Reports

The 2021 edition includes input indicators on public finance and employment; process indicators include data on institutions, budgeting practices, human resources management, regulatory governance, public procurement, governance of infrastructure, public sector integrity, open government and digital government. Outcome indicators cover core government results (e.g. trust, political efficacy, inequality reduction) and indicators on access, responsiveness, quality and satisfaction for the education, health and justice sectors. Governance indicators are useful for monitoring and benchmarking governments’ progress in their public sector reforms.

This report provides an assessment of public governance and territorial development in Polish local self-government units (LSGUs). It offers key recommendations to governments at the national, regional and local levels in Poland on how to enhance development, improve service delivery and strengthen management processes within LSGUs. It addresses eight key thematic areas, including strategic planning, co-ordination across administrative units and policy sectors, multi-level governance and investment capacity, the use of monitoring and evaluation evidence for decision-making, budgeting, strategic workforce management, open government, and regulatory policy to reduce administrative burden and simplify public procurement. The report proposes a classification of LSGUs in Poland based on OECD typology, in order to reflect the economic functionality of specific regions/territories as a means to help LSGUs design more effective local development policies. A self-assessment tool for LSGUs in Poland complements the report and provides key indicators that allow counties and municipalities to assess their main strengths and weaknesses on public governance and local development practices, plan how to better serve citizens, enhance local sustainable development and engage with stakeholders to build a collective vision and plan of action.

Countries have made significant efforts in recent years to develop domestic, regional and international frameworks for consumer protection enforcement co-operation across borders. However, recent work by the OECD Committee on Consumer Policy has shown that challenges remain in many countries, in particular a lack of legal authority to fully engage in enforcement co-operation. This toolkit acts a practical resource for consumer protection enforcement agencies that do not currently have the domestic legal authority needed for enforcement co-operation to make the case for obtaining relevant legislative tools. It also provides guidance to ensure related legislative reforms are fit for purpose. The toolkit sets out a range of legislative actions countries may take to improve cross-border enforcement co-operation, covering investigatory powers, enforcement outcomes and co-operation practices. Its annex addresses operational and legal issues, and provides concrete examples of cases and legislation from a broad range of both OECD countries and partner economies.

Regulators act as 'market referees', balancing often competing interests of stakeholders in the sector, including governments, current and future actors in the markets, and consumers. At the same time, markets are changing at an unprecedented pace due to new technologies, the international drive toward carbon-neutral economies, shifts in consumer needs and preferences, and, most recently, the profound changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic. Assessing the performance of economic regulators must therefore be a continuous process. This progress review evaluates the changes put in place by Latvia’s Public Utilities Commission since the previous OECD performance assessment review in 2016, in the interest of increasing the effectiveness of its regulatory activities and improving final outcomes for consumers and the economy.

The Impact of Regulation on International Investment in Finland examines what drives FDI into Finland and which domestic regulatory aspects may discourage foreign investment. The report analyses trends in FDI flows towards Finland and other Nordic-Baltic countries and discusses the benefits of foreign investment for the Finnish economy. It provides a comparative overview of the regulatory frameworks in force in Finland and its Nordic-Baltic peers, outlining both economy-wide and sector-specific findings, and explores how changes in these regulatory frameworks are linked to changes in FDI inflows in the region. Foreign investors’ views on Finland’s business environment complement these findings. The report underlines potential areas for reform and suggests policy actions that could further improve Finland’s investment climate and contribute to attracting and retaining more FDI, while also strengthening its positive impact.

As 'market referees', regulators contribute to the delivery of essential public utilities. Their organisational culture, behaviour and governance are important factors in how regulators, and the sectors they oversee, perform. The OECD Performance Assessment Framework for Economic Regulators (PAFER) looks at the institutions, processes and practices that can create an organisational culture of performance and results. The report uses PAFER to assess elements linked to both the internal and external governance of Portugal’s Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE). The review acknowledges the well-respected status of ERSE within the institutional framework, analyses the key drivers of its performance, and identifies a number of challenges and opportunities to help the regulator prepare for the future, including in the context of deep market transformation and the COVID-19 crisis.