Browse by: "2018"

This report investigates the role of drones as part of the future transport mix. It specifically addresses the issues policy makers face in engaging with the emerging private drone sector. Drones have the potential to improve existing practices, for instance in the surveying of infrastructure. They also have innovative uses in areas such as freight delivery, passenger transport in both urban and rural areas, or in disaster relief. With the sector developing at a rapid pace, regulators will want to create frameworks for drone use that allow innovation while ensuring positive overall outcomes.

Nuclear Law Bulletin: A look back at the past 50 years
Historical Forewords
Nuclear Law Bulletin: Publication covers through time
Reflections on the Nuclear Law Bulletin
Commentaries on the Nuclear Law Bulletin
  100 issues of the Nuclear Law Bulletin by Roland Dussart-Desart 
  The Nuclear Law Bulletin: Source of informing on, and instrument of developing, nuclear law. Hommage à un journal juridique

SMEs are key to strengthening productivity, delivering more inclusive growth and adapting to the major transformations of our time. SMEs that grow have a considerable positive impact on employment creation, innovation, productivity growth and competitiveness. While the population of SMEs is very diverse, innovation and scale-up are at the reach of many SMEs. Digital technologies and global value chains offer new opportunities for SMEs to participate in the global economy, innovate and grow. However, SMEs are lagging behind in the digital transition and are disproportionately affected by market failures, trade barriers, policy inefficiencies and the quality of institutions. A conducive business environment, is essential to incentivise risk-taking and experimentation by entrepreneurs, and foster business growth potential. Access to entrepreneurship competencies, management and workforce skills, technology, innovation, and networks, is also critical to enable SME growth. A cross-cutting approach to SME policy can enhance SME contributions to inclusive growth.

Rapid technological advances can have an impact on personal, social and professional development. Implications for education include changes in the demand for knowledge and skills as well as expanding possibilities for teaching and learning.

Declining inflation in many countries over the past few decades at the same time as rising global competition has led to a debate on the importance of globalisation for domestic inflation. This paper explores the implications of global value chain (GVC) integration and market contestability for inflation using a range of industry-level and micro-data sources. We provide evidence that rising participation in GVCs has placed downward pressure on producer price inflation, by increasing the ability of firms to substitute domestic inputs with cheaper foreign equivalents. We investigate the channels, which suggests that increased GVC participation contributed to lower inflation via downward pressures on unit labour costs – by raising productivity and reducing wages – in the importing country, especially when low-wage countries are integrated in supply chains. We then present industry-level evidence to support the conjecture that a higher level of GVC integration dampens producer price inflation by accentuating the impact of global economic slack on domestic inflation. However, we also find an increasing trend in mark-ups, suggestive of rising market power, particularly in services sectors. Thus, looking forward, there is a risk that stalling globalisation since the crisis, coupled with stronger aggregate demand and declining market contestability, could lead to inflationary pressures in the medium term, thereby letting the inflation genie out of the bottle.

This paper describes development patterns beyond GDP in a long-term historical perspective. It revisits the discussion on the goals of development in light of the current discussions on ‘Beyond GDP’, provides evidence on GDP and well-being outcomes since 1820 in a broad range of developing and emerging countries, and compares the experience of early industrialising countries and more recently emerging ones.

The report presents new cross-country descriptive evidence on innovative start-ups and related venture capital investments drawing upon Crunchbase, a new dataset that is unprecedented in terms of scope and comprehensiveness. The analysis employs a mix of different statistical techniques (descriptive graphics, econometric analysis, and machine learning) to highlight a number of findings. First, there are significant cross-country differences in the professional and educational background of start-ups’ founders, notably the share of founders with previous academic experience and in the share of “serial entrepreneurs”. Conversely, the founders’ average age is rather constant across countries, but shows a fair degree of variability across sectors. Second, IP assets, and in particular the presence of an inventor in the team of founders, are strongly associated with start-ups’ success. Finally, female founders are less likely to receive funding, receive lower amounts when they do receive financing, and have a lower probability of successful exit, when other factors are controlled for.

This article reviews the empirical literature combining economic and environmental performance data at the micro-level, i.e. firm- or facility-level. The literature has generally found a positive and statistically significant correlation between economic performance, as measured by stock market returns, and environmental performance, as measured by emissions of pollutants or adoption of international environmental standards. The main reason for this finding seems to be that firms that reduce their material and energy costs experience both better economic performance and lower emissions. There is also evidence that greener firms are able to attract more productive employees and face smaller costs of capital, and that the introduction of green products enhances firms’ profitability.
Only a small and recent literature analyses the joint causal impact of environmental regulations on environmental and economic performance. Interestingly, this literature shows that environmental regulations tend to improve environmental performance while not weakening economic performance. However, the evidence so far is limited to a handful of environmental regulations that are not extremely stringent, so the result cannot be easily generalized. More research is needed to assess the joint effects of environmental regulations on environmental and economic performance, to explore the heterogeneity of these effects across sectors, countries and types of policies, and to understand which policy designs allow improving environmental quality while not altering the economic performance of regulated businesses.

This study proposes a taxonomy of sectors according to the extent to which they have gone digital. The taxonomy accounts for some of the key facets of the digital transformation, and recognises that sectors differ in their development and adoption of the most advanced “digital” technologies, in the human capital needed to embed them in production and in the extent to which digital tools are used to deal with clients and suppliers. The indicators used to classify 36 ISIC revision 4 sectors over the period 2001-15 are: share of ICT tangible and intangible (i.e. software) investment; share of purchases of intermediate ICT goods and services; stock of robots per hundreds of employees; share of ICT specialists in total employment; and the share of turnover from online sales. The study further proposes an overall summary indicator of the digital transformation in sectors which encompasses all the considered dimensions.

This report reflects discussions at the OECD conference “AI: Intelligent Machines, Smart Policies” held in Paris on 26-27 October, 2017. After discussing the state of Artificial intelligence (AI) research – in particular ‘machine learning’ –, speakers illustrated the opportunities that AI provides to improve economies and societies, in areas ranging from scientific discovery and satellite data analysis to music creation. There was broad agreement that the rapid development of AI calls for national and international policy frameworks that engage all stakeholders. Discussions focused on the need for policy to facilitate the adoption of AI systems to promote innovation and growth, help address global challenges, and boost jobs and skills development, while at the same time establishing appropriate safeguards to ensure that AI systems are human-centric and benefit people broadly. Transparency and oversight, algorithmic discrimination and privacy abuses were key concerns, as were new liability, responsibility, security and safety questions.

This study explores feasibility of regional rice market integration by examining the impacts on production and trade, with a specific focus on the adjustment impacts for rice producers. It seeks to set out policy measures required to better integrate the rice markets of Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) countries and the role that trade policy can play to help the agricultural sector adjust to pressures created from freer trade in rice within this region. While regional rice market integration can deliver more rice at lower prices to the regions consumers, this study finds significant adjustments to the rice sectors will be required in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. However, opportunities through lowering tariff barriers with existing key trading partners of free trade agreements has the scope to create more employment and value adding opportunities in all agricultural sectors to offset the losses from regional rice market integration. The study suggests a number of measures are necessary to build trust in regional markets to allow rice market integration to take place. This includes an agreement to ban export restrictions. Furthermore, while broader trade reforms will help create new opportunities for agricultural sectors across the ASEAN region, flanking policies and investments in the enabling environment are still required for the sectors to take full advantage of these opportunities.

Resilience refers to the capacity of individuals to prosper despite encountering adverse circumstances. This paper defines academic resilience as the ability of 15-year-old students from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform at a certain level in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading, mathematics and science that enables them to play an active role in their communities and prepares them to make the most of lifelong-learning opportunities. Using data from the most recent PISA cycles, this paper explores changes in the share of resilient students over time (2006-2015); highlights the importance of school environments and resources in mitigating the risk of low achievement for disadvantaged students; and identifies school-level factors that are associated with the likelihood of academic resilience among socio-economically disadvantaged students. Analyses reveal that several countries were able to increase the share of resilient students over time, reflecting improvements in the average performance of students, or a weaker relationship between socio-economic status and performance. In the vast majority of education systems examined, the likelihood of academic resilience among disadvantaged students is lower in schools where students report a negative classroom climate. The paper concludes by exploring school policies and practices that are associated with a positive classroom climate.

Many Parties to the Paris Agreement have expressed greenhouse gas mitigation targets relative to a baseline scenario, or “baseline targets”. Baseline targets in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) could potentially change over time including to update assumptions of emission drivers or reflect improved methodologies. This paper examines issues that can arise under Articles 4 and 6 of the Agreement when baseline targets are updated, such as potential implications of using consistent methodologies throughout the NDC implementation period. The paper also examines transparency-related issues, e.g. information needed for accounting that would be reported and reviewed under Article 13 of the Agreement. Past baseline and reference scenario reporting experience highlights relevant lessons for accounting for baseline targets, including on transparent reporting of baseline scenarios. The paper identifies reporting and accounting guidance options, including when certain types of updates could be applied to baseline targets, that could help Parties address some of these issues.

This AOP details the linkage between binding and activation of androgen receptor (AR) in
females and reductions in cumulative fecundity and spawning. AR-mediated activities are
among the major concerns in endocrine disruptor screening programs. Cumulative
fecundity is the apical endpoint considered in the OECD 229 Fish Short Term Reproduction
Assay. It is also one of several variables with demographic significance in forecasting fish
population trends. Therefore, this AOP supports the use of measures of AR activation as a
means to identify chemicals with potential to adversely affect fish populations. At present,
this AOP is largely supported by evidence from small laboratory model fish species. While
many aspects of the biology underlying this AOP are largely conserved across oviparous
vertebrates, its relevance to vertebrate classes other than fish, or to fish species employing
different reproductive strategies has not been established. Thus, the applicability domain
should be carefully considered when evaluating fit-for-purpose.