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This report is the 30th in the series of OECD reports that monitor and evaluate agricultural policies across countries, and the fifth report to include both OECD countries and a set of emerging economies. It includes countries from all six continents, including the 35 OECD countries and the six non-OECD EU member states, as well as eleven emerging economies: Brazil, the People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Russian Federation, South Africa, Ukraine and Viet Nam. Overall, the 52 countries covered by this report account for about two-thirds of global agricultural value added.Comprehensive Country Chapters and the Statistical Annex containing detailed background tables with indicators of agricultural support are available in electronic form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/agr_pol-2017-en.
 

This book synthesises recent work by the OECD analysing services trade policies and quantifying their impacts on imports and exports, the performance of manufacturing and services sectors, and how services trade restrictions influence the decisions and outcomes of firms engaged in international markets. Based on the OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) - a unique, evidence-based tool that provides snapshots of regulations affecting trade in services in 22 sectors across 44 countries (representing over 80% of global trade in services) - the analysis highlights the magnitude, nature and impact of the costs entailed by restrictive services trade policies. The new evidence uncovered is meant to inform trade policy makers and the private sector about the likely effects of unilateral or concerted regulatory reforms and help prioritise policy action.

Intense exploitation of our oceans and seas is degrading marine biodiversity and ecosystems at an alarming rate. This report presents good practice insights for effectively managing marine protected areas (MPAs), one of the policy instruments available for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity and ecosystems. While global coverage of MPAs has been increasing over the past two decades, further efforts are required to meet the target under the Sustainable Development Goals and to ensure they are effective.Drawing on the literature and numerous examples from developed and developing countries, this book highlights how the environmental and cost effectiveness of MPAs can be enhanced. It covers issues including the benefits and costs of MPAs, the need for more strategic siting of MPAs, monitoring and compliance, sustainable finance for MPAs, and the need to embed these in a wider policy mix so as to address the multiple pressures on marine ecosystems.

This report explores effective policy solutions to the current and future challenges related to food security in the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). While robust GDP growth, rising agricultural productivity and output, and strong growth in agricultural incomes have all contributed to vast improvements in the food security of the region, 60 million people remain undernourished. ASEAN governments have therefore justifiably kept food security as a policy priority. The regional policy architecture set out in ASEAN frameworks provides sound guidance, yet some of the current policies adopted by members are not helping to address food insecurity and its causes, including the formidable challenges related to climate change and the need for continued growth in sustainable food production to feed growing populations. This report puts forward a number of policy recommendations to ensure that the ASEAN agricultural and fisheries sectors contribute effectively and efficiently to ensuring regional food security.

This joint OECD and World Bank Group report, presented to G20 Trade Ministers in October 2015, focuses on the challenge of making GVCs more 'inclusive' by overcoming participation constraints for SMEs and facilitating access for LIDCs. Results suggest that SME participation in GVCs is mostly taking place through indirect contribution to exports (rather than through direct exports), and that a holistic approach to trade, investment and national and multilateral policy action is needed to create more inclusive GVCs.The report highlights the importance of ensuring access to ICT networks – in particular broadband – and stimulating innovation – in particular by enhancing the ability of SMEs to manage and protect their intellectual assets. At the same, the report underscores the importance of helping small firms scale up quickly, and to better integrate in GVCs by lowering barriers to the entry, growth and exit of firms. Countries should also avoid favouring incumbents over new firms.

This report analyses Philippine agricultural policy. Agriculture provides 30% of total employment in the Philippines and represents 11% of its Gross Domestic Product. The Philippines has had notable recent overall economic success, yet improving agricultural performance remains challenging. Productivity growth lags behind other Southeast Asian countries, and a number of policy distortions hinder progress. With agricultural land resources also under pressure from frequent natural disasters, rising population and urbanisation, the report offers a series of recommendations to improve the sector’s performance and its ability to adapt to climate change.

Costa Rica’s strong agricultural sector is underpinned by the country’s political stability, robust economic growth and high levels of human development.  The sector has achieved significant export success, yet raising productivity and staying competitive in world markets will require efforts to address bottlenecks in infrastructure, innovation and access to financial services.  Maximising Costa Rica’s comparative advantage in higher-value niche products will depend upon more efficient services to agriculture, including better implementation of programmes, improved co-ordination among institutions, and reduced bureaucracy. While overall protection for agriculture is relatively low compared to OECD countries, it is nonetheless highly distorting to production and trade. Managing the transition to scheduled liberalisation presents an opportunity to reform costly policies, and to implement an alternative policy package with new investments in innovation, productivity and diversification, supported by transition assistance where needed. Costa Rican agriculture’s vulnerability to extreme weather events is expected to worsen with climate change, and even while the country is among global leaders in environmental protection, sustainable development and climate change mitigation, further adaptation efforts will be necessary.