Public governance

This paper studies the differences between the organisation of budget management in selected government administrations in the Western Balkans and the Republic of Moldova and good practice across the European Union (EU). It observes that the ministry of finance (MoF) in these administrations typically engages in direct budget negotiations with a large number of budget organisations. This practice is in stark contrast with the budgeting approach observed in the EU, where the MoF only deals directly with government ministries and a limited number of constitutional bodies. The paper highlights the adverse consequences for the strategic role of the MoF for fiscal policy, the accountability of line ministries for budgeting and service delivery in their sector and the introduction of modern public financial management instruments such as medium-term budgeting and performance-based budgeting. This paper recommends that governments reduce the number of first-level budget organisations and give line ministries more responsibility for budget management in their sector. At the same time, the paper recommends strengthening line ministries’ accountability for budget management towards the parliament.

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.

Governments are increasingly utilising research and innovation (R&I) policy to foster economic and societal change. Yet, the empirical correlation between these policies and socio-technical transformations remains under-explored. The report investigates this relationship by comparing the Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) of Austria, Finland and Sweden, initiated under the NextGenerationEU framework post Covid-19. The report finds significant disparities in the content, process and transformative value of the RRPs among these countries. The differences in the content of the national RRPs, and the ability and willingness to seize the opportunity presented by the RRPs to drive transformation, are explained by existing national policy contexts and frameworks. Surprisingly, the role of R&I policy in the RRPs is less important than expected, despite its emphasised importance in literature and political rhetoric. The report further identifies implications for a transformative innovation policy as well as areas for further research.

This report examined how Finland has been incorporating anticipatory functions within its governance system to deal with complex and future challenges in a systemic way. The report applies a new model of anticipatory innovation governance (AIG), developed by the OECD, addressing a considerable gap in prior knowledge and guidance on how governments prepare for unknowable futures. It consists of three parts: an overview of the anticipatory innovation governance model; the assessment of the anticipatory innovation capacity of the Finnish Government; and the pilot case studies, where the principles and functions of the model are explored in practice.

Finland has a strong reputation as a leader in environmental policy and sustainable development. It committed to become carbon neutral by 2035 and to pioneer the world’s first circular economy. However, it is not fully on track to meet its ambitious goals. Greenhouse gas emissions fell in the last decade, but they need to decline at a much faster pace to meet the target. Waste generation, material consumption and nutrient losses to water bodies have continued to rise. Agriculture and a large forestry sector exert pressures on the country’s biodiversity. Targeted policy measures are needed to provide adequate incentives, boost investment and innovation and steer the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis towards the green transition. Finland should move from good strategy making to effective and coherent implementation. It needs to get the right policies in place, to secure sufficient resources and ensure continued and broad public consensus. This is the third Environmental Performance Review of Finland. It evaluates progress towards green growth and sustainable development, with a special chapter focusing on climate change mitigation and well-being.

Public trust is a cornerstone of the Finnish administrative and political model, it has also been a key element of Finland's successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Preserving and strengthening the Finnish trust capital will be of essence for facing trade-offs and challenges ahead, particularly on the recovery phase following the pandemic. Through the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods this study examines the key determinants of trust in government, the local government and the public administration in Finland. Overall, it finds that responsiveness of public services and reliability of policies are key determinants of trust in institutions in Finland.

The bulk of government investment is done at the local level in OECD countries, representing on average 41% of total public investment. Most studies on subnational government debt focus on the regional or state level, and very few studies analyse public investment specifically by local governments. This paper aims at filling this gap, presenting a framework to analyse the key factors, which affect the capacity of local governments to fund and finance public investment, and illustrates the framework with five case studies: Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands and New Zealand.

This policy brief was developed by the Secretariat of the OECD Network of Economic Regulators (NER) and is based on examples of practice submitted by members of the NER. It reviews emergency measures taken by economic regulators during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure continuity of services in network sectors, as well as to adjust regulatory practices and adapt governance arrangements. It identifies long-term questions and implications of the crisis with regard to market structure, infrastructure investment and the role of regulators.

This paper presents and discusses the general findings and key policy messages of the 2019 OECD Open, Useful and Re-usable data (OURdata) Index, and provides a detailed analysis of the results for each pillar and sub-pillar. Additionally, it assesses the main advancements and challenges related to the design and implementation of open government data (OGD) policies in OECD member and partner countries by comparing the results for 2019 with those of the 2017 edition. This policy paper contributes to the OECD work on the digital transformation of the public sector, including digital government and data-driven public sector and open government data.