Reports

The health system performance assessment (HSPA) framework for the Czech Republic is an initiative designed to help the Czech health system improve policy planning, monitoring, and decision taking. This report describes the HSPA framework for the Czech Republic, its development process, governance structure and implementation roadmap. It also details the Czech HSPA framework domains, populated by indicators selected through a comprehensive review process. As such, the framework enables the assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the Czech health system. Its implementation will increase the accountability of national authorities and principal healthcare stakeholders, improve public involvement, smooth flow of information across the health sector, and allow reform planning and monitoring.

The Czech economy is very carbon-intensive and has among the highest greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP in the OECD. Getting on the path towards net zero will require rapid emission reductions over the coming decades. Coal still makes up close to one third of the energy supply and the government has pledged to phase it out by 2033, which will require a swift expansion in the use of renewable energy sources as well as increased energy efficiency. This can be achieved by adopting a comprehensive policy package that includes widely applied carbon pricing, incentives to raise energy efficiency, spending on renewable energy and cutting red tape hindering green investments. Compensating policies and adjustment support will be essential to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of climate policies and to increase public support. Active labour market policies including higher spending on re-training for the unemployed is key to facilitate the green transition.

The OECD Public Governance Review of the Czech Republic identifies priority governance areas for reform in the Czech Republic and offers recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness, agility and responsiveness of the country’s public sector. The review first provides a snapshot on the effectiveness of the public administration and its capacity to address contemporary governance challenges, such as digitalisation and climate change. It then analyses a number of critical and priority public governance areas including citizen engagement, centre-of-government-led co-ordination and strategic planning, evidence-informed policy making in the Czech public administration, public administration at the local and regional level, human resources management in the public administration, and digital government. It also includes a case study on governance arrangements and regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The review provides recommendations for the Czech public administration to help it implement its Public Administration Reform Strategy: Client-oriented Public Administration 2030 (PAR), achieve the objectives of the PAR, and, ultimately, realise its longer-term sustainable development vision and commitments.

This publication presents the results of the Second Round Peer Review on the Exchange of Information on Request for the Czech Republic.

This profile identifies strengths, challenges and specific areas of action on cancer prevention and care in the Czech Republic as part of the European Cancer Inequalities Registry, a flagship initiative of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. It provides a short synthesis of: the national cancer burden; risk factors for cancer (focusing on behavioural and environmental risk factors); early detection programmes; and cancer care performance (focusing on accessibility, care quality, costs and the impact of COVID-19 on cancer care).

Being able to swim empowers individuals to make choices, have agency, and be free to choose core aspects of their life, such as working safely on or near water. It is also associated with lifelong health benefits and reduces the risk of drowning. Using data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2019, this paper provides the first global estimates of adults’ ability to swim without assistance. Individuals in high-income countries are considerably more likely to report being able to swim without assistance than individuals in low-income countries. Disparities also exist within countries. In particular, women are less likely to be able to swim without assistance than men in virtually all countries, birth cohorts, and levels of education. Investing in reducing inequalities in life skills, such as swimming, can foster economic development and empowerment, especially in light of threats, such as climate change.

This report describes the structure of the FinTech sector in the Czech Republic and the associated regulatory and supervisory frameworks. It analyses the enabling conditions for FinTech innovation as well as potential hurdles. The findings are based on responses from Czech FinTechs to an OECD survey which assessed market innovations, opportunities and obstacles, the access to and use of data, and the potential benefits of establishing a regulatory sandbox.

Understanding adults’ attitudes towards the environment is necessary to gauge the opportunities and challenges of creating effective and politically-feasible climate policies. Using data from the Wellcome Global Monitor 2020, the European Social Survey (Round 8), World Values Survey and EM-DAT, this paper examines how adults’ environmental attitudes vary within and across countries and details how environmental attitudes are associated with adults’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviours and support for environmentally-friendly policies. The paper explores whether the extent to which individuals prioritise the environment over the state of the economy or vice versa depends on individuals’ exposure to natural disasters or negative labour market conditions. Results indicate that people’s economic vulnerability and the sectors they work in impact their attitudes towards their environment and support for public policy. Furthermore, the findings suggest that increases in unemployment and exposure to natural disasters influence the extent to which individuals prioritise the environment.