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Workshop: Accessibility to services in regions and cities - Measures and policies

This workshop is to discuss the policy relevance of inequalities in the access to services in regions and cities, including the institutional and territorial organization for service delivery.




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Better civil justice systems can boost investment, competition, innovation and growth, OECD says

Well-functioning judicial systems play a crucial role in determining economic performance – notably by guaranteeing the security of property rights and the enforcement of contracts – but not all countries’ judiciaries operate at the same level of efficiency.




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Restructuring welfare spending in Slovenia

Restoring fiscal sustainability is a major challenge in Slovenia. Yet, the performance in terms of expenditure control is poor and public expenditure on social spending increased briskly during the crisis, significantly more than on average across the OECD.




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OECD Insights: The serpent in the lobby

Article by Patrick Love on lobbying in latest edition of "OECD Insights", 27 June 2013.




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OECD Forum on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying

The Forum addressed key challenges in designing and implementing a system that ensures compliance in a cost-effective way.




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The post-crisis narrowing of international imbalances - cyclical or durable?

After peaking in the first half of 2008, international imbalances declined sharply during the global crisis of 2008-09, in part reflecting cyclical factors such as large contractions in domestic demand on the back of bursting housing bubbles in a number of deficit countries, as well as large declines in cross-border capital flows, interest rates and commodity prices.




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Italy and the euro area crisis: securing fiscal sustainability and financial stability

Italy’s policy of fiscal consolidation and growth-friendly structural reforms has substantially improved its economic prospects, but the adverse sentiment that the country has faced in the sovereign bond market over the past years has deep roots.




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Choosing fiscal consolidation instruments compatible with growth and equity

This study proposes a structured approach to selecting instruments of fiscal consolidation that are consistent with growth, equity and global-rebalancing objectives, which is then illustrated with a particular application.




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Fiscal consolidation across government levels. Part 2: Fiscal rules for sub-central governments, update of the institutional indicator

Fiscal rules that constrain sub-central government (SCG) budgeting are very common across the OECD, but there are substantial cross-country differences in their implementation and impact. This paper presents the 2011 update of the fiscal rules database established in 2005.




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Fiscal consolidation across government levels. Part 3: Intergovernmental grants, pro- or counter-cyclical?

This paper provides empirical analysis that measures the cyclical properties of intergovernmental transfers (or grants). Modelling a fiscal policy reaction function this paper tests whether the transfers systems in OECD countries are pro- or counter-cyclical, i.e. whether they offset cyclical fluctuations of sub-central economies or, on the contrary, exacerbate them.




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A simple fiscal stress testing model - case studies of Austrian, Czech and German economies

This paper develops a simple model-based framework for stress testing fiscal consolidation strategies under different scenarios of future shocks




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OECD Secretary-General to participate in public administration reform seminar in Madrid on Monday 15 July 2013

The Spanish government has launched a series of ambitious public administration reforms as part of wider efforts to promote economic competitiveness and strengthen trust in government and public institutions.




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Deleveraging: challenges, progress and policies

In the run-up to the financial crisis, indebtedness of households and non-financial businesses rose to historically high levels in many OECD countries; gross debt of financial companies rose dramatically relative to GDP. Much of the debt accumulation appears to have been based on excessive risk-taking and exceptional macro-economic conditions and therefore not sustainable.




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Improving fiscal federal relations for a stronger Mexico

Mexico has achieved a high degree of decentralisation in public services, but the Mexican fiscal federal system has important shortcomings. States and municipalities have become heavily dependent on federal transfers to finance a growing share of public spending.




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Japan's challenging debt dynamics

This working paper presents the background and the details of the simulations behind Box 1.4 of the May 2013 OECD Economic Outlook. A small simulation model is used to evaluate the contribution that the three pillars of the government’s strategy – fiscal consolidation, growth-boosting structural reforms and higher inflation – could make to reversing the rise in Japan’s public debt ratio.




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Insights Blog: Stats and the city

An article from the OECD Insights blog about the Metropolitan Explorer - a nifty tool from the OECD that lets you explore statistics for 268 metropolitan areas in OECD countries.




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OECD participation in the 2013 World Water Week

The OECD participated in this annual event held in Stockholm (1-5 September 2013) where two major reports "Water Security for Better Lives" and "Water and Climate Change Adaptation: Policies to Navigate Uncharted Waters" were launched by the OECD's Secretary-General, Angel Gurría.




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Insights Blog: Do you "Like" your government as much as Chileans Like theirs?

Today’s post is by Arthur Mickoleit of the OECD’s Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development. Inputs from Kareen Schramm and Sofia Varas of Chile’s Ministry General‑Secretariat of the Presidency are gratefully acknowledged.




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Reflections on 120 years of women's suffrage in New Zealand

On 19 September 1893 New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant the right to vote to all adult women. New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the OECD Rosemary Banks says the 120th anniversary of this decision is an time to reflect on that achievement.




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Measuring regulatory performance at sub-national level: Benefits and challenges

This workshop served to discuss how benchmarking and measuring regulatory performance can help advance a regulatory policy at the sub-national level.




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Recovering Trust as a Key to Effective Public Policy

Public trust is the cornerstone of effective governance, the main ingredient to promote economic growth and social progress. Like never before, our citizens have doubts about their government’s capacities to make the right decisions. Therefore, we need to take the necessary measures to recover that confidence, said OECD Secretary-General.




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Workshop on competition assessment in Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA)

The OECD, in co-ordination with Mexico's Ministry of Economy and COFEMER, organised a workshop to train federal officials to understake competition assessment as part of the RIA framework.




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Regulatory improvement in the Municipality of San Luis Potosí, Mexico

The OECD and the Municipality of San Luis Potosí in Mexico launched a programme to improve municipal formalities according to the OECD Guide.




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Insights Blog: Government budget, read all about it!

Today’s post is from Kate Lancaster, editor in charge of publications on government finance at the OECD. Government budgets are news. Tough choices have had to be made in these challenging economic times and we’re all interested in how our governments are managing our money.




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Policies for inclusive urbanisation in China

Urbanisation in China has long been held back by various restrictions on land and internal migration but has taken off since the 1990s, as these impediments started to be gradually relaxed. People have moved in large numbers to richer cities, where productivity is higher and has increased further thanks to agglomeration effects.




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Rural-Urban Partnerships: An Integrated Approach to Economic Development

This report provides a framework to understand the changing relationships between urban and rural areas. Specifically, it documents the characteristics of these partnerships and the factors that can hinder as well as enable rural-urban co-operation.




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Improving innovation policy and ensuring good governance would help raise living standards in Colombia, OECD says

Good public policies are central to well-functioning economies. Better policies on innovation, combined with high-quality regulations and a more efficient public administration, can help Colombia create jobs, boost economic growth and support development, according to three new OECD reports.




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OECD report measures human cost of crisis; underlines need to invest in well-being

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.




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Regulatory Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: Implementing Regulatory Policy Principles to Foster Inclusive Growth

This report assesses progress in the implementation of regulatory policy within the MENA region and highlights good practices from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia.




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Insights Blog: Why should the Middle East and North Africa care about regulatory reform?

The report "Regulatory Reform in the Middle East and North Africa" assesses progress in the implementation of regulatory policy within the MENA region and highlights good practices from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia.




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Restoring Trust in Government: Addressing Money and Influence in Public Decision Making

This Forum took stock of the key challenges and trends in regulating money in politics; identify emerging risks and opportunities; shape a common understanding of the policy options ahead and trade-offs in enhancing fairness, integrity and transparency in decision making including in the realm of political finance; and mobilise partners to work together and promote synergies in the future agenda.




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Governments can do more to regain trust, says OECD report

The global economic crisis has undermined trust in government. Today only four out of ten citizens in OECD countries say they have confidence in their national authorities. Not surprisingly, trust declined in the countries hit hardest by the crisis, such as Ireland, Greece, Slovenia and Portugal.




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Regions and Innovation: Collaborating Across Borders

This report examines cross-border collaboration on innovation, building on case studies of cross-border areas that include the following countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom and Ireland.




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The role of parliaments in promoting better regulation

The OECD and the Scrutiny Committee on Law Implementation of the French Senate co-organised a conference on 5 December 2013 on “Law evaluation and better regulation: the role for parliaments” at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris.




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Ministerial meeting: Regions and Cities - Where Policies and People meet

Ministers responsible for regional, urban and territorial development from around the world will gather in Marseille, France on 5-6 December 2013 to share good practices and future opportunities in three areas: effective public investment strategies, inclusive growth in cities and regions, and new frameworks for fitting policies to places.




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Improved multi-level governance key to tackling widening regional inequalities and ensuring inclusive recovery

The economic crisis has hit certain regions and cities harder than others in the OECD area, calling for better regional policies across levels of governments to foster an inclusive and sustainable recovery, according to two new OECD reports.




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Aix-Marseille at the crossroads: Overcoming fragmentation for a stronger metropolitan area

The metropolitan region of Aix-Marseille in the south of France needs to tackle its fragmentated governance if it is to return to more inclusive and sustainable economic growth, according to a new OECD report.




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Blog: Government at a Glance - Well-being and quality of public service provision

This blog, by Wikichild co-ordinator Melinda George, takes a look at the well-being aspects and the quality of public service provision in the OECD's "Government at a Glance 2013" report. The post is part of Wikiprogress' December spotlight on governance.




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Integrity and the crisis: How to earn back the trust of young people?

How can we earn back the trust of young people? Improving openness, transparency, accountability, and access to information is essential. On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day and Transparency International’s 20th Anniversary, the OECD and Transparency International are inviting young people for a discussion about how to push the integrity agenda forward together.




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New econometric estimates of long-term growth effects of different areas of public spending

Using panel data for OECD countries, this study investigates the extent to which changes in government spending on education, health and other areas influence long-term growth.




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Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: Measuring OECD Responses

Strengthening OECD firewalls can only do so much to combat a phenomenon which thrives on weak governance. This report highlights that donor agencies can support this goal through their central role in linking OECD and developing countries, and using their aid to support governments willing to tackle these issues.




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Blog: Trust in Government - Causes, consequences and solutions

This blog post on trust in governments is a compilation of presentations given at the OECD Workshop entitled "Joint Learning for an OECD Trust Strategy", held on 14 October 2013.




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Blog: Transparency and governance in the land sector - Two sides of the same coin?

This blog, written by ODI's Anna Locke, discusses land governance and transparency definitions, initiatives and key lessons. The post is part of Wikiprogress' spotlight on governance.




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The effect of government debt, external debt and their interaction on OECD interest rates

In the wake of the financial crisis there has been renewed focus on the importance of a country’s net external debt position in determining domestic interest rates and, relatedly, its vulnerability to a crisis. This paper extends the panel estimation of OECD countries described in Turner and Spinelli (2012) to investigate the effect of external debt and its interaction with government debt on the interest-rate-growth differential.




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French capital should prepare now for risk of a costly Seine flood

A major flooding of the Seine River similar to the flood disaster of 1910 could affect up to 5 million residents in the greater Paris area and cause up to 30 billion euros worth of damage, according to a new OECD report.




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Blog: How should we measure quality of life in urban centres?

This blog, written by David Satterthwaite with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), discusses what indicators are needed in order to assess the quality of life of the urban poor.




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OECD Territorial Reviews: Ukraine

This review addresses the territorial dimension of a range of policy challenges in the Ukraine, including Ukraine's productivity challenge, large inter-regional disparities, and need for decentralisation.




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Public consultation: Draft principles on the governance of critical risks

The OECD has launched a public consultation on its draft principles on the governance of critical risks.




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Recommendation of the OECD Council on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government

Recommendation of the OECD Council on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government




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Principles of Budgetary Governance

These principles give practical guidance for designing, implementing and improving budget systems to meet the challenges of the future. They are currently being considered as a draft Recommendation of the OECD Council, underpinning their importance to good public governance.