocations by regime type and their underlying rationale. This report also proposes a series of policy questions for further reflection.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential drivers of sustainable economic growth in the Western Balkans and Turkey, where they make up 99% of all firms, generate 65% value added and account for 75% of employment. Nevertheless, SMEs across the region continue to face obstacles such as difficulties accessing financing, low levels of digital uptake, regulatory barriers and relatively low participation in international trade. The situation has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: SMEs found themselves fighting for survival amidst reduced demand, lockdowns and travel restrictions, and supply chain disruptions.  This report provides an overview of the implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe during the period 2019-22. It is designed to help policy makers design, implement and monitor policies to support the recovery of SMEs from the pandemic, boost their competitiveness based on OECD and EU good practices, and further enhance the region’s economic growth and resilience.  

Italy's National Action Plan for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) brings together the institutional mechanisms, evaluation frameworks and coherence tools needed to integrate sustainable development into government policy making. This Action Plan shows how to streamline existing mechanisms to improve policy coherence across levels of government and to involve civil society more closely in policy formulation. It also suggests how to make the most of complementarities across existing data collection efforts. The Action Plan includes suggestions for better linking mandates across departments and levels of government to avoid overlap and make greater progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, it provides targets and measurable processes for each action to help track progress.

This paper provides the first overview of efforts by low- and middle-income countries to extend the coverage of national social protection systems to the forcibly displaced persons they host. It presents a baseline of de jure (legal) and estimated de facto (actual) coverage in 12 countries; analyses the conditions enabling access to social protection by the forcibly displaced; draws lessons from Iraq, Sudan and Uganda in terms of challenges and successes; and offers guidance to major stakeholders on extending social protection initiatives to forcibly displaced persons.

Le rapport Institutions sociales et égalité femmes-hommes en Côte d’Ivoire analyse la manière dont les institutions sociales discriminatoires sont au cœur des inégalités entre les Ivoiriennes et les Ivoiriens, notamment en matière d’éducation et d’autonomisation économique. Il exploite de nouvelles données, à la fois quantitatives et qualitatives, portant sur les normes et les pratiques sociales. Ces données sont statistiquement représentatives au niveau du pays et des districts ivoiriens ; elles ont été collectées sur la base d’une méthode rigoureuse et d’une approche participative ayant réuni un large éventail de partenaires nationaux et internationaux. Le rapport souligne l’urgence de s’attaquer aux normes sociales discriminatoires afin de renforcer les droits, le bien-être, l’autonomisation économique et la capacité d’agir des femmes et des filles ivoiriennes. En lien avec les engagements de la Côte d’Ivoire en vue d’atteindre l’Objectif de développement durable n°5 portant sur l’égalité entre les sexes, le rapport propose des recommandations de politiques publiques pour combattre les discriminations faites aux femmes et aux filles, transformer les normes sociales et promouvoir l’autonomisation des femmes. Ces objectifs sont des conditions sine qua non pour construire une société véritablement inclusive et bénéficier d’une croissance économique forte et durable.

Le Sahel et l’Afrique de l’Ouest continuent de faire face à d’importants défis sur la voie de l’égalité des sexes et de l’autonomisation des femmes. De nombreux progrès ont certes été réalisés sur le plan de la santé et de l’éducation des femmes et des filles de la région, mais le chemin à parcourir reste très long. L’aide publique au développement (APD) peut, à cet égard, jouer un rôle crucial dans la mobilisation des soutiens en faveur de l’égalité femmes-hommes et sa promotion dans la région. Cette note se propose de dresser un état des lieux du financement de l’égalité femmes-hommes dans la région. Ce faisant, elle souligne la nécessité : d’augmenter la part de l’APD à l’appui des objectifs d’égalité des sexes ; de soutenir les organisations locales de femmes dans leur rôle clé pour atteindre les femmes et les filles les plus vulnérables ; d’investir dans l’évaluation et la sensibilisation aux programmes soucieux des problématiques de genre ; et d’encourager la production de données ventilées par sexe afin de déterminer les domaines où l’action peut être la plus efficace.

Young people have demonstrated resilience to shocks and led positive change in their communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Young people (aged under 30) constitute more than half (55%) of the population across MENA, compared with 36% of the population across OECD countries. While challenges vary significantly across the region, youth unemployment rates are among the highest in the world, young people tend to express low trust in public institutions, and nearly four in ten live in fragile and conflicted-affected areas. The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the need to place the needs of young people at the centre of an inclusive and resilient recovery. To support this process, this report analyses current governance arrangements and practices across 10  MENA governments in three areas: 1) uniting all government stakeholders to implement a shared, integrated youth policy and deliver services to young people; 2) building administrative and institutional capacities to mainstream the perspectives of young people in policy making; and 3) encouraging the participation and representation of young people and youth stakeholders in public and political life.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected Fiji, hitting at backbone economic sectors, such as international tourism and export fisheries. It has also brought to the fore the need to embark on a more sustainable model of development. This report examines Fiji’s economic and sustainability trends, as well as the governance and financing of its ocean economy before and during the COVID-19 crisis. It provides an initial mapping of promising initiatives and funding instruments that can be developed and scaled up to foster a sustainable blue recovery, focusing on four main areas: sustainable fisheries, sustainable tourism, green shipping and marine conservation.

Initially launched in 2017, the OECD annual Blended finance Funds and Facilities Survey compiles and analyses information on collective investment vehicles, one of the primary channels for blended finance. In 2020, the third annual edition captured 198 vehicles, representing USD 75 billion assets under management. The survey helps policy makers and private sector actors better grasp the size and shape of a segment of the blended finance market. By bringing together data of different development actors that, collectively, are a significant contributor to sustainable finance, this survey makes an important contribution to enhancing understanding and transparency. Transparency is increased through the data collection and analysis, and understanding is increased through the aggregation of the data that highlight the main investments trends. The quantitative analysis is complemented by OECD statistics on private finance mobilised by official development interventions, as well as by information provided by other specialised institutions. This new evidence confirms trends observed on the broader blended finance market in terms of priority sectors, geographical coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals targeted. This year’s edition also explores additional aspects such as investors, clients and investment instruments, and has a particular focus on gender.