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Inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the six Western Balkan (WB6) economies depends on greater economic competitiveness. Although the gap is closing gradually, the standards of living in WB6 are well below those of the OECD and EU. Accelerating the rate of socio-economic convergence will require a holistic and growth oriented approach to policy making. This is the fourth study of the region (formerly under the title 'Competitiveness in South East Europe') and it comprehensively assesses policy reforms in the WB6 economies across 15 policy areas key to strengthening their competitiveness. It enables WB6 economies to compare economic performance against regional peers, as well as EU-OECD good practices and standards, and to design future policies based on rich evidence and actionable policy recommendations. The regional profile presents assessment findings across five policy clusters crucial to accelerating socio-economic convergence of the WB6 by fostering regional co-operation: business environment, skills, infrastructure and connectivity, digital transformation and greening. Economy-specific profiles complement the regional assessment, offering each WB6 economy an in-depth analysis of their policies supporting competitiveness. They also track the implementation of the previous 2021 study's recommendations and provide additional ones tailored to the economies’ evolving challenges. These recommendations aim to inform structural economic reforms and facilitate the region’s socio-economic convergence towards the standards of the EU and OECD.

As the pace of technological change accelerates, reaching the digital frontier – and staying there – is increasingly challenging. This report analyses Norway’s digital performance, policies and priorities to inform the development of a new national digital strategy that seeks to sharpen Norway’s competitive edge and ensure that digital transformation benefits all Norwegians. It outlines the digital priorities and trends that will shape Norway’s digital future and maps its digital policy ecosystem. The report further assesses Norway’s digital performance based on the OECD Going Digital Toolkit dashboard of indicators and analyses its digital policies through the lens of the OECD Going Digital Integrated Policy Framework. It concludes with policy recommendations to achieve a more digital, innovative and inclusive Norway.

As part of broader digitalisation efforts, half of public employment services (PES) in OECD countries are employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance their services. AI is being adopted across all key tasks of PES, including most commonly to match jobseekers with vacancies. While several PES have been using such tools for a decade, adoption of AI has been increasing in recent years as these become more accessible. New AI use cases have emerged to assist employers in designing vacancy postings and jobseekers in their career management and job-search strategies. AI initiatives have significant impact on PES clients, changing how they interact with the PES and receive support, and PES staff, altering their day-to-day work. As PES seek to maximise the opportunities brought by AI, proactive steps should be taken to mitigate associated risks. Key considerations for PES include prioritising transparency of AI algorithms and explainability of results, establishing governance frameworks, ensuring end-users (staff and clients) are included and supported in the development and adoption process, and committing to rigorous monitoring and evaluation to increase the positive and manage any negative impact of AI solutions.

This report provides an international benchmarking of Germany’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and discusses progress in implementing its national AI strategy. The report draws on quantitative and qualitative data and insights from the OECD.AI Policy Observatory and from the OECD Programme on AI in Work, Innovation, Productivity and Skills (AI-WIPS) – an OECD research programme financed by the German Federal Government – and results from a series of interviews with a wide range of stakeholders in Germany. The review discusses Germany’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges in AI, and provides recommendations to steer AI policy in Germany in the coming years. The evidence is presented according to the core focus areas outlined in Germany’s national AI strategy, which include: 1) minds; 2) research; 3) transfer and applications; 4) the world of work; 5) policy and regulatory frameworks; and 6) society. Furthermore, the report discusses AI infrastructure and it includes three sector spotlights on AI in the public sector, AI and environmental sustainability and AI and healthcare.

This paper discusses recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, which could positively impact many markets. While it is important that markets remain competitive to ensure their benefits are widely felt, the lifecycle for generative AI is still developing. This paper focuses on three stages: training foundation models, fine-tuning and deployment. It is too early to say how competition will develop in generative AI, but there appear to be some risks to competition that warrant attention, such as linkages across the generative AI value chain, including from existing markets, and potential barriers to accessing key inputs such as quality data and computing power. Several competition authorities and policy makers are taking actions to monitor market developments and may need to use the various advocacy and enforcement tools at their disposal. Furthermore, co-operation could play an important role in allowing authorities to efficiently maintain their knowledge and expertise.

Digital technologies not only offer a vast potential to enhance firm productivity, they can also help enhance resilience and support economic recovery in times of war. The government has made significant strides in accelerating the digital transformation and has reinforced support for digitalisation since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. While digital technologies have brought significant benefits to the country, Ukraine’s SMEs are yet to fully tap into the potential of digitalisation. Beyond war-related challenges, lack of awareness, digital skills shortages, sectoral specificities, and financial constraints complicate their digital development. The government aims to further promote SME digitalisation and is currently preparing its SME Strategy 2024-27. Throughout 2023, the OECD provided guidance to Ukraine on how to help SMEs leverage digitalisation for productivity, resilience, and recovery. This report presents an overview of the findings, looking at i) ways to strengthen the national and subnational institutional and policy framework for SME digitalisation; ii) avenues for targeted digitalisation support services for SMEs, building on the OECD’s blueprint; and iii) specific ways digitalisation can help SMEs weather war-related challenges.

The 2019 Egyptian National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy is a key catalyst for digital transformation in Egypt and supports the country’s sustainable development agenda. As North Africa’s biggest economy, Egypt faces a challenging economic and demographic context, including high inflation and a high youth unemployment rate. As the first Arab and African country to adhere to the OECD Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence in 2021, Egypt has made progress in implementing the OECD AI Principles. This country review explores the state of implementation of the OECD AI Principles in Egypt by providing a mapping of Egypt’s AI governance and policy implementation through gap analysis, comparative analysis, and benchmarking. It highlights key findings and recommendations to strengthen Egypt’s AI ecosystem and facilitate the development of inclusive, responsible, and human-centric AI policies and practices that support Egypt’s development agenda and stand the test of time.

This paper details the methodology used to nowcast the growth rate of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the 'The growth outlook of the ICT sector' chapter of the OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2024, Volume 1. In an era of rapid digital transformation, innovative data sources for economic measurement are crucial. Internet search data have gained prominence for tracking real-time economic activity. This paper details a nowcasting model that leverages Google Trends data to provide policymakers with timely, up-to-date and comparable data on the economic growth of the ICT sector. Having timely data on ICT sector performance is essential to evaluating the effectiveness of sector-related policies. By addressing data challenges and employing a data-driven approach, this paper advances economic measurement of the digitalisation of the economy and provides insights into ICT sector growth dynamics.

The OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2024, Volume 1: Embracing the Technology Frontier provides new insights on key technologies that underpin the digital technology ecosystem and their impacts. Using big data and machine-learning techniques, Volume 1 provides new estimates of the growth rate of the ecosystem’s core – the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. It then looks toward the technology frontier with perspectives on the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can be shaped into a positive force. Volume 1 also analyses how people, firms and governments are adopting digital technologies, offering insights into the scale and scope of digital divides and how to boost equal opportunity and inclusion. To that end, it looks at the critical need for next generation wireless networks to provide unlimited connectivity everywhere. Moving beyond the hype of immersive technologies, Volume 1 examines the proven ability of virtual reality (VR) to scale, while identifying its opportunities and risks. Finally, it shines a spotlight on mental health in digital environments, including those most at risk.