Publications & Documents

Services have become significantly more tradable in the first two decades of the 21st century. This paper documents that trade costs for financial services, communication services and business services fell by between 30% and 60% between 2000 and 2019. Information and communication technology and growth of air traffic have acted as key drivers of this development. While there is some variation across sectors, the analysis suggests that these two determinants jointly account for a quarter to half of the aggregate decline in trade costs for services during this 20-year period. Furthermore, services provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs) can explain between 3% and 14% of the reduction in trade costs for communications services and financial and insurance services. These findings demonstrate the importance of whole-of-government strategies to promote services trade competitiveness, inter alia market access, regulatory reform, as well as investment in physical and digital infrastructure and adoption of new technologies.

Spectrum is a limited national resource that enables our digital world. Mobile broadband services rely on these invisible airwaves to function, making spectrum indispensable to bridge connectivity divides. It also supports the provision of wireless services across the economy, from education to healthcare to industry, and enables applications such as satellites, GPS and the Internet of Things. Spectrum must be efficiently managed to achieve broader social and economic goals. As such, the stakes of spectrum management decisions are high and the challenges complex. This report discusses the effective stewardship of this essential asset in the context of wireless communication services, presents trends in policy, and discusses future considerations for management. It finds that well-designed and transparent licensing regimes, including auctions, foster investment and innovation, and that flexible frameworks (e.g. sharing or unlicensed spectrum) can promote efficient use.

The routing system plays a fundamental role in the operation of the Internet and its security is of critical importance to the digital security of communication networks. However, there are many examples of accidental and intentional routing disruptions and security breaches that disrupt the Internet and impact networks’ digital security. This report analyses available data to quantify the scope and scale of routing incidents occurring on the global Internet, presents some of the available security techniques to limit these incidents and considers their effectiveness. While the routing system transcends national borders, the report offers policy makers a series of concrete actions to improve routing security.

As data become an important resource for the global economy, it is important to strengthen trust to facilitate data sharing domestically and across borders. Significant momentum for related policies in the G7, and G20, has gone hand in hand with a wide range of – often complementary – national and international initiatives and the development of technological and organisational measures. Advancing a common understanding and dialogue among G7 countries and beyond is crucial to support coordinated and coherent progress in policy and regulatory approaches that leverage the full potential of data for global economic and social prosperity. This report takes stock of key policies and initiatives on cross-border data flows to inform and support G7 countries’ engagement on this policy agenda.

The Domain Name System (DNS) underpins the very functioning of the Internet and today’s global economy. As a result, the impact of unintentional incidents as well as cyberattacks on the DNS can be significant. This report focuses on DNS security, i.e. the area of cybersecurity that covers incidents disrupting the availability, integrity and confidentiality of parts of the DNS ecosystem. It analyses the roles and vulnerabilities of actors in the DNS ecosystem, highlights common misconceptions, and discusses the role of governments in enhancing DNS security. The report notably underlines that there is no panacea for DNS security and that promising technical solutions often come with trade-offs.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that scale up have long raised policy interest for their extraordinary potential in terms of job creation, innovation, competitiveness and economic growth. Yet, little is known about which firms could effectively become scalers, and what policies could effectively promote SME growth. This report is part of a series aiming to help policy makers unleash scalers’ potential. Building on new evidence from microdata work, it rethinks the nature and scope of scale up policies, suggesting the need for a broader and more cross cutting approach. The report then explores two thematic areas that are relevant for SME scaling up, i.e. SME data governance and their access to ‘scale up’ finance. Based on an international mapping of 369 institutions and 1174 policy initiatives across OECD countries, the analysis shows that SME and entrepreneurship policy is not among the core mandates of many implementing institutions, calling for sound coordination across the board and further mainstreaming of SME growth considerations in both policy areas. Moreover, national policy mixes vary significantly across countries, reflecting different approaches to promoting SME growth and to SME targeting, but also revealing possible policy blind spots.

For the past decade, behavioural science has been influencing public policy by applying principles of psychology, cognitive and social sciences, neuroscience and economics, to put individuals at the forefront of policy goals, and with an accurate rather than imagined understanding of human behaviour. Like any policy-making tool, the use of behavioural insights must be subject to ethical considerations that can arise at any point from scoping to policy scaling. This good practice guide offers practitioners and policy makers step-by-step guidance to prompt deliberations into how to use behavioural science ethically for public policy. It is designed to be a practical resource to promote the responsible use of behavioural science in the public sector.

Digital government has become a priority for Luxembourg as a means to enable its public sector to deliver more responsive and trusted services. The Digital Government Review of Luxembourg evaluates the efforts made by the government to transition towards a digital government approach. It provides in-depth analysis and policy recommendations to improve institutional governance, digital investments, digital talent and skills, government service delivery and the strategic use of data. Its findings can help Luxembourg achieve a more digitally mature and data-driven administration to better serve citizens and businesses.