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This report aims to support the development of a sound economic regulatory system for the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector in the Republic of Moldova (hereafter 'Moldova'). The prevailing policy framework calls for drastic developments in WSS to modernise and optimise WSS systems and improve operational efficiency (non-revenue water, staff-output ratios etc.) – in line with domestic and international commitments (including the Association Agreement with the European Union, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the national WSS strategy). This report outlines ways and means for strengthening the capacity of the Moldovan government to provide sound regulation and that of WSS operators to deliver higher standards of service while ensuring the affordability of WSS services. Such a transition cannot happen overnight. It requires a sound economic regulatory system conducive to affordability, cost recovery and debt servicing, and a realistic performance improvement path for water utilities.

Kazakhstan has recorded impressive economic growth rates since its independence, driven mainly by export of commodities and high rate of energy use. These rates are not sustainable and are generating significant air pollution, in particular from industrial stationary sources. This is putting at risk the country’s development ambitions to become one of the top global economies by 2050 and converge towards OECD living standards. Building on OECD previous analysis, this publication shows that Kazakhstan’s environmental payments (environmentally related taxes, non-compliance penalties and compensation for damage regulation) for industrial air pollutants, as currently applied, impede energy efficiency and pollution abatement with heavy-handed non-compliance responses and focus on rising revenues. They also add to the cost of doing businesses in the country with limited environmental benefit. In the spirit of the Polluter-Pays Principle, much more reforms of regulation of environmental payments are needed. This report provides guidelines for reform drawing from air pollution regulations in OECD member countries and the results of the analysis of the system in Kazakhstan carried out by the OECD in close co-operation with the Government of Kazakhstan.

Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a formidable governance challenge for countries at all levels of development. It requires governments to co-ordinate, consult and work across policy areas – as well as with the businesses sector and civil society – in an unprecedented way. This report provides evidence from OECD countries and partner economies on how public governance practices can be strengthened to help implement the SDGs. It looks at whole-of-government co-ordination, policy coherence and integrity, stakeholder engagement and open government, and the strategic use of budgeting, procurement and regulatory tools. It discusses robust monitoring and evaluation systems for ensuring that public policies and resource allocations for SDG implementation result in meaningful outcomes. It also explores how governance frameworks to support equal access to justice and gender equality can help catalyse implementation across the entire 2030 Agenda.

SDG target 17.14 calls on all countries to 'enhance policy coherence for sustainable development' as a key means of implementation. According to countries’ Voluntary National Reviews, this presents a major challenge. It requires meaningful collaboration and co-ordinated action across both policy sectors and different levels of government. It also requires balancing short-term priorities with long-term sustainability objectives and taking into account the impact of domestic policies on global well-being outcomes. The 2019 edition of Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development looks at countries’ efforts to meet this challenge and identifies opportunities for accelerating progress. The third in a series, it shows how integrated and coherent policies, supported by strong institutional and governance mechanisms, can contribute to empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.

Colombia has launched an ambitious reform to improve its risk governance and boost resilience to disasters. This OECD Disaster Risk Governance Scan reviews Colombia’s progress in implementing the reform against the 2014 OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Critical Risks. The report identifies success factors and good practices in implementing the disaster risk reform agenda, focusing on central government policies and their implementation, and provides a set of recommendations to strengthen Colombia’s efforts in the future.

This Digital Government Review highlights the efforts taking place in Argentina to digitalise and improve data governance in its public sector and build the foundations for a digital government. The review explores Argentina’s institutional, legal and policy frameworks and their strategic role in the digital transformation of the public sector. The report also discusses how to reinforce the capacity of the public sector to 'go digital' and better respond to citizens' needs. It explores how ICT procurement, management, and commissioning can help improve public sector accountability and efficiency, as well as support greater policy coherence and compliance with digital government standards. The review ends with a discussion on the state of data governance in the public sector, including data leadership and stewardship, rules and platforms for data production, sharing and interoperability, data protection, data federation, and open government data initiatives.

Behavioural insights (BI) are lessons derived from the behavioural and social sciences, including decision making, psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, organisational and group behaviour. Public bodies around the world are increasingly using BI to design and implement better public policies based on evidence of the actual behaviour and biases of citizens and businesses. This toolkit provides practitioners and policy makers with a step-by-step process for analysing a policy problem, building strategies, and developing behaviourally informed interventions.

Croatia has made great strides in strengthening its regulatory policy framework. Improving the entire regulatory policy cycle will ensure that regulations are built on a foundation of solid evidence and public participation and are designed to improve the security, health and well-being of citizens at a reasonable cost. This report assesses the country’s regulatory management capacity by taking stock of regulatory policies, institutions and tools, including administrative simplification policies, ex ante and ex post evaluation of regulations, stakeholder engagement practices, multi-level regulatory governance arrangements and tax regimes for small businesses. The review describes trends and recent developments, identifies gaps in relation to good practices and offers policy recommendations based on best international practices to strengthen the government’s capacity to manage regulatory policy.

This report assesses the impact on citizens and businesses of the administrative simplification measures carried out by the Mexican Social Security Institute. Administrative burdens are measured in the time it takes citizens and businesses to complete forms and wait in line to request or deliver information to the government. Using an adaptation of the Standard Cost Model, this report finds that such burdens for users have decreased by at least 25% thanks to the simplification and digitalisation of administrative formalities. It also suggests how the Institute could reduce burdens even further. By promoting the use of online formalities, IMSS could reduce administrative burdens by an additional 11%.