Reports

The OECD review of Gender Equality in Costa Rica: Towards a Better Sharing of Paid and Unpaid Work is the fourth in a collection of reports focusing on Latin American and the Caribbean countries, and part of the series Gender Equality at Work. The report compares gender gaps in labour and educational outcomes in Costa Rica with other countries. Particular attention is put on the uneven distribution of unpaid work, and the extra burden placed on women. It investigates how policies and programmes in Costa Rica can make this distribution more equitable. The first part of the report reviews the evidence on gender gaps and their causes, including the role played by social norms. The second part develops a comprehensive framework to address these challenges, presenting a broad range of options to reduce the unpaid work burden falling on women, and to increase women’s labour income. Earlier reviews in the same collection have looked at gender equality policies in Chile (2021), Peru (2022) and Colombia (2023).

The 2024 edition of OECD Tourism Trends and Policies analyses the latest tourism performance and policy trends across 50 OECD countries and partner economies. It takes stock of the tourism economy’s recovery post-pandemic and highlights the need for co-ordinated, forward-looking policies, as challenges remain to build momentum for a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive future for the sector. Evidence on the significance of the tourism economy is presented, with data covering domestic, inbound, and outbound tourism, enterprises and employment, and internal tourism consumption. Tourism policy priorities, reforms and developments are analysed, and examples of country practices highlighted. Thematic chapters provide insights on strengthening the tourism workforce and building the evidence base for sustainable tourism policies.

Africa’s Development Dynamics uses lessons from Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa to develop policy recommendations and share good practices across the continent. Drawing on the most recent statistics, its analysis of development dynamics aims to assist African leaders in reaching the targets of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 at all levels: continental, regional, national and local. This edition explores how African governments, firms and educational institutions can increase the supply of quality skills, in line with current and future demand, to create jobs and increase productivity. Global trends, like the digital and green transitions, Africa’s demographic growth, and the regionalisation of international trade are shaping future skills demand. The report's two continental chapters examine the gaps in foundational, soft and technical skills and identify policy solutions to develop a skilled workforce. Five regional chapters offer recommendations for skills development in strategic areas including mining, digital technologies, renewable energy and agri-food. Africa’s Development Dynamics feeds into a policy debate between the African Union’s governments, citizens, entrepreneurs and researchers. It proposes a new collaboration between countries and regions, focusing on mutual learning and the preservation of common goods. This report results from the partnership between the African Union Commission and the OECD Development Centre.

Ensuring equality for LGBTI+ individuals is a human rights imperative, but it also makes a lot of economic sense. Inclusion enables LGBTI+ individuals to achieve their full employment and labour productivity potential, benefitting not only their economic and social well-being, but also society as a whole. Yet, robust evidence supporting the economic case for greater LGBTI+ equality is still scarce due to challenges in accurately measuring the size and life situation of the LGBTI+ population. This report bridges this gap by using a unique set of microdata from the United States. The report begins with an overview of the share of US adults identifying as LGBTI+, their geographic distribution and key demographics. It then evaluates the extent to which LGBTI+ Americans face discrimination, assessing how this population fares, including in the labour market. Finally, utilising the OECD long-term model, the report quantifies the potential increase in GDP resulting from closing the unexplained LGBTI+ gaps in employment and labour productivity. The findings highlight significant economic gains, although they capture only a portion of the potential benefits. Notably, the broader societal impacts, such as the advancement of women's empowerment through the disruption of heteronormative standards, are not quantified.

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the six Western Balkan (WB6) economies depends on greater economic competitiveness. Although the gap is closing gradually, the standards of living in WB6 are well below those of the OECD and EU. Accelerating the rate of socio-economic convergence will require a holistic and growth oriented approach to policy making. This is the fourth study of the region (formerly under the title 'Competitiveness in South East Europe') and it comprehensively assesses policy reforms in the WB6 economies across 15 policy areas key to strengthening their competitiveness. It enables WB6 economies to compare economic performance against regional peers, as well as EU-OECD good practices and standards, and to design future policies based on rich evidence and actionable policy recommendations. The regional profile presents assessment findings across five policy clusters crucial to accelerating socio-economic convergence of the WB6 by fostering regional co-operation: business environment, skills, infrastructure and connectivity, digital transformation and greening. Economy-specific profiles complement the regional assessment, offering each WB6 economy an in-depth analysis of their policies supporting competitiveness. They also track the implementation of the previous 2021 study's recommendations and provide additional ones tailored to the economies’ evolving challenges. These recommendations aim to inform structural economic reforms and facilitate the region’s socio-economic convergence towards the standards of the EU and OECD.

This report discusses the role of Korea's active labour market policies (ALMPs) and one-stop shops for employment and social services in fostering a more inclusive labour market. It highlights the innovative digital tools that the Korean authorities have adopted using state-of-the-art technologies to provide ALMPs as well as their strategy for continuous improvement of the digital ecosystem. This report on Korea is the fifteenth country study published in this series.

Recent AI technological advances, particularly the rise of generative AI, have raised many data governance and privacy questions. However, AI and privacy policy communities often address these issues independently, with approaches that vary between jurisdictions and legal systems. These silos can generate misunderstandings, add complexities in regulatory compliance and enforcement, and prevent capitalising on commonalities between national frameworks. This report focuses on the privacy risks and opportunities stemming from recent AI developments. It maps the principles set in the OECD Privacy Guidelines to the OECD AI Principles, takes stock of national and regional initiatives, and suggests potential areas for collaboration. The report supports the implementation of the OECD Privacy Guidelines alongside the OECD AI Principles. By advocating for international co-operation, the report aims to guide the development of AI systems that respect and support privacy.

This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women's economic empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), in the context of elevated gender-based discrimination in social institutions – formal and informal laws, social norms, and practices. The analysis focuses on Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. Using 2023 data from the fifth edition of the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), the paper analyses how discriminatory laws and social norms hamper women's economic empowerment. The paper also explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this discrimination. Finally, it provides policy recommendations to tackle discriminatory social institutions and address the specific needs of women and girls, both in the face of public health crises and beyond, aiming to foster more inclusive and resilient societies in the MENA region.

While means-tested benefits such as minimum income benefits (MIB) and unemployment assistance (UA) are an essential safety net for low-income people and the unemployed, incomplete take-up is the rule rather than the exception. Building on desk research, open-ended surveys and semi-structured interviews, this paper investigates the opportunities and risks of using artificial intelligence (AI) for managing these means-tested benefits. This ranges from providing information to individuals, through determining eligibility based on pre-determined statutory criteria and identifying undue payments, to notifying individuals about their eligibility status. One of the key opportunities of using AI for these purposes is that this may improve the timeliness and take-up of MIB and UA. However, it may also lead to systematically biased eligibility assessments or increase inequalities, amongst others. Finally, the paper explores potential policy directions to help countries seize AI’s opportunities while addressing its risks, when using it for MIB or UA management.

OECD countries are increasingly investing in better understanding the potential value of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve public governance. The use of AI by the public sector can increase productivity, responsiveness of public services, and strengthen the accountability of governments. However, governments must also mitigate potential risks, building an enabling environment for trustworthy AI. This policy paper outlines the key trends and policy challenges in the development, use, and deployment of AI in and by the public sector. First, it discusses the potential benefits and specific risks associated with AI use in the public sector. Second, it looks at how AI in the public sector can be used to improve productivity, responsiveness, and accountability. Third, it provides an overview of the key policy issues and presents examples of how countries are addressing them across the OECD.