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In 2010, the OECD’s Committee on Consumer Policy published a Consumer Policy Toolkit, which provides a framework for developing and implementing effective consumer policies (OECD, 2010). The report notes that industry self-regulation (ISR) can play an important role in addressing consumer issues, particularly when business codes of conduct and standards are involved.[1] This report examines the roles that ISR can play in these and other areas more closely, examining conditions and situations where there are likely to be benefits, and the steps that need to be taken to help ensure that such initiatives succeed. The report draws on 23 case studies where consumer issues are addressed. The case studies are based on material provided by governments, businesses, civil society and other experts; for the most part the case studies have not been independently evaluated. They cover a range of sectors and activities, including advertising, financial services, telecommunications, video games and software applications (apps), toys, and direct selling. The case studies are illustrative of the ways that ISR has been used to address consumer issues; they do not cover areas where ISR has not been effective.

Science and Technology

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The present work proposes a novel methodology for the measurement of investment in human capital in the form of training. Differently from existing studies, the expenditures-based approach pursued encompasses investment in formal and on-the-job training, as well as in informal learning and yields estimates that account for both the opportunity and the direct cost of the different forms of training considered. Using a wide array of data sources, including new and rich individual-level data collected through the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey as well as Labour Force Surveys (LFS) and System of National Accounts (SNA) data, the study proposes estimates of investment in training for the years 2011-2012. These cover 22 OECD countries and are provided at both the economy and industry levels. Estimates suggest that average total investment in training corresponds to 6.7% of gross value added (GVA), with investment in on-the-job training (amounting to 2.4% of GVA, on average) that are substantially in line with those of previous literature. Wide sector and country heterogeneity in the relative importance of investment in formal and on-the-job and informal learning also emerge. On average, production appears more intensive in on-the-job training (relative to other training types) than overall services, but not relative to business services only. Public-oriented services such as education and health services invest a greater (smaller) proportion of total training expenditure in formal (on-the-job) training than other sectors and the overall economy.

Science and Technology

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This paper identifies over 50 000 patents filed worldwide in various water-related adaptation technologies between 1990 and 2010, distinguishing between those related to water availability (supply) and water conservation (demand) technologies. The paper then analyses the innovation activity – including inventive activity by country and technology, international collaboration in technology development, and international diffusion of such water-related technologies. The results suggest that although innovation activity in water-related technologies has been increasing over the last two decades, this growth has been disproportionately concentrated on supply-side technologies. Moreover, most innovation worldwide occurs in countries with low or moderate vulnerability towards water scarcity. While this is a reflection of the fact that most developed economies do not face severe water stress, this result highlights the importance of international technology transfer and policies that facilitate broad diffusion of these technologies in water-stressed countries.

Environment --- Science and Technology

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This working paper sums up the main findings of an OECD project aiming to provide an evidence basis for focusing efforts to improve the measurement of technological and non-technological forms of business innovation, with particular focus on the role of design. It reviews a broad range of novel design-related measures, indicating their advantages and limitations in terms of policy relevance and insights. The analysis of design provides a valuable test-case for assessing the robustness of the overall framework for measuring innovation as proposed in the OECD/Eurostat Oslo Manual. It identifies a number of areas for potential development in a future revision, focused on the role of users and the implementation of the definition of innovation and innovation activities. It also identifies a range of design concepts based on an informal consultation with the design expert community. The paper also illustrates a number of findings arising from the first-time use of a set of experimental and optional questions on design implementing a “ladder-type” model of design which describes levels of sophistication and integration of the design function within the firm. Cognitive testing and analysis of the microdata from a large and representative sample of Danish firms shows a high degree of respondent acceptance of the experimental questions and supports their predictive validity vis-à-vis a number of hypotheses on the use of design and a series of innovation and economic outcomes potentially associated to it.

Science and Technology

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En 2009, le Comité de la politique à l’égard des consommateurs de l’OCDE a entrepris la révision des Lignes directrices de 1999 régissant la protection des consommateurs dans le contexte du commerce électronique. Dans le cadre de cet examen, il a exploré, dans un rapport analytique, les avantages et les difficultés, pour les consommateurs, d’acquérir des produits de contenu numérique intangibles. À la lumière de l’analyse réalisée, le Comité a mis au point les présentes orientations, qu’il a adoptées le 15 septembre 2014 et qu’il a recommandé de porter à la connaissance du public.

Science and Technology