30/01/2018 - The China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) and the OECD today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that sets out their commitment to intensify co-operation to promote responsible business in global textile and apparel supply chains.

When companies involve stakeholders, such as local communities, in their decision making, it enables them to identify, and account for the impacts of their activities, and contribute to positive social and economic development. To address the challenges raised when engaging with stakeholders, the OECD is preparing a user guide on how to undertake due diligence in engaging with stakeholders for mining, oil and gas enterprises.

The OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría called on the governments of steel-producing economies to address the root causes of today’s steel crisis through multilateral approaches, and in particular through the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity.

L’OCDE a mis au point un cadre pour l’évaluation de la qualité des statistiques macroéconomiquesqui se concentre sur sept dimensions de la qualité : la pertinence, la précision, la crédibilité, l’actualité, l’accessibilité, l’interprétabilité et la cohérence. Le présent rapport utilise ce cadre pour évaluer les statistiques d’IDI du Maroc.

ASEAN countries have made progress in SME policies – especially on GVC integration, business development and e-commerce – but future productivity growth will depend on continued reforms, says new joint OECD-ERIA-ASEAN report

Low growth prospects for the global economy, slowing demand for steel and virtually unchanged steelmaking capacity are driving severe and persistent excess capacity in the steel sector, the OECD Steel Committee said at the end of its meeting this week. The Committee reiterated the need for capacity reductions in relevant economies and for the removal of subsidies and other support measures that are distorting steel markets.

Countries deploy a variety of policy instruments to promote science-industry knowledge exchange. While these instruments are often discussed in isolation, they are implemented collectively and may negatively affect each other or add excessive complexity. This paper develops a conceptual framework to map policy instruments for knowledge exchange and assess interactions.

Drawing on the 2018 update of the OECD’s Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) database, this paper explores the evolution of trade in value added between 2005 and 2015. Changes in international production systems are examined with particular attention given to four key sectors heavily integrated into global value chains: textiles and apparel, chemicals, ICT and electronics, and motor vehicles.

The FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index (FDI Index) measures statutory restrictions on foreign direct investment in 68 countries, including all OECD and G20 countries, and covers 22 sectors.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed today Hungary’s steps to strengthen international tax co-operation after it became the 61st signatory to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published today 9 new peer review reports, including a Phase 1 Supplementary Report for Switzerland, demonstrating continuing progress toward implementation of the international standard for exchange of information on request.

The Hungarian economy has expanded strongly in recent years, helped by robust exports and firm domestic demand. But incomes are among the lowest in the OECD and structural reforms will be needed to sustain growth over the medium term, strengthen business investment and better match skills to labour market needs, according to a new OECD report.

This country note provides an environmental tax and carbon pricing profile for Hungary. It shows environmentally related tax revenues, taxes on energy use and effective carbon rates.

As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Gabon, Hungary, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius and the Russian Federation have now signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for Country-by-Country Reporting (CbC MCAA), bringing the total number of signatories to 57. Lithuania and Hungary joined the Agreement in October and December 2016 respectively.

This note presents marginal effective tax rates (METRs) that summarise the tax system’s impact on the incentives to make an additional investment in a particular type of savings. By comparing METRs on different types of household savings, we can gain insights into which assets or savings types receive the most favourable treatment from the tax system.

The Hungarian standard VAT rate is 27.0%, which is above the OECD average. The average VAT/GST¹ standard rate in the OECD was 19.3% as of 1 January 2019. The previous standard VAT rate in Hungary was 25% in 2011. It changed to the current level in 2012. Hungary applies reduced VAT rates of 5% and 18% to a number of goods and services.

This country note explains how Hungary taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Hungary decreased by 0.4 percentage points from 45.0 in 2018 to 44.6 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Hungary had the 6th highest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, occupying the same position in 2018.

This country note explains how France taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

Les dépenses de santé en France représentent un peu plus de 11 % du PIB, une des proportions les plus élevées des pays de l’OCDE, et devraient s’élever jusqu’à 13 % du PIB en 2030. Ces dépenses ont contribué à de bons résultats de santé, avec l’espérance de vie supérieure de deux ans à la moyenne de l’OCDE. Encore un adulte sur quatre fume tous les jours et la consommation d’alcool reste environ 30 % supérieure à la moyenne de l’OCDE.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in France decreased by 0.3 percentage points from 47.0 in 2018 to 46.7 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 France had the 5th highest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, occupying the same position in 2018.

This country note provides an environmental tax and carbon pricing profile for Iceland. It shows environmentally related tax revenues, taxes on energy use and effective carbon rates.

This note presents marginal effective tax rates (METRs) that summarise the tax system’s impact on the incentives to make an additional investment in a particular type of savings. By comparing METRs on different types of household savings, we can gain insights into which assets or savings types receive the most favourable treatment from the tax system.

The Icelandic standard VAT rate is 24.0%, which is above the OECD average. The average VAT/GST¹ standard rate in the OECD was 19.3% as of 1 January 2019. The previous standard VAT rate in Iceland was 25.5% in 2014. It changed to the current level in 2015. Iceland applies reduced VAT rates of 0% and 11% to a number of goods and services.

Sound macroeconomic policies and favourable external conditions have enabled Iceland’s economy to emerge stronger from a decade of post-crisis management. Yet the impact on growth from a drop in tourist arrivals and seafood exports underlines the need for reforms to open up and diversify the economy and improve its resiliency to sectoral shocks, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Iceland.

This country note explains how Iceland taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Iceland decreased by 0.3 percentage points from 33.4 in 2018 to 33.1 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Iceland had the 25th lowest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, compared with the 24th in 2018.

This country note explains how Greece taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Greece decreased by 0.2 percentage points from 41.0 in 2018 to 40.8 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Greece had the 14th highest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, compared with the 13th in 2018.

This country note explains how Italy taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Italy increased by 0.2 percentage points from 47.8 in 2018 to 48.0 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Italy had the 3rd highest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, occupying the same position in 2018.

Switzerland tops for the first time the OECD fixed broadband ranking, with 39.9 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, followed closely by the Netherlands (39.1) and Denmark (37.9). The OECD average is 25.6, according to new OECD statistics.

This report discusses the main areas in which national strategies to expand broadband networks affect universal service objectives, proposes criteria to rethink the terms of universal service policies, and shares the latest developments across a selected group of OECD countries.

Mobile providers have garnered a very large share of traditional services, such as telephony, over the past decade. Nevertheless, mobile networks are dependent on fixed networks and could not efficiently meet the rapidly expanding demand of users without the contributions made by fixed broadband networks.

Every day one exabyte of data is said to travel over the Internet – enough data to fill 300,000 of the world’s biggest hard disks or 212 million DVDs. And astonishingly, according to a new OECD report on Internet traffic exchange, most of the thousands of networks that exchange this traffic do so without a written contract or formal agreement.

This report takes an initial look at methodologies to measure and estimate the monetary value of personal data, which is creating economic and social value at an increasing pace. But measuring and estimating its value is difficult. This is because not only a huge amount of personal data is being generated, but also as it is used in many different situations and for numerous purposes.

This report explores the potential role of data and data analytics for the creation of significant competitive advantage and the formation of knowledge-based capital. Five sectors are discussed as areas in which the use of data can stimulate innovation and productivity growth: online advertisement, health care, utilities, logistics and transport, and public administration.

The work of the expert group played an essential role in a process which concluded in July 2013 with the adoption by the OECD Council of the first revisions to the OECD Privacy Guidelines since their original release in 1980. This document identifies a number of issues that were raised but not fully addressed as part of the review process and which could be considered as candidates for possible future study.

This report focuses on the development of backhaul and cross-border networks, which enable local networks to connect to the wider Internet. To connect their networks to others around the world, operators need access to regional and international high-speed networks. The level of investment required in these networks varies and can be very different from region to region.

Enhancements to fixed broadband networks remain critical despite the growth in the use of wireless services. This report examines the development of fixed networks, barriers to their upgrading and regulatory challenges.

Like its better known cousin ‘Black Friday’, ‘Cyber Monday’ is a marketing term to mark the kick-off of the holiday shopping season, right after Thanksgiving, in the US. Unlike Black Friday though, Cyber Monday is all about e-commerce.

The open Internet combined with today’s emerging technologies has launched the information revolution and is powering the global digital economy. Everyone has a stake in that development, both as individuals and in the organizations in which we serve and affiliate ourselves.

Mexico has become a frontrunner in a short time in making government data publicly accessible, but it now needs to put this wealth of digital information to use to foster innovation and benefit the Mexican economy and society, according to a new OECD report.

Mexico’s 2013 telecom reform has brought tangible benefits, spurring competition that has increased access and brought down mobile Internet costs from among the highest in advanced economies to among the lowest.

The OECD organised a webinar "The Future of Open Government Data in Mexico: Challenges and Experiences in OECD countries". The webinar was open to everyone and seeked to help the Mexican Government to prioritise the definition and implementation of strategic actions that contribute to the continuity and maturity of OGD policy in the short and medium term.

More than 110 countries and jurisdictions have agreed to review two key concepts of the international tax system, responding to a mandate from the G20 Finance Ministers to work on the implications of digitalisation for taxation.

The country profile: pension eligibility ages and other qualifying conditions; the rules for calculating benefit entitlements; the treatment of early and late retirees; personal income tax and social security contributions.

The reforms to the pensions system in Mexico, especially the introduction of a system of individual defined contribution accounts, have significantly improved the system’s financial sustainability.

This stocktaking report profiles the tax treatment of funded private pension plans across all OECD and EU countries. The information refers to 2015 or the latest year with available data and covers all types of funded private pension plans in each country.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Korea increased by 0.3 percentage points from 23.0 in 2018 to 23.3 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Korea had the 31st lowest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, occupying the same position in 2018.