Publications

Armenia's ICT sector has experienced remarkable growth, expanding by 20% in 2022, underscoring the country's commitment to digital transformation as a policy priority. Despite these efforts and trends, SMEs continues to face significant obstacles in their digital transformation, including lack of awareness, low digital skills levels, and financial constraints. This reports aims to support the Armenian government in addressing these challenges and fostering business digitalisation. Building on previous OECD work on digitalisation policies and insights from the 2024 edition of the SME Policy Index for Eastern Partner countries, this publication offers a comprehensive overview of Armenia’s institutional framework and policy initiatives for SME digitalisation. Through data-driven analysis, it examines the challenges hindering the digital transformation of Armenian businesses and provides insights to unlock their potential. This report serves as a guide, offering detailed recommendations aimed at improving framework conditions for SME digitalisation, building a structured system for SME digitalisation support, and fostering synergies in the ecosystem to facilitate digital transformation.

In an era of overlapping crises, achieving sustainable development is more challenging than ever. As we approach the 2030 deadline, the world is off track to meet most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Urgent, transformative action is needed to reverse the setbacks. The OECD and its members have a central role to play in this global effort, guided by a shared commitment to global stability and progress. The OECD Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) is a key tool in addressing these challenges. It provides policymakers with the necessary mechanisms to ensure that policies across sectors and levels of government are mutually reinforcing in the pursuit of sustainable development, both domestically and globally. This report takes stock of the progress made in implementing the Recommendation over the past five years. It shows that many of the Parties to the Recommendation have laid a strong foundation for improving policy coherence. However, significant gaps remain, particularly in the capacity to assess the impact of policies on sustainable development and to integrate sustainable development into key governance processes.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) conducts peer reviews of individual members once every five to six years. Reviews seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of members’ development co-operation, highlighting good practices and recommending improvements. France has embarked on an ambitious reform of its development co-operation in institutional, strategic and financial terms. In addition to a substantial increase in the resources devoted to official development assistance and a strengthening of its crisis response instruments, France has championed the linkages between the green and social agendas and the mobilisation of the private sector for sustainable development. The review discusses the difficult balance between the objectives of visibility and development impact, particularly in fragile contexts. It makes recommendations on combining political impetus, steering by objectives and flexibility; deepening the cross-benefits between the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainable development; and, strengthening the contribution of local private sector to poverty reduction by optimising available resources and instruments.

The 2024 edition of OECD Tourism Trends and Policies analyses the latest tourism performance and policy trends across 50 OECD countries and partner economies. It takes stock of the tourism economy’s recovery post-pandemic and highlights the need for co-ordinated, forward-looking policies, as challenges remain to build momentum for a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive future for the sector. Evidence on the significance of the tourism economy is presented, with data covering domestic, inbound, and outbound tourism, enterprises and employment, and internal tourism consumption. Tourism policy priorities, reforms and developments are analysed, and examples of country practices highlighted. Thematic chapters provide insights on strengthening the tourism workforce and building the evidence base for sustainable tourism policies.

This analytical report, the last in a series of four, was prepared by the OECD Higher Education Policy Team as part of the Education and Innovation Practice Community (EIPC), an action of the European Union’s New European Innovation Agenda, flagship 4 on 'Fostering, attracting and retaining deep tech talent'. EIPC seeks to bring together peers from policy and practice to advance understanding of the competencies that can trigger and shape innovation for the digital and green transitions, and the mechanisms through which higher education can contribute to their development across three stages of education: secondary education; higher education; and adult upskilling and reskilling. Drawing on module B of the Higher Education Policy Survey 2022 and case studies, this report examines how public authorities can promote upskilling and reskilling in higher education to contribute to the green and digital transitions. It first offers a typology of the higher education-based upskilling and reskilling offer observed in OECD countries before describing four key action areas: setting system-wide strategies; supporting provision; attracting and supporting learners; and securing industry and employer engagement.

Africa’s Development Dynamics uses lessons from Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa to develop policy recommendations and share good practices across the continent. Drawing on the most recent statistics, its analysis of development dynamics aims to assist African leaders in reaching the targets of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 at all levels: continental, regional, national and local. This edition explores how African governments, firms and educational institutions can increase the supply of quality skills, in line with current and future demand, to create jobs and increase productivity. Global trends, like the digital and green transitions, Africa’s demographic growth, and the regionalisation of international trade are shaping future skills demand. The report's two continental chapters examine the gaps in foundational, soft and technical skills and identify policy solutions to develop a skilled workforce. Five regional chapters offer recommendations for skills development in strategic areas including mining, digital technologies, renewable energy and agri-food. Africa’s Development Dynamics feeds into a policy debate between the African Union’s governments, citizens, entrepreneurs and researchers. It proposes a new collaboration between countries and regions, focusing on mutual learning and the preservation of common goods. This report results from the partnership between the African Union Commission and the OECD Development Centre.

The global challenge of the green transition, aimed at achieving net-zero emissions, is expected to reshape the labour market significantly. This shift presents both economic and redistributive challenges, with a particular concern for young people entering the job market. Education plays a crucial role in preparing students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed for green careers. However, there is a gap in how well schools are preparing students for these opportunities. Effective career guidance systems are essential to serve as bridges between students' interests and labour market demands. This study examined 87 programmes within primary and secondary education across 20 OECD countries, aimed at enhancing students' understanding of and progression towards green careers. These programmes, though not exhaustive, provide valuable insights into the conceptualisation and implementation of green guidance programmes, which are expected to become increasingly important in the future.

Over the past two decades, the use of research in educational practice has emerged as a policy imperative in many OECD countries. However, concerns about the significant gap between research evidence and practice are persistent. This working paper delves into the role of research-practice partnerships in bridging this divide. It critically evaluates common assumptions associated with such partnerships through an overview of research, insights from recent OECD data, and importantly, through in-depth case studies. These illustrate partnerships between education researchers and school practitioners in three countries: Norway, the United States, and Germany. They examine the conditions under which these can achieve an impact on both research and practice, and illuminate challenges and open questions associated with these collaborations. The paper aims to inform policy makers and researchers alike on the potential and limitations of research-practice partnerships.

This report assesses and monitors progress in the design and implementation of SME policies in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. It was developed as part of the OECD LAC Regional Programme, in co-operation with CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA). The 2024 report tracks progress made since 2019 across eight policy dimensions and presents the latest key findings on SME development and related policies. It identifies emerging challenges impacting SMEs in the region and provides recommendations for governments to build a successful SME sector. The 2024 edition, the second in the series, benefits from an updated methodology that analyses SME digital transformation support policies, introduces a green economy pilot dimension, and incorporates a cross-cutting gender approach. This edition extends the coverage by introducing two new countries (Brazil and Paraguay) to the already seven participating countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay), guaranteeing the inclusion of all members of the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur.

This report provides an overview of Czechia's public investment system across levels of government. It offers analysis and recommendations for strengthening institutional capabilities at the national and subnational levels for planning, co-ordinating, appraising and delivering infrastructure. By strengthening infrastructure investment systems at all levels, Czechia can improve its resilience and secure a more sustainable future.