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

The Netherlands is a global pioneer in water management with a long history of containing flood risks and reclaiming land from the sea. Yet it will need to adapt its water governance policies to meet the looming challenges of shifting demographics, regional development and climate change, according to an OECD report.

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.

Spain’s planned public sector reforms should help make the country’s institutions stronger and more effective, and proposals to increase transparency and root out corruption will do much to restore public trust, according to a new OECD report.

This book provides comparative data and policy benchmarks on women's access to public leadership and inclusive gender-responsive policy-making across OECD countries.

Ensuring tax and transfer systems bring sufficient revenue to reach macroeconomic fiscal targets, address societal goals in re-distribution and social welfare, recognise the influence taxation has on businesses’ competitiveness and adequately address environmental externalities is a tough challenge, arguably more so in Israel than in many other OECD countries.

Japanese users of the Better Life Index (BLI) worry most about safety, Australians seek work-life balance, Latin Americans strive for better education, and Danes want to be happy – user feedback shows as the Index marks its third birthday.

Smarter planning for natural and man-made disasters that increases collaboration between countries and encourages households and businesses to take more responsibility would improve resilience and reduce future economic losses, a new OECD report says.

The OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Critical Risks seeks to foster future cooperation between countries and with key partners,including the private sector, building common ground and promoting continuous improvement regarding the governance and management of critical risks.

This is the spring 2014 edition of the regional development policy newsletter.

Greece could save its businesses hundreds of millions of euros a year and improve their competitiveness by reducing administrative burdens, according to a new OECD report.

Finnish municipalities enjoy ample fiscal autonomy and provide or arrange the provision of a large share of public services. In recent years, their spending and debt has been increasing steadily, especially because of population ageing and increases in the cost of health care and social services.

The policy forum officially launches the conceptual framework to the public and offers an opportunity for participants to discuss the key issues for emerging Asia: housing, buildings and energy, land use and transport, water and waste management, green goods and services.

World Economic Forum: Global Agenda Council Launches Guide to Good Government and Trust-Building

Co-organised by the Italian Co-Chair of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group and the OECD, participants discussed progress in advancing the key elements of the global anti-corruption agenda and innovative solutions to address the latest challenges facing countries, business and civil society.

Workshop held in The Hague on 17-18 June 2014 to evaluate stakeholder engagement in regulatory policy

Whistleblowing is an essential element for safeguarding the public interest and for promoting a culture of public accountability and integrity. The majority of OECD countries have recently passed legislation protecting whistleblowers and yet, despite being high on the agenda, successful whistleblowing stories are rare.

The OECD Framework for Regulatory Policy Evaluation assists countries in systematically evaluating the design and implementation of regulatory policy, against the achievement of strategic regulatory objectives.

Latin American and Caribbean countries need to do more to improve budget management, tax collection and public sector pay equality if they are to catch up with advanced economies in terms of government performance, according to a joint report by the OECD and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Life expectancy, air quality, safety and other indicators of well-being can vary dramatically within countries, depending on which region you live in. Looking beyond national averages is vital to get an accurate picture of quality of life and to guide local government policy.

The OECD Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies aims to support the development and implementation of digital government strategies that bring governments closer to citizens and businesses.

Since around 2007, the country has been enjoying an “energy renaissance” thanks to its abundant stocks of shale oil and gas. The resurgence in oil and gas production is beginning to create discernible economic impacts and has changed the landscape for natural gas prices in the United States, boosting competitiveness.

Uncertainty faced by households and firms affects economic activity. The rise in uncertainty since the beginning of the sovereign debt crisis in Greece could be one factor that has contributed to the steep and long-lasting recession. This paper presents a brief empirical analysis quantifying this phenomenon and compares it with developments in Ireland and Portugal.

This study analyses the economic rent generated by the exploitation of a non-renewable resource, and the taxation of this rent.

This study aims to assess the degree of institutional fragmentation of transport and land use planning in Chicago. It provides an overview of local governments in metropolitan Chicago and mechanisms for coordination. Five main challenges are identified.

The Municipality of Hermosillo in Mexico shows a 12% progress in the implementation of OECD recommendations to simplify formalities to boost entrepreneurship and create employment.

3-4 September 2014, Phnom Penh, Cambodia: This conference focused on the key levers for restoring trust in government and building trust by and in the private sector and civil society.

Turkey recovered swiftly from the global financial crisis but sizeable macroeconomic imbalances arose in the process.

The International Forum on Open Government gathered open government leaders from around the world in order to debate the contribution of the principles of transparency, accountability and citizens’ participation to good governance and socio-economic development.

Living standards continue to diverge within many economically advanced countries as poorer regions struggle to catch up with richer ones. Half of the 34 OECD countries have seen the income gap between their best-off and worst-off regions widen since the 2008 crisis, according to new OECD research.

The 34-member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development welcomed a Memorandum of Understanding between the OECD and Ukraine which will help Ukraine’s efforts to tackle corruption, strengthen its tax system and promote competitiveness.

Jointly organised by the OECD, Duke University and IRGC, this international conference will identify, evaluate and discuss the relevance and effectiveness of new approaches to improving risk governance, both as they result from responding to and learning from crises, and as deliberate innovations in how regulatory power is exercised and shared.

The Japan-OECD Policy Forum on Urban Development and Green Growth will address cities’ unique role in creating synergies between environmental and economic objectives to advance green growth. Asian cities in particular are at the centre of this challenge. This event is organised as a commemorative event for the 50th Anniversary of Japan's Accession to the OECD.

Korea has made significant progress towards decentralising the management of employment and training programmes, but can still do more to create stronger links with employers at the local level, according to a new OECD report.

This International Roundtable will provide a platform for policy dialogue on addressing the challenges of ageing societies.

Webinar presenting OECD’s and UNEP’s Compendium of Best Practices in Green Public Procurement

This workshop provided practical information and learning through case studies, group exercises and presentations from government officials with extensive experience in applying regulatory impact assessment (RIA) systems.

An overview of vents and reports on Regional Development Policy for Autumn 2014.

Better policies for better lives: this time, in your region - Insights Blog

While the outlook for many OECD countries remains subdued, Emerging Asia is set for healthy growth over the medium term. Annual GDP growth for the ASEAN -10, China and India is forecast to average 6.5% over 2015-19. Growth momentum remains robust in the 10 ASEAN countries, with economic growth averaging 5.6% over 2015-19.

The OECD Conference on Innovating the Public Sector: From Ideas to Impact on 12-13 November 2014 will bring together public sector practitioners, researchers, civil society and businesses to discuss how innovation can help solve today's complex challenges.

“Life is full of alternatives but no choice.” G20 leaders at the summit in Brisbane, Australia, in November should reflect on these words by Australian writer Patrick White, a Nobel Laureate, as they prepare their economic strategies for the years to come.

MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries are looking for ways to build a strategic public sector capacity to enable full women’s empowerment in society and public life in a sustainable manner. They also seek to ensure conformity with international standards related to issues of gender equality and human rights.

Trust is the glue that holds societies together. It is essential for most social and economic relations. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, OECD countries have been under pressure to restore trust in their institutions, especially in their governments.

Over the past couple of years the OECD has been working with countries to develop the Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, to help them make the most of innovation. The Observatory puts the experiences of innovators from across the world at everyone’s finger tips.

Report finds that some Korean policies, such as urban regeneration, new town development or multi-modal transferring centres, have implicitly implemented compact city polices to a certain degree. However, there are still issues - including urban sprawl, unbalanced socio-economic levels and environmental challenges - which can be threats to urban competitiveness.

OECD blog article on the lobbying, written for the launch of the publication "Lobbyists, Government and Public Trust, Volume 3".

Opinion piece on lobbying regulation by Rolf Alter, published in the EU Observer.

OECD Forum on Financing Democracy and Averting Policy Capture

The second progress report in the implementation of regulatory improvement actions shows a 52% progress for the Municipality of Hermosillo.