Browse by: "E"

This study provides an overview of government- and industry-specific measures to address the abuse of online platforms by counterfeiters. In recent years, trading platforms have been instrumental in the growth in e-commerce, but at the same time, they can be abused by illicit trade networks. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these problems as people turned to e-commerce during lockdowns and shop closures. Governments and industries have recognised these problems and are addressing them in various ways, including providing more transparency, streamlining procedures, and facilitating co-operation.

Society’s dependence on space infrastructure is at a critical juncture. Public and private actors worldwide are planning to launch tens of thousands of satellites into Earth’s orbit in the next five years. This will greatly expand and enrich the use of space resources, but it will also result in more crowded orbits and greater risk of damage from satellite collision and space debris. As satellite launches continue to multiply and concerns grow, the long-term sustainability of space-based infrastructure on orbit and beyond is set to emerge as an increasingly important space policy issue of the 21st century. This publication takes stock of the growing socio-economic dependence of our modern societies on space assets, and the general threats to space-based infrastructure from debris in particular. Notably, it provides fresh insights into the value of space-based infrastructure and the potential costs generated by space debris, drawing on new academic research developed especially for the OECD project on the economics of space sustainability.

Going for Growth is the OECD’s regular report on structural reforms in policy areas that have been identified as priorities to boost incomes in OECD and selected non-OECD countries (Argentina, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation and South Africa). Policy priorities are updated every two years and presented in a full report, which includes individual country notes with detailed policy recommendations to address the priorities, as well as a follow-up on actions taken. The selection of priorities and the monitoring of reform actions are supported by internationally comparable indicators that enable countries to assess their economic performance and structural policies in a wide range of areas.

In addition to the new set of policy priorities and country notes, the 2017 report also includes a special chapter discussing how the Going for Growth framework has been extended to identify reform packages that boost growth while ensuring that the benefits are widely shared.

The Going for Growth report, updated biennially, looks at structural reforms in policy areas that have been identified as priorities to boost growth in OECD and selected non-OECD countries. The selection of priorities is supported by internationally comparable indicators that enable countries to assess their economic performance and structural policies in a wide range of areas. For this edition, Going for Growth advises on country-specific structural policy priorities to strengthen growth fundamentals and pave the way for successful green and digital transitions. Four key policy areas are identified: enhancing the design of social support programs; lifting potential growth by removing obstacles to effective resource utilisation; securing faster progress towards decarbonization; making the digital transformation a driver of productivity growth.

In this collection of essays, renowned authors from various disciplines have drawn on supply chain analysis and industry studies to elucidate how NICT — new information and communications technologies — like mobile telephony and the Internet have been affecting low-income communities and small entrepreneurs from Bangladesh to South Africa. The general conclusion is sobering. NICT is no panacea for low productivity and profitability in emerging countries hampered by weak infrastructure, limited managerial expertise, poor quality control, and severe market distortions. Companies anywhere must nonetheless be “wired” to have any chance of competing in the global marketplace and perhaps reach hitherto inaccessible customers.

Synthetic biology is at such an early stage of development that there is no uniform agreement as yet about what it actually is. To some, it represents a natural extension of genetic engineering, and therefore is “business as usual”. For others, it is a way to bring mass manufacturing out from the decades of biotechnology research. Currently the discipline is limited by the ability to synthesise DNA cost-effectively but this is a technical barrier that it is anticipated will be overcome. Synthetic biology raises a number of policy issues around R&D funding, company investment, PPP arrangements and innovative financing, infrastructure requirements, education and training, intellectual property (IP), regulation, and public engagement. In preparation for the continuing development and greater use of synthetic biology, some countries have started to prepare synthetic biology technical roadmaps and a global roadmap for the medium term would be an extremely useful policy tool. Technical roadmaps could both identify likely future policy requirements, and be a useful vehicle in public engagement.

The 21st Century has so far witnessed a host of large-scale disasters in various parts of the world including: windstorms, flooding, new diseases infesting both humans and animals, terrorist attacks and major disruptions to critical infrastructures. It is not just the nature of major risks that seems to be changing, but also the context in which risks are evolving as well as society’s capacity to manage them.  This book explores the implications of these developments for economy and society in the 21st century, focussing in particular on the potentially significant increase in the vulnerability of major systems.  It concentrates on five large risk clusters: natural disasters, technological accidents, infectious diseases, food safety and terrorism, identifies the challenges facing OECD countries and sets out recommendations for governments and the private sector as to how the management of emerging systemic risks might be improved.

Encouraging Student Interest in Science and Technology Studies examines overall trends in higher education enrolments and the evolution of S&T compared with other disciplines. The results suggest that although absolute numbers of S&T students have been rising as access to higher levels of education expands in OECD economies, the relative share of S&T students among the overall student population has been falling, The report shows that encouraging interest in S&T studies requires action to tackle a host of issues inside and outside the education system, ranging from teacher training and curriculum design to improving the image of S&T careers. Numerous examples of national initiatives are used to complement the analyses to derive a set of practical recommendations.

Technological innovation can lower the cost of achieving environmental objectives, so it is important to understand how environmental policy design and technological innovation are linked. This is particularly true in the area of climate change where the estimated future costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions are affected greatly by the technological trajectory of the economy. While we suspect that public policy can play an important role in accelerating the development and diffusion of climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies, empirical evidence in this area remains scant. This book presents a series of papers that explore the extent to which technological innovation can lower the cost of achieving climate change mitigation objectives.

This report examines the opportunities of enhancing access to and sharing of data (EASD) in the context of the growing importance of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. It discusses how EASD can maximise the social and economic value of data re-use and how the related risks and challenges can be addressed. It highlights the trade-offs, complementarities and possible unintended consequences of policy action – and inaction. It also provides examples of EASD approaches and policy initiatives in OECD countries and partner economies.

Innovation is broader than science and technology, yet often statistics and government programmes narrowly focus on this type of innovation. In rural places, this is particularly relevant as not all firms have the capacity to be competitive in high-tech innovation. With around one in five Canadians living in Canada’s rural regions, better understanding how to promote broader notions of innovation for rural places by increasing entrepreneurship, including for women, advancing the green transition, and improving the provision of services is critical to boost rural productivity, and increase well-being standards. The report sets the scene for rural innovation in Canada, explores the policy and governance environment for key regional innovation initiatives, and includes a special topic chapter on green innovation in rural regions of Canada.

When it comes to high-tech innovations, the United States leads the path amongst OECD economies. However, in the context of the national record-breaking activities in high tech innovation, there lies distinct and growing geographical disparities. This report dives into strategies for better understanding innovation that occurs in rural places, and places outside major metropolitan areas, often going beyond science and technology. It provides analysis and recommendations to support regional development initiatives aimed at closing the gaps in innovation between rural and urban areas. The report includes a special topic chapter on the role of broadband and education in rural areas, exploring trends and providing policy recommendations to enhance rural innovation through these specific and critical framework conditions.

The digital transformation of economic activities is creating significant opportunities for innovation, convenience and efficiency. However, recent major incidents have highlighted the digital security and privacy protection risks that come with an increased reliance on digital technologies. While not a substitute for investing in cyber security and risk management, insurance coverage for cyber risk can make a significant 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 to address those challenges. It includes a number of policy recommendations which support the development of the cyber insurance market and contribute to improving the management of cyber risk.

This publication presents an original collection of indicators for measuring the state of entrepreneurship and its determinants, produced by the OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme. The 2016 edition introduces data from a new online small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) survey prepared by Facebook in co-operation with the OECD and the World Bank. It also features a special chapter on SME productivity, and indicators to monitor gender gaps in entrepreneurship.

The publication is produced by the OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme based on official statistics. The 2017 edition features a new trends chapter, which also introduces recent developments related to the emergence of the "gig economy" and the use of digital tools by micro-enterprises.

This report presents three case studies to illustrate the relationship between environmental policy and technological innovation. The case studies cover abatement technologies for wastewater effluent from pulp production, abatement of motor vehicle emissions, and development of renewable energy technologies. On the basis of patent data, the nature, extent, and causes of innovation in each of these areas have been explored. While a particular focus has been placed on the role of environmental policy in bringing about the innovation documented, it is recognised that other factors play a key role in inducing innovation that has positive environmental implications.