Browse by: "R"

Reaching climate neutrality requires economic transformations of unprecedented scale and speed. Immediate action from the business community can avoid unnecessary costs, create wellbeing co-benefits and prepare local businesses with a better competitive position in the future climate neutral economy. This report shows what reaching climate neutrality by 2040 means for Hamburg businesses and identifies key actions they need to undertake. It provides insights where the Hamburg economy and its businesses stand on the way to climate neutrality and on their needs to advance, drawing on a business survey. The study also shares insights from action plans of selected comparison cities. It points to cross-sector as well as to sector-specific challenges and opportunities for Hamburg businesses. This includes making better use of low-cost renewables, addressing energy efficiency in buildings as well as challenges and opportunities in activities in and around the port and in industry. It highlights Hamburg's potential as a hydrogen hub as well as the need to adopt circular economy practices. It illustrates that a regional and business perspective are necessary to achieve climate neutrality in prosperity, requiring individual and collective business action.

This report compares urbanisation trends in OECD countries on the basis of a newly defined OECD methodology which enables cross-country comparison of the socio-econimic and environmental performance of metropolitan areas in OECD countries. The methodology is presented and results from its application to 27 OECD countries are discussed together with policy implication both on national growth and governance of cities. The report also includes three original papers that present the urbanisation dynamics and prospects in China and South Africa and the governance challenges resulting from the new policy agenda on cities in the United Kingdom.

This publication reports on current definitions and uses of functional regions in the OECD countries. It sets forth the reasons that prompt countries to formulate such entities, takes stock of responsibilities and prerogatives existing at these echelons, and tallies their financial resources.The publication is an assessment of the relevance of using these regions as analytical territorial entities in the OECD countries, and as a framework for the application of certain territorial policies.

This book describes and examines reforms of fiscal federalism and local government in 10 OECD countries implemented over the past decade. The country chapters identify common patterns and factors that are conducive to reforms of the intergovernmental fiscal framework, using a common methodological approach. The summary chapter highlights the cross-cutting issues emerging from the country chapters and shows the key factors in the institutional, political, economic and fiscal areas that are supporting reform success. The report’s approach results in valuable insights for policy makers designing, adopting and implementing fiscal federalism and local government reforms.

This report examines the difference in which public transport planning is undertaken and services are delivered. The report focuses primarily on urban public transport markets, with some consideration given to intercity markets. Case studies and examples address bus, tram, metro and urban or regional rail. It discusses how well different models of transport organisation deliver value for money, encourage and harness innovation, and help systems prepare for the challenges and opportunities on the horizon. Recommendations highlight the key main factors for successful reform of public transport systems.

This report assesses the state of Armenia’s sanitation services, which are in poor shape, and proposes ways forward for reforming the sector by: ensuring equitable access by all and identifying solutions that work for the poorest and most remote communities; generating economies of scale and scope, and reducing both investment and operational costs for the efficient delivery of sanitation services; and moving towards sustainable cost recovery for the sanitation sector, by identifying how much funding can be mobilised from within the sector and how much external transfers are required. The state of Armenia’s sanitation services are inadequate, with 51% of the population in rural areas using unimproved facilities, causing direct damage to the environment and exposing inhabitants to health risks, and better access but degraded sewerage-system infrastructure in urban areas, posing health hazards due to potential cross-contamination between sewage and drinking water. According to preliminary estimates, EUR 2.6 billion of investments will be required to meet Armenia’s sanitation needs, with approximately EUR 1 billion needing to be spent in the next 7 to 10 years. Given the country’s current economic situation, this investment will have to be spread over time and targeted to avoid further deterioration of infrastructure and increase of the financing gap.

Human resources, training, qualifications and skills play an essential part in the development of regional economies. The notion of "learning" regions which has now become self-evident has yet to be translated into practice: but under which conditions and what are the priorities? This publication gives a comprehensive picture of current practices and future issues. Regional policies are increasingly focusing on human resources and their orientation towards market demand and improvement of partnerships. The great diversity of regional approaches to human resource development in industrialised countries shows that an efficient regional governance, coupled with concern for equity, can reinforce and consolidate national policies. This volume casts a new light on these issues, providing a useful source of information and inspiration for regional actors and their national partners.

Mexico is a multi-faceted country. Given the geographical and ethnic diversity of Mexico's regions, as well as their particular cultural and historical traditions, each of the regions making up the Federation calls for a specific development policy. At the same time, economic, political and social equilibria are going to be affected by the trend towards a greater decentralisation of political structures. Mexico is faced with two major challenges. How can consistency of government action be maintained in conjunction with a firm resolve to decentralise? How is it possible to reconcile regional and national development while striving to achieve the country's integration within the world economy? This study, which includes many tables, maps and figures as background material, makes it possible to define these challenges more clearly and therefore to clarify regional policy options for the coming decade.

Despite its rapid economic growth over the past decades, Poland’s economic inactivity rate remains above the OECD average and regional differences in labour force participation persist. This report sheds light on the drivers of economic inactivity across Polish regions and analyses them in light of both individual and structural factors associated with labour force participation. It highlights the need for more inclusive active labour market policies to help integrate the economically inactive into labour markets across Poland. A better integration of services provided by national and local institutions, as well as a strengthened role of the social economy, is needed to address the complex needs of economically inactive persons.

The Welsh Government is refining its approach to regional development, adopting a regional lens directed to four regions to better allocate resources and address local needs. This OECD Multi-level Governance Study – a follow up to the 2020 OECD report The Future of Regional Development and Public Investment in Wales, United Kingdom – summarises the progress Wales has made to advance this regional lens, and identifies key areas of attention going forward. It synthesises the results of a vision-setting exercise, capacity-building workshops with the national government and regional bodies, and a multi-stakeholder workshop on collaborative working among Welsh regional development actors. This report identifies enablers for the effective use of a regional lens in Wales, including robust regional data, long-term and future-oriented objectives, effective co-ordination across Welsh Government policy areas related to regional development, capacitated regional structures, and trust and collaborative working among levels of government. The report's insights on establishing strategic direction and fostering collaboration among national, regional, and local levels could be valuable for countries exploring ways to optimise regional development policy, including in the face of resource constraints.

In recent decades, federal and unitary countries have increasingly adopted or deepened regional governance reforms, especially in the OECD and Europe, but also in Asia, America and to a lesser extent Africa. Approximately two-thirds of countries around the world have increased the power of regions over the last 50 years. This trend has happened in parallel with countries increasingly embedding a territorial approach into policy-making at the national and subnational levels. This process, however, does not follow a linear path. The rationale behind regional governance reforms differs from country to country, and over time, leading to a broad spectrum of governance models with varying institutional and financing arrangements. Taking stock of these trends, this report provides key data on regional governance reforms and their drivers, with a focus on the role of regions in the COVID-19 crisis response. The report also presents an innovative typology of regional governance models across OECD countries and the multi-level governance instruments that enable sound regional governance and help ensure these arrangements effectively serve their purpose.

Some manufacturing activities are among the most difficult human activities to make climate neutral and they are typically regionally concentrated. Across Europe these regions are often socioeconomically relatively weak. Yet these sectors provide relatively well-paid jobs in many of these regions. Some of these regions may also have more difficult access to infrastructure to provide the hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and zero-emission freight, which can be important to some of these activities. Industrial transitions to climate neutrality therefore have regional development implications. Since regions differ in their socio-economic conditions, understanding these regional development implications will help policy makers prepare a just transition. This publication identifies manufacturing activities that are particularly difficult to decarbonise and the transformations they require. It shows how these activities are distributed across European regions, focusing on employment at emission-intensive production locations. It identifies conditions for getting access to needed infrastructure and how access conditions differ across regions. It investigates the socio-economic vulnerabilities of affected regions, their manufacturing businesses and workers. In some regions, workers and firms may be particularly vulnerable, for example, because of low-skill jobs, type of employment contract or low productivity.

To make the most of its longstanding tradition of manufacturing and innovation, Piedmont, Italy, is undertaking a process of industrial transition, the success of which may be linked to an updated approach to its regional innovation policy. This should include promoting technology and non-technology driven innovation, building the innovation competences of micro- and small enterprises in addition to medium and large ones, better connecting regional innovation actors, and ensuring that innovation contributes to the region’s broader development goals such as sustainable regional development. It also requires diversifying the role of Piedmont’s innovation clusters and reinforcing the multi-level governance system for innovation policy. This report features a comparative perspective of the trends, challenges and opportunities for innovation-led growth in Piedmont, and highlights how Piedmont could build a dynamic innovation ecosystem based on its smart specialisation strategy, a fresh perspective on innovation, and future-oriented innovation cluster organisations. The report provides actionable recommendations and offers insights into making the most of innovation policy as a lever for place-based regional development.

The Territorial Review of Greece offers analysis and policy guidance to strengthen regional development and well-being. It examines Greece’s regional development framework, the EU Cohesion policy and multilevel governance in Greece. Since the global financial crisis, Greece has undertaken an impressive number of structural reforms. Recovery initiated in 2017 but the current COVID-19 pandemic is slowing down Greece’s efforts. The country is now facing a number of strategic development priorities including fostering digitalisation, improving entrepreneurial and business ecosystems, and addressing environmental challenges. These new priorities must also tackle existing social challenges and mitigate rising inequalities. The Review examines a range of policies that have the potential to propel inclusive growth in Greece’s regions and improve the quality of life for their residents. It stresses that policies for economic growth, social capital and environmental sustainability are more effective when they recognise the different economic and social realities where people live and work. OECD work illustrates the importance to align place based regional development strategies with sectoral policies (support for private investment, infrastructure and human capital policies) in each place to generate multiplier effects. To fulfil this task, Greece will need to continue advancing the reform of its institutional and fiscal multi-level governance system.

Why do some regions grow faster than others, and in ways that do not always conform to economic theory? This is a central issue in today’s economic climate, when policy makers are looking for ways to stimulate new and sustainable growth. OECD work suggests that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to regional growth policy. Rather, regions grow in very varied ways and the simple concentration of resources in a place is not sufficient for long-term growth. This report draws on OECD analysis of regional data (including where growth happens, country-by-country), policy reviews and case studies. It argues that it is how investments are made, regional assets used and synergies exploited that can make the difference. Public investment should prioritise longer-term impacts on productivity growth and combine measures in an integrated way. This suggests an important role for regional policies in shaping growth and economic recovery policies, but also challenges policy makers to implement policy reforms.

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.