By Date

The biennial OECD Digital Economy Outlook examines and documents evolutions and emerging opportunities and challenges in the digital economy. It highlights how OECD countries and partner economies are taking advantage of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet to meet their public policy objectives. Through comparative evidence, it informs policy makers of regulatory practices and policy options to help maximise the potential of the digital economy as a driver for innovation and inclusive growth.

The increasing use of digital technologies in economic activities - while creating significant benefits in terms of productivity and efficiency - is also leading to significant risks including the potential for digital security or cyber incidents to compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and information systems. While not a substitute for investing in cyber security and risk management, insurance coverage for cyber risk can make an important contribution to the management of cyber risk by promoting awareness about exposure to cyber losses, sharing expertise on risk management, encouraging investment in risk reduction and facilitating the response to cyber incidents. This report provides an overview of the financial impact of cyber incidents, the coverage of cyber risk available in the insurance market, the challenges to market development and initiatives aimed at addressing those challenges. It includes a number of policy recommendations aimed at supporting the development of the cyber insurance market and making a contribution to improving the management of cyber risk.

Norway has long used technology to streamline processes within the public sector and bring the government closer to citizens and businesses. Now the country is going further, seeking to transform its public sector through the full assimilation of digital technologies. The goal is to make it more efficient, collaborative, user- and data-driven, and better able to respond to the changing needs and expectations of citizens and businesses. This review analyses the efforts under way and provides policy advice to support the Norwegian government in implementing digital government.

The OECD Review of Telecommunication Policy and Regulation in Mexico, released in 2012, provided a comprehensive examination of the sector at the time, highlighting potential areas for regulatory and policy reform. Since then, the Mexican telecommunication sector has experienced substantial progress both from a legal and regulatory perspective, but also with respect to current market dynamics. The changes derive, to an important extent, from the reform that has taken place in Mexico since 2013, which closely reflect the 2012 OECD recommendations.

This report assesses subsequent market developments in the telecommunication and broadcasting sectors in Mexico, evaluates the implementation of the 2012 OECD recommendations, and puts forward a number of recommendations for the future. It records the remarkable progress made in implementing policy and regulatory changes and identifies areas where more can be done to continue the momentum that has brought tangible benefits to the people of Mexico.

Kazakhstan is aware of the importance of innovation for its socio-economic development, including the diversification of its resource-based economy. Since the start of the millennium, Kazakhstan has put in place key components of a modern research and innovation system. This has helped  improve scientific output and resulted in some successes in technology commercialisation. Further commitment and effort will be needed to strengthen innovation capabilities and make the most of Kazakhstan‘s advantages. This requires further reforms in order, notably, to strengthen the funding model of universities, intensify and broaden knowledge transfer, improve the governance of the research and innovation system, and increase the effectiveness of innovation incentives and policies, with a focus on implementation and evaluation.

Following a remarkable transformation in the past century in research and innovation, in particular through the development of new technologies and processes in sectors such as oil and gas, shipbuilding and also fisheries and aquaculture, Norway is today increasingly facing a “triple transition imperative” in which it needs, first, to shift toward a more diversified and robust economy; second, to move to a more competitive, effective and efficient innovation system; and third, to support research and innovation activities that can confront an array of societal challenges (climate change, food security, aging, health and so on). The Long-Term Plan for Research and Higher Education 2015-2024 (LTP) launched by the Norwegian government has set the base to enhance the capacity of the research and higher education system to cope with these transition challenges. This report proposes recommendations to take advantage of the revision of this comprehensive strategic plan in 2018 to improve the horizontal coordination and add more concrete structural policy initiatives, without changing the plan’s general orientation nor giving up the sectorial and the consensus principles that form the basis of Norwegian policy making.