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52232. 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
52233. 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
52234. Keeping Children Safe in Traffic
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Road accidents are the number one killer of children in OECD countries. An estimated 100,000 children have died on the roads in the past 20 years – almost 100 per week on average. Of course, this level of fatalities is not acceptable. Road transport safety, particularly for children, should be a priority for all governments.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy
52235. Economic Survey of the Netherlands, 2004
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- The economic downturn in the Netherlands, like the boom that preceded it, has been more marked than in most other European countries. This is partly attributable to greater exposure to international trade, especially with the US, and to greater sensitivity to international stock price movements. But there are also some structural policies – pension fund regulation, housing and wage setting institutions – that have undermined economic efficiency and contributed to the amplitude of the cycle. Furthermore there has been a marked deterioration in public finances, part of which is structural. Longer term growth trends too are unfavourable. In view of these developments, the main challenges are to reform those policies that have reduced efficiency and increased volatility, put public finances on a sustainable path, and, most importantly, increase trend growth by increasing both employment and productivity.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Netherlands
52236. Mobilising Public Opinion Against Global Poverty
- Author:
- Jude Fransman and Henri-Bernard Solignac Lecomte
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Citizens in OECD countries quite unambiguously support more solidarity and justice at the international level; however, despite the adoption of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) by their governments in 2000, they remain insufficiently informed and educated about global development challenges. With increased understanding of the issues, citizens could provide greater support for more efficient and coherent development policies as well as for more funding. This requires new efforts by national authorities to report on desirable outcomes and on the results and effectiveness of international development policies towards achieving them.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy
52237. Security System Reform and Governance:Policy and Good Practice
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Security in all its dimensions is fundamental to reducing poverty, protecting human rights and achieving the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs). Security concerns not only the stability of the state and the security of regimes. It also involves the safety, well-being and freedom from fear of a nation and its people.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy
52238. Economic Survey of the United States, 2004
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Economic performance over the past two decades has been impressive. Underpinned by an increased reliance on competitive forces, which have been stronger than in most other member countries for some time, productivity and output have accelerated significantly. In recent years, helped by timely macroeconomic policy responses, the economy has demonstrated its capacity to adjust to adverse shocks, so that the per capita growth gap against other countries has widened further. The outlook is for this to continue in the next few years, with real GDP expanding by around 4 per cent per annum. Nonetheless, there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed to sustain these laudable economic outcomes. By far the top priority is to confront the current and projected federal budget deficits. The fiscal stimulus of the past few years has been helpful in supporting the recovery, but if public dissaving is not reduced, interest rates may be higher, ultimately implying slower growth in economic potential. Increased budget discipline, and indeed significant reform on both the spending and revenue sides of the budget, will be necessary because of the impending demographic pressures on government finances. Corrective fiscal measures will also assist the unwinding of the current account deficit, which is unusually large for this stage of the cycle. As the Federal Reserve begins to move the federal funds rate back to a more neutral level, it will need to be especially attentive to the clarity of its communications with the markets. Further corporate-governance and accounting reforms would help to underpin confidence of domestic and foreign investors, thereby facilitating orderly current-account adjustment. Less reliance on import restrictions and maintaining a leadership role in trade liberalisation would favour structural adjustment at home. Furthermore, despite the generally pro-competitive thrust of antitrust and other regulatory policies, a number of areas deserve attention, notably intellectual property rights, telecommunications and electricity, where further reforms would be welfare enhancing.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- United States
52239. Innovative Approaches to Funding the Millennium Development Goals
- Author:
- Helmut Reisen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which set clear targets for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women by 2015.The need for additional development funding, if the MDGs are to be achieved by 2015, is widely recognized. The figure of additional $50 billion per year, roughly the present total of ODA spent by DAC donors, is often quoted (e.g. Zedillo Report). This estimate is of back-of-the-envelope nature, and it seems to be the minimum estimate. If governments exclude the option to abandon the MDGs, they have either to double the existing ODA or to find alternative sources of comparable magnitude–or a balance of the two. The challenge to the international community is mounting by the day.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, Political Economy, and United Nations
52240. OECD Environmental Strategy: 2004 Review of Progress
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- OECD countries are working hard to tackle the environmental problems they face, but much more ambitious policies will be needed if their national and international commitments are to be met. Progress has been made in a number of areas since OECD ministers agreed in 2001 on an Environmental Strategy for the First Decade of the 21st Century. For example, air pollution regulations have been tightened, new market-based policies to mitigate climate change at least cost are in place or planned, regulatory frameworks are being strengthened to protect the environment and human health from chemicals, and a number of key international agreements to protect the marine environment and ensure sustainable fishing have recently entered into force, thanks in part to their ratification by some OECD countries. But current policies are insufficient to adequately protect biodiversity resources, or to address climate change. Economic growth no longer leads automatically to an equal increase in pressure on the environment in some key sectors, indicating at least some “decoupling” of environmental pressures from economic growth, but the environmental impact of continuing road transport expansion, energy production, and agricultural practices remains high.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy