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2. Intellectual property and competition policy in the biotechnology industry
- Publication Date:
- 06-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- The science of biotechnology has been pushing the frontiers of human knowledge and intellectual property (“IP”) for three decades. As scientists developed techniques for isolating and creating genetic material and began to apply them commercially, a new industry grew and so did its appetite for patent protection. Although the wisdom of granting patents on DNA is still debated, the policy of OECD countries to allow such patents has been fairly well settled for some time. The door was therefore open for biotechnological innovators to create a flood of IP, and they did
- Topic:
- Economics, Environment, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
3. Export Credits and the Environment
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Official export credit agencies (ECAs) support exports, much of which support goes to emerging economies, by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance and direct loans. In 2002, the amount of business covered by such support was approximately USD 50 billion. Typically, officially supported export credits are provided to enable recipient countries to fund major capital goods and projects exported by the home country of the ECA, such as roads, mining, railways or airports.
- Topic:
- Economics, Environment, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
4. A New World Map in Textiles and Clothing
- Publication Date:
- 10-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- The textile and clothing industries provide employment for tens of million of people, primarily in developing countries, and accounted for USD 350 billion in merchandise exports in 2002, or 5.6% of the world total. The current rules governing world trade in textiles and clothing will change drastically at the end of 2004, when countries will no longer be able to protect their own industries by means of quantitative restrictions on imports of textile and clothing products. What will this mean for cotton growers in Burkina Faso and Turkey, fashion retailers in France and the United States, or shirt factories in Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic or China?
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh, United States, China, Turkey, and France
5. Clocking in and Clocking out: Recent Trends in Working Hours
- Publication Date:
- 10-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- The amount of time people spend at work is a key element in several economic and social challenges facing industrial countries, notably those associated with population ageing. OECD governments will need to bring more people into the labour force and keep them there in coming years as the ratio of older to younger people rises if they wish to maintain living standards and finance social protection. One way of doing that is to make working time more flexible. For example, part-time jobs can make it easier for mothers with young children to combine working and parenting. More flexible working hours can also help firms adjust to changing workloads.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
6. Economic Survey of Germany, 2004
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- With the effects of adverse external shocks diminishing, a strong and competitive export industry is helping the German economy out of a three-year period of near stagnation. Domestic demand has been declining over the last couple of years, as poor labour market performance has weighed on consumer sentiment and business confidence. The labour market still suffers from weak economic growth and distorted incentives, with both contributing to problems in taking up work and providing employment. Productivity growth is not high enough to compensate for the adverse effect of low labour utilization on economic growth. Fiscal targets have been missed on account of both cyclical and structural factors. The government has launched a major reform initiative to reinvigorate economic growth. These reforms are welcome, have to be continued and need to be broadened further to reduce government debt, remove fiscal distortions, and improve incentives to supply and demand labour. Furthermore, there remains considerable scope to foster the creation of new enterprises and widen product market competition, thereby also maintaining the strong innovative capacity of the economy. The major challenges are to link fiscal consolidation to public sector reform and to increase the capacity of the economy to create employment and increase productivity growth. To create confidence and to restore Germany's traditional economic strength it is necessary that reforms reflect a coherent vision about the reorientation of economic policy – combining a growth and stability oriented macroeconomic policy with structural reforms – and are implemented according to a transparent and predictable roadmap.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
7. The Significance of Knowledge Management in the Business Sector
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Knowledge management – how organisations track, measure, share and make use of intangible assets such as an employee's ability to think fast in a crisis – is increasingly important in a fast-changing knowledge society. Organisations have always managed knowledge, even if they did not use the term knowledge management. For example, a person experienced in operating or repairing a particular machine could pass their knowledge on to newcomers.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Education, and Industrial Policy
8. Access Pricing in Telecommunications
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- OECD countries now have an average of 5-6 years of experience with competition in the telecommunications industry. The liberalisation process has been guided by principles such as minimising barriers to entry and ensuring that new entrants have access to essential services at non-discriminatory terms and conditions. Experience has now shown that the conventional understanding of these principles needs to be refined in order to ensure the on-going, long-term development of competition in the industry.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
9. Public-Private Partnerships in the Urban Water Sector
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- The urban water sector presents difficult economic and political choices for governments. The provision of water and sanitation services has undoubtedly reduced disease and yielded other health benefits. Free or cheap access to water has also spurred a variety of other uses from maintaining lawns to washing cars. At the same time, this sector is plagued by a long history of under-pricing, and opposition to full cost pricing for ethical and social reasons. These factors have contributed to the unwillingness of many governments to acknowledge water as a finite natural resource and an economic good – a commodity that needs a market price reflecting the cost of provision and its true value to society.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Government, and Industrial Policy