Publications

The Network on Labour market, economic, and social outcomes of learning (LSO Expert Network) has diligently worked on the selection of indicators for monitoring adult learning policies. Their inaugural theoretical framework on adult learning, published in 2013, covered a broad spectrum of policy areas. This comprehensive scope reflected both the focus of existing data sources and the challenges encountered in data collection efforts. Over the past decade, significant policy shifts have occurred, reshaping adult learning systems both domestically and internationally. Concurrently, there have been improvements in the availability and frequency of data pertaining to adult learning. In response to these developments, this working paper presents an updated theoretical framework on adult learning, aiming to enhance the identification of statistical data concerning adult learning systems and facilitate the selection of pertinent indicators for monitoring purposes. Additionally, the paper offers detailed insights into national priorities and practices within this domain.

Society at a Glance 2024: OECD Social Indicators, the tenth edition of the biennial OECD overview of social indicators, addresses the growing demand for quantitative evidence on social well-being and its trends. The report features a special chapter on fertility trends which discusses evidence from recent OECD analysis on the effect of labour market outcomes, housing costs and different aspects of the family policy framework (e.g. parental leave, childcare, and financial supports) on fertility trends and highlights key policy challenges. This edition of Society at a Glance also includes a special section based on the 2022 OECD Risks that Matter Survey on people’s perceptions of social and economic risks and the extent to which they think governments address those risks effectively. Society at a Glance presents 25 social indicators, 5 each in chapters on General context, Self-sufficiency, Equity, Health, and Social cohesion. These indicators include data for 38 OECD member countries and, where available, accession and key partners countries (Argentina, Bulgaria, Brazil, Croatia, China, India, Indonesia, Peru, Romania, and South Africa) and another other G20 country (Saudi Arabia).

Ubiquitous access to high-quality broadband connectivity is crucial for digital transformation, economic growth, and productivity. The challenge lies in ensuring sustained long-term investments in broadband infrastructure. This report examines the diversity of actors in the financial landscape of connectivity infrastructure, highlighting trends in broadband network financing and future implications. It focuses on five important groups that invest in and provide funding for broadband infrastructure: communication operators, tower companies, big technology companies, financial asset managers, and the public sector. Communication operators saw revenue growth from 2008 to 2022, but their investment decisions going forward will depend on future returns and interest rates. Meanwhile, tower companies, big technology companies, and financial asset managers are reshaping the connectivity landscape. Finally, the report looks at the public sector, which plays an important role in enabling investments in communication infrastructure.

This report evaluates and makes recommendations on Türkiye’s implementation of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and the 2021 Recommendation of the Council for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. It was adopted by the OECD Working Group on Bribery on 13 June 2024 The report is part of the OECD Working Group on Bribery’s fourth phase of monitoring, launched in 2016. Phase 4 looks at the evaluated country’s particular challenges and positive achievements. It also explores issues such as detection, enforcement, corporate liability and international co operation, as well as covering unresolved issues from prior reports.

Public sector remuneration systems are shaped by an intricate interaction of administrative culture, economic conditions, and political systems. This paper discusses critical considerations to bear in mind when designing, planning and implementing reforms of public service wage systems. It explores key concepts such as job evaluation, pay structures, performance-related pay, market analysis for competitive pay levels and wage bill planning. It provides guidance on the process of reforming public sector salary systems to enhance their competitiveness, equity, transparency and affordability. The paper offers insights drawn from the reform efforts of several EU Member States and SIGMA partners in the Western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine, presenting real-life examples and updated guidelines for effective, sustainable salary system changes. The primary focus is on reforms of wage systems within central government administrations, acknowledging the complexity arising from diverse classifications of civil service and public employees, and the varying scope and structure of salary systems. This paper serves as a practical guide, presenting options along with their advantages and disadvantages to aid policymakers in aligning reforms with their national public administration context and strategies.

Improving rural development, well-being and maximising the potential in rural areas requires greater horizontal and vertical co-ordination at the national, regional, and local level as well as the mainstreaming of rural issues across all policies. However, taking an integrated approach to rural development - where rural ministries and non-rural ministries coordinate in the development of polices and initiatives - is often very challenging. Rural proofing is a tool to help policy makers overcome this challenge and develop more nuanced rural-friendly policies. It involves making policy decisions based on evidence on rural dynamics available in a timely fashion to enable changes and adjustments. In practice, however, it is a mechanism that has proved complex to design, implement, and sustain. This article explores how more robust rural proofing models can be developed, with health as a focal point. Drawing on lessons from different OECD member countries, it develops a roadmap for more effective rural proofing mechanisms to help embed the practice in the policy space and culture of governments.

This report assesses the modernisation of the justice sector in Portugal. It examines the country's progress towards a people-centred justice system and a modernised justice sector and offers a range of recommendations to sustain and amplify this progress. It highlights the importance of adopting continuous assessments of legal needs, designing and delivering services with a people-centred purpose; upskilling the justice sector to meet the demands of a digitally enabled and people-centred justice system; enhancing the availability, quality, and use of data and statistical systems; and using digital technologies and data to improve the accessibility, efficiency, and responsiveness of the justice system in Portugal.

This report introduces cryptography to policy makers and includes key concepts such as symmetric and asymmetric cryptography, public key infrastructure, and end-to-end encryption. It discusses advancements in homomorphic encryption, which allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without decrypting it first and accessing the secret key. Often described as 'the holy grail of cryptography', homomorphic encryption remains a promising area of research rather than a fully developed technology. The report also addresses quantum technologies, which could pose a threat to the foundations of public key cryptography, potentially undermining trust in the digital ecosystem. While current quantum computers are far from causing such disruptions, a transition to quantum-resistant (or post-quantum) cryptography is essential today to address their future impact. Additionally, quantum cryptography shows significant promise for secure communications but is not yet suitable for sensitive applications.

Measuring the various aspects of cybersecurity across countries is challenging, in part because the actors in the cybersecurity ecosystem often do not have the incentives to share key data. At the same time, people, firms and governments need to feel secure to communicate online and use Internet-based services. This statistical report provides an overview of how cybersecurity is being measured across a variety of data sources and using different methodological approaches. Beginning with a checklist of measurement considerations, the report then discusses existing data from official and non-official sources, identifying when each data source is most useful. The report then provides two proofs of concepts for measuring uncertainty related to cyber risks, or 'cybersecurity uncertainty'. Measuring such uncertainty can complement existing statistics and help anticipate emerging cybersecurity trends, develop more targeted cybersecurity awareness programmes, and promote a more secure and resilient digital ecosystem.