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Shenzhen is a stellar case of growth and economic transformation. Since its establishment as one of China’s first four Special Economic Zones in 1980, it has evolved at breakneck speed. Shenzhen transformed from a fishing village to a major world trade hub and is now home to global innovators in electronics. The Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR) of Shenzhen, China reviews the city’s changing policy approaches, focusing on the shift from an assembly to a manufacturing centre and more recently to an innovation and start-up hub. Through a comprehensive assessment of Shenzhen’s experience, this review offers insights into the range of policies and strategies employed to stimulate industrial upgrading and learning in China. It provides lessons and actionable policy recommendations for the growth of cities and emerging economies in their catching-up journey. The PTPR of Shenzhen, China has been carried out in the framework of the OECD Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development and has benefitted from government-business dialogues and international peer learning (University of Seoul, Korea; University of Georgetown, USA and Digital India Foundation, India).

The slowdown in market demand for oil is putting increasing pressure on Kuwait's current economic and social model. This model is based on the distribution of petroleum export proceeds to Kuwaiti citizens, with relatively limited long-term investment in knowledge production and the upgrading of the national innovation capacity. The transition towards a knowledge-based society – where value creation, the resolution of societal challenges and the well-being of society at large will be based on the production, diffusion and implementation of knowledge – is becoming an imperative. This is recognised within the national development strategy which formulates the objective of attaining 'Smart Kuwait' by 2035. Such a transition is challenging and can only be achieved through the build-up of appropriate governance of the STI system with adequate institutions such as a Ministry and a professional agency with a mandate for research and innovation. This set-up should help raise awareness and reduce barriers to innovation, reinforce the scientific research base, develop the support for business innovation, foster knowledge diffusion and co‑creation between science and industry, build up the human capital needed, and establish the role of science, technology and innovation in tackling Kuwait's societal challenges.

The promotion of widespread, affordable, and high-quality broadband is a prerequisite for the digital transformation of economies and societies. Foreseeing the role of broadband as an accelerator of economic, social and cultural development, the OECD adopted the Council Recommendation on Broadband Development in 2004. Since then, important developments have taken place in broadband technologies and markets. As part of the review of the 2004 Recommendation undertaken from 2018 to 2020 and resulting in the adoption of the revised 2021 OECD Council Recommendation on Broadband Connectivity, this report examines the evolution of broadband technologies, policies and regulation to foster broadband developments since 2004 as well as the benefits of, and challenges to, accelerating these developments to further enable digital transformation and inclusive growth.

Communication market structures and their effect on delivering efficient and inclusive connectivity is of key interest to policy makers and regulators. This report discusses emerging competition trends in OECD broadband markets that are shaping market structures, covering both fixed and mobile networks. The increasing complementarity of fixed and wireless networks and the convergence of previously separate markets have led to new forms of communication market competition. While convergence has been acting as a driver for market consolidation, there is also increased scrutiny in merger review. Some OECD countries are discussing options to keep mobile communication markets open to new entrants in the context of merger reviews, while others have experienced a recent wave of entry. The report explores the role of horizontal and vertical mergers in communication markets, presents examples of entry in mobile communication markets, and discusses some of effects of entry and consolidation in OECD markets.

Without connectivity, there can be no digital transformation of economies and societies. With this in mind, the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Broadband Development was adopted in 2004. Since then, broadband markets, underlying technologies, and the policies in place to spur the development of broadband networks have undergone significant changes. This document summarises the outcome of an extensive questionnaire sent to delegates of OECD countries and stakeholder groups. The questionnaire aimed to gather information on the experience of OECD countries concerning broadband development in general, and more particularly their experience in implementing the 2004 Recommendation. The responses to the questionnaire were used to inform the review and revision of the 2004 Recommendation, which resulted in the adoption of the 2021 OECD Council Recommendation on Broadband Connectivity.

Building on recent OECD work, this paper analyses the skills sets ('skills bundles') demanded in artificial intelligence (AI)-related online job postings. The analysis uses Burning Glass Technologies’ data for the United States and the United Kingdom and finds that skills related to the open source programming software Python and to machine learning represent 'must-haves' for working with AI. Employers additionally value specialised skills related to robotics, AI development and applying AI. A comparison of the periods 2013-15 and 2017-19 shows that the latter two have become more interrelated over time, with 'neural network' skills connecting both groups. Network analysis relating AI skills to general skills highlights the growing role of socio-emotional skills; and of skill bundles related to programming, management of big data and data analysis. Key results hold for both countries and time periods, though differences emerge across occupations and industries.

Marine data play a crucial role for many scientific disciplines, as well as for very diverse operational services such as fisheries management, environmental planning, marine conservation, weather forecasting, or port management. The information derived from marine data is also increasingly finding its way into a wide and varied range of public policy arenas and private industries. Collecting, distributing and archiving public marine data provide benefits to society at large, however as with all public investments, assessments are needed to provide evidence to decision makers. Based on an original survey of UK marine data users, this paper explores pathways through which marine data are used and transformed into actionable information, creating systematised value chains for the first time. The analysis unveils trends in current marine data uses in the UK and key benefits of data uses. The paper lays the foundations for further OECD work with the marine data community.

R&D tax incentives have become a widely used policy tool to promote business R&D. How do they shape firms’ incentives to invest in R&D? This paper contributes a methodology to construct forward-looking effective tax rates for an R&D investment that reflect the value of expenditure-based R&D tax incentives. The new OECD estimates cover 48 countries and consider the case of large profitable firms, accounting for the bulk of R&D in most economies. The results provide new insights into the generosity of R&D tax incentives from the perspective of firms that decide on whether or where to invest in R&D (extensive margin) and the level (intensive margin) of R&D investment. The generosity of the favourable tax treatment of R&D is shown to vary at the intensive and extensive margins, highlighting differences in countries’ strategies to support R&D through the tax system.