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41. Employment Protection: Costs and Benefits of Greater Job Security

Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Deregulating labour markets – for example making it easier for firms to hire and fire employees – is at the heart of the employment debate in many OECD countries. Laws on firing or layoffs and other employment protection regulations are thought by many to be a key factor in generating labour market "rigidity", as well as one reason for the large differences in labour market performance among OECD countries, notably between the United States and some of the larger European countries.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Europe

42. Economic Survey of Portugal, 2004

Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Convergence of the Portuguese economy toward the more advanced OECD economies seems to have halted in recent years, leaving a significant gap in per capita incomes. The proximate cause is low labour productivity, as employment rates across the board are substantially higher than the EU average. Nor is there a shortage of capital goods in aggregate. But capital equipment in the business sector is not always efficiently used or allocated, and new technologies are not readily adopted. Furthermore, the Portuguese labour force – even its younger members – have had less formal education than workers in other EU countries, including among the new entrants from Central and Eastern Europe, and workers in Portugal also have less access to training than in many other countries. Traditional Portuguese low value-added highly labourintensive products now face increasing competition from developing countries and from the new EU entrants.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Europe and Eastern Europe

43. Competition Law and Policy in Japan

Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Japan's Fair Trade Commission, created in 1947, is one of the oldest and largest competition law enforcement agencies in the world. Before the 1990s, though, competition had usually played a subordinate role in Japan's regulatory policies, while aspects of Japan's traditional approach to regulation had contradicted principles of modern competition policy. Over the past decade of reform in Japan, this attitude toward competition policy has been changing.
Topic:
Development, Government, and International Law
Political Geography:
Japan and Israel

44. Which Policies Can Reduce the Cost of Capital in Southern Africa?

Author:
Martin Grandes and Nicolas Pinaud
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Lowering interest rates and, thus, the cost of borrowing in the rand zone (Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa) is a priority to promote investment and economic growth. Local-currency interest rates in these countries are driven by those on rand-denominated transactions. Reducing the level and volatility of the rand premium would help reduce financing costs in the region. Policies should promote: enhancing financial-market liquidity; easier access to South African financial markets for African entities; domestic saving capacity; and the improvement of international perception of the rand. Johannesburg could become a financial "hub" for the region, channelling cheap resources to its neighbours.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, Swaziland, and Namibia

45. Public Sector Modernisation: Changing Organisational Structures

Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Governments have always changed their structures to respond to new priorities in a changing society, or to improve the management of existing ones. They have also taken advantage of new capacities and better governance in society in general to put some of the functions previously performed in the core public service at arm's length, or even to privatise or contract them out.
Topic:
International Relations, Civil Society, Economics, and Government

46. Internationalisation of Higher Education

Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Higher education has become increasingly international in the past decade as more and more students choose to study abroad, enrol in foreign educational programmes and institutions in their home country, or simply use the Internet to take courses at colleges or universities in other countries. This growth is the result of several different, but not mutually exclusive, driving forces: a desire to promote mutual understanding; the migration of skilled workers in a globalised economy; the desire of the institutions to generate additional revenues; or the need to build a more educated workforce in the home countries, generally as emerging economies.
Topic:
International Relations, Civil Society, Education, and Government

47. The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance

Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The integrity of businesses and markets is central to the vitality and stability of our economies. So good corporate governance – the rules and practices that govern the relationship between the managers and shareholders of corporations, as well as stakeholders like employees and creditors – contributes to growth and financial stability by underpinning market confidence, financial market integrity and economic efficiency. Recent corporate scandals have focussed the minds of governments, regulators, companies, investors and the general public on weaknesses in corporate governance systems and the need to address this issue.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Government, and Political Economy

48. Public Sector Modernisation: Modernising Public Employment

Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
When it comes to the nuts and bolts of government, OECD countries have one thing in common: a core public service. In other words, a centrally controlled bureaucracy made up of people working in ministries, departments and government agencies to carry out the business of government. Civil service structures have evolved around the idea that public employment is different from other types of work and therefore requires a special employment system and structure.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Government

49. Economic survey of Korea, 2004

Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Korea has been one of the fastest growing economies in the OECD area over the past five years, with an annual growth rate of about 6 per cent. Such rapid growth, which has lifted per capita income to two-thirds of the OECD average, reflects Korea's underlying dynamism and its progress in implementing a wide-ranging reform programme in the wake of the 1997 crisis. However, the recession in 2003 – which was due in part to structural problems in the labour market and in the corporate and financial sectors – indicates that the reform agenda is unfinished. Sustaining rapid growth over the medium term as the contribution from inputs of labour and capital slows requires further progress in structural reform, particularly in the labour market and in the corporate and financial sectors, accompanied by appropriate macroeconomic policies.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Asia and Korea

50. Competition Law and Policy in Mexico

Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Mexico's competition policy was introduced as part of a decade-long reform initiative, begun in the mid-1980s, to end central government control and protection of domestic economic activity and to develop instead a market-based economy. A key element in the government's economic reform was the adoption, in 1993, of the Federal Law of Economic Competition (LFCE), and creation of the Federal Competition Commission (CFC) to enforce it.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
North America and Mexico