United Kingdom

Cultural and creative sectors are a significant driver of local development through job creation and income generation, spurring innovation across the economy. Beyond their economic impacts, they also have significant social impacts, from supporting health and well-being to promoting social inclusion and local social capital. Glasgow City Region in Scotland, United Kingdom has a long history of transformative cultural policy. Cultural and creative sectors are now one of the region’s strengths. This paper provides an overview of cultural and creative sectors in the Glasgow City Region, highlighting trends in employment, business dynamics, entrepreneurship and financing as well as cultural participation. It offers analysis and recommendations to support the region in continuing to build on its local cultural and creative ecosystem.

Cities are not only home to around half of the global population but are also at the forefront of the transformation of jobs, skills and labour markets. Furthermore, cities play a leading role in the COVID-19 response, as the pandemic is not only accelerating megatrends such as digitalisation and automation that change the world of work, but is also challenging city economies. In London, COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented labour market shock, with several service sectors having been devastated. The crisis and its impact on employment and firms make skills development and adult learning more important than ever. London is the first major city within the OECD to introduce a comprehensive skills strategy. The report Future-Proofing Adult Learning in London, UK analyses London’s capacity to design effective adult learning programmes, which are critical for a strong and sustainable economic recovery and for preparing for the future of work. The report sheds light on major challenges facing London, especially in light of COVID-19, while also pointing to opportunities for London to design a future-ready adult learning system that responds to the impacts of the pandemic and aligns training to rapidly evolving labour market demands.

The COVID-19 crisis has had a profound impact on SME access to finance. In particular, the sudden drop in revenues created acute liquidity shortages, threatening the survival of many viable businesses. The report documents an increase in demand for bank lending in the first half of 2020, and a steady supply of credit thanks to government interventions. On the other hand, other sources of finance declined, in particular early-stage equity. This paper, a special edition of Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs, focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on SME access to finance, along with government policy responses. It reveals that the pre-crisis financing environment was broadly favourable for SMEs and entrepreneurs, who benefited from low interest rates, loose credit standards and an increasingly diverse offer of financing instruments. It documents the unprecedented scope and scale of the policy responses undertaken by governments world-wide, and details their key characteristics, and outlines the principal issues and policy challenges for the next phases of the pandemic, such as the over-indebtedness of SMEs and the need to continue to foster a diverse range of financing instruments for SMEs.

It is increasingly understood that entrepreneurship plays a critical role in economic growth and well-being. But which policies can governments develop to release its benefits? This publication offers guidance and inspiration. It identifies the range of entrepreneurship policies being pursued internationally, the problems the policies seek to solve and how they are designed and implemented. The focus is on how to create a broad base of start-ups with the potential for sustainability and growth by building a pipeline of new entrepreneurs, supporting start-ups to overcome barriers in areas such as skills, finance and innovation and stimulating vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems. The publication examines the rationale for entrepreneurship policy, presents a typology of policy approaches and highlights principles for policy success. The points are illustrated by 16 case studies of inspiring practice policies from 12 OECD countries. These cases span policies for regulations and taxation, entrepreneurship education and training, advice and coaching, access to finance, internationalisation, innovation, and holistic packages for ecosystem building. Helpful summary tables guide readers to the information that will respond to their questions. The publication will give readers an overview of key entrepreneurship policy interventions and tips on entrepreneurship policy success.

This paper reviews the different definitions and measures of skills use and shows why it matters for local development policies. Based on findings from the Annual Population Survey and the UK Employer Skills Survey, it provides unique local analysis on how the Leeds City Region compares on skills use relative to other Local Enterprise Partnerships. It then outlines opportunities for new actions that could be implemented in the Leeds City Region to work closer with firms to promote skills use in the workplace.

There is an urgent need to ensure that coastal areas are adapting to the impacts of climate change. Risks in these areas are projected to increase because of rising sea levels and development pressures. This report reviews how OECD countries can use their national adaptation planning processes to respond to this challenge. Specifically, the report examines how countries approach shared costs and responsibilities for coastal risk management and how this encourages or hinders risk-reduction behaviour by households, businesses and different levels of government. The report outlines policy tools that national governments can use to encourage an efficient, effective and equitable response to ongoing coastal change. It is informed by new analysis on the future costs of sea-level rise, and the main findings from four case studies (Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom).

This OECD publication provides statistics on international trade in services by partner country for 28 OECD countries plus the European Union (EU27), the Euro area, and Hong Kong, China as well as definitions and methodological notes. The data concern trade between residents and non-residents of countries and are reported within the framework of the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services. This book includes summary tables of trade patterns listing the main trading partners for each country and by broad service category. Series are shown in US dollars and cover the period 2004-2008.