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Going Digital in Latvia analyses recent developments in Latvia’s digital economy, reviews policies related to digitalisation and make recommendations to increase policy coherence in this area, based on the OECD Going Digital Integrated Policy Framework. The review uses strategic foresight to explore three alternative future scenarios, which could result from the digital transformation of the global economy and society. It also examines the availability and quality of communication networks and services in Latvia as well as related policies and regulations. Further, it reviews trends in digital technology usage among individuals, businesses and the government, and examines policies to foster diffusion. Finally, the review analyses opportunities and challenges raised by digitalisation in key areas, from innovation and skills to digital security and data governance, and evaluates policy responses to these changes in Latvia.

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).

This document summarises discussions held at the second annual event of the OECD Global Forum on Digital Security for Prosperity. The event, held on 14-15 November 2019 in London, brought together 160 experts and 30 speakers from government, business, civil society, the technical community and academia to discuss how to encourage digital security innovation. Participants explored the roles that different stakeholders can play in stimulating digital security innovation, including how governments can support it for example by implementing tax incentives, acting as an early customer for innovative products, and enacting flexible and outcome-based regulation. A digital security innovation ecosystem is the most important component of a strategic approach, as it brings together different stakeholder groups in a dedicated location. Participants discussed how different ecosystems can learn from one another through international co-operation and considered how governments can encourage digital security by design in innovation more generally.

This paper summarises and describes the variables, industries, methods and sources used in the construction of the STructural ANalysis (STAN) industry database. The STAN database serves as a tool for analysing industrial performance at a relatively detailed level of industrial activity. It includes annual measures of output, value added and its components, as well as labour input, investment and capital stock from 1970 onwards. This allows for a wide range of comparative cross-country analyses focusing on, for example, productivity growth, competitiveness and economic structural change. A standard industry list allows for comparisons across countries and provides sufficient detail to focus on, for example, high R&D-intensive activities, high digital-intensive activities or detailed ICT industries. The industry list is compatible with those used in related OECD industry databases.

Blockchain remains a hot topic for digital transformation and innovation. In the private sector, blockchain has demonstrated disruptive potential through proven use cases. However, despite strong interest and greater awareness, blockchain has had minimal impact on the public sector, where few projects have moved beyond small pilots. At the same time, there is a growing scepticism and cynicism about public sector blockchain. This paper seeks to understand why this is, by analysing the latest research in the area and identifying and analysing government experiences with successful and unsuccessful projects. It provides early findings on beliefs, characteristics, and practices related to government blockchain projects and the organisations that seek to implement them, with a focus on factors contributing to success or non-success. Although blockchain has yet to affect government in the ways that early hype predicted, government decision makers will nonetheless need to understand and monitor this emerging technology. 

Connectivity is the backbone of the digital transformation, and as such, policies and regulatory measures that foster access to high-quality communication services at competitive prices are key. This review provides a comprehensive examination of Brazil’s communication and broadcasting sectors, highlighting areas for regulatory and policy reform that can help ensure a successful and inclusive digital transformation. It analyses market performance of the communication and broadcasting sectors, as well as underlying policies and regulations. Based on its findings, the report recommends actions in five key areas: improving the policy and regulatory framework; overhauling the taxation, fees and tariff framework; improving market conditions; fostering competition in communication and broadcasting markets; and strengthening national policies and evidence-based policy making. These areas should be addressed simultaneously, in order to ensure a holistic approach to reform.

Rules as Code (RaC) is an exciting concept that rethinks one of the core functions of governments: rulemaking. It proposes that governments create an official version of rules (e.g. laws and regulations) in a machine-consumable form, which allows rules to be understood and actioned by computer systems in a consistent way. More than simply a technocratic solution, RaC represents a transformational shift in how governments create rules, and how third parties consume them. Across the world, public sector teams are exploring the concept and its potential as a response to an increasingly complex operating environment and growing pressures on incumbent rulemaking systems. Cracking the Code is intended to help those working both within and outside of government to understand the potential, limitations and implications of RaC, as well as how it could be applied in a public service context.