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21. Competition and Barriers to Entry

Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Before a firm can compete in a market, it has to be able to enter it. Many markets have at least some impediments that make it more difficult for a firm to enter a market. A debate over how to define the term “barriers to entry” began decades ago, however, and it has yet to be won. Some scholars have argued, for example, that an obstacle is not an entry barrier if incumbent firms faced it when they entered the market. Others contend that an entry barrier is anything that hinders entry and has the effect of reducing or limiting competition. A number of other definitions have been proposed, but none of them has emerged as a clear favourite. Because the debate remains unsettled but the various definitions continue to be used as analytical tools, the possibility of confusion – and therefore of flawed competition policy – has lingered for many years.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets

22. Economic Survey of the Euro Area, 2007

Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
After several false starts, the economic recovery has taken hold. Activity was strong in 2006, firms and households are more confident about the future, business investment has picked up and unemployment has fallen below 8% for the first time since 2001. There are encouraging signs that the recovery is broadening to embrace household consumption as well. If in addition structural reforms continue, the expansion will become durable and self-sustaining, a prospect also supported by sound corporate and household balance sheets and favourable financing conditions. All this is good news, though it should be kept in perspective. Growth of around 2¼ per cent per annum projected for 2007 and 2008 is still modest by OECD standards, although the growth gap is smaller when measured on a per capita basis. Still, it could take until 2008 for cyclical slack to be fully absorbed.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
Europe

23. New Actors in Health Financing: Implications for a donor darling

Author:
Felix Zimmermann and Denis Drechsler
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
With concern about how to finance the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) widespread, recent donor pledges to raise aid volumes are welcome. However, aid alone will not suffice – bringing in new actors and sources of development finance will be essential. In many developing countries, this is already happening, creating new opportunities and challenges for their governments and donors.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Health, and International Trade and Finance

24. Economic Survey of the Russian Federation, 2006

Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The Russian economy has been enjoying a period of robust growth, thanks largely to steadily rising terms of trade. The challenge confronting policy-makers is to facilitate Russia's transition into a period of self-sustaining, investment- and innovation-led growth. This will require a sound macroeconomic policy framework to manage the economy's adjustment to sustained high oil prices and a range of structural reforms aimed at creating better framework conditions for business.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

25. Economic Survey of Brazil, 2006

Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Considerable progress has been made in recent years in achieving macroeconomic stability and restructuring the economy. Productivity has risen since the macroeconomic stabilisation of the mid-1990s and the implementation of a series of structural reforms. But Brazil's GDP growth performance (about 2.5% per year on average since 1995) nevertheless needs to improve to close a widening income gap relative to the OECD area. Reaping the full benefits of stabilisation in terms of faster growth will require consolidating macroeconomic adjustment, boosting innovation in the business sector and stepping up formal labour utilisation.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
Brazil and South America

26. Policies for Migration and Development: A European perspective

Author:
Theodora Xenogiani, Robert E.B. Lucas, and Louka T. Katseli
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Managing migration has become a priority for policy makers both in developed and developing countries; it is a difficult challenge indeed. Large immigration or emigration flows relative to domestic population's impact on almost all aspects of an economy and society: family structures, community life, educational and health systems, labour markets, security systems, governance and institutions. Despite the inherent difficulties in policy making, there is a growing awareness that if management can be improved, important gains for both migrant-receiving (“host”) and migrant-sending (“home”) countries may be generated. Effective management can furthermore mitigate the risks associated with migration.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:
Europe

27. Competition Law and Policy in Argentina

Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
In the past 25 years Argentina has made considerable, if uneven, progress toward building a successful market economy. In any country, an effective competition policy is an important part of that effort. Argentina's progress in competition policy has also been uneven, having been affected in many ways by the country's turbulent political and economic history.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
Argentina and South America

28. Reinventing Rural Policy

Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
In OECD countries, rural areas account for three-quarters of the land and are home to a quarter of the population. Rapid changes in the international economy clearly have a different effect on these regions than on cities and towns, offering different challenges but also different opportunities.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance

29. Economic Survey of Turkey, 2006

Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Substantial progress in macroeconomic stabilisation and institutional reform has laid a foundation for strong GDP growth. However, the recent inflation shock and turmoil in the financial markets highlight Turkey's on-going vulnerabilities. A further comprehensive programme of structural reform would increase productivity growth, expand the formal sector of the economy and consolidate macroeconomic stability.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

30. Protecting Consumers from Cyberfraud

Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The Internet has become a basic fact of everyday life for millions of people worldwide, from e-mail to online shopping. Ever faster and more accessible connections available on a wider range of platforms, such as mobile phones or person to person portable devices, have spurred new e-commerce opportunities. Online shopping and banking are increasingly widespread and over the next 10 years, the Net is expected to become as common as gas or electricity. Google's “Internet Chief Evangelist” Vinton Cerf, has predicted that by 2016, “everything from the family fridge to the office coffee pot … heating, cooling, and security systems … will be managed through the Internet; … by then, the Internet will become so pervasive that connecting to it will no longer be a conscious act.”
Topic:
Security, Development, Economics, and Science and Technology