diode.network  (12.09.2017) Policy makers in the Global South have discovered digital labour platforms (e.g. Upwork, Freelancer) as a potential source for employment.

The ongoing digital transformation of economies and societies holds many promises to spur innovation, generate efficiencies, and improve services, and in doing so boost more inclusive and sustainable growth as well as enhance well-being. But these benefits go hand-in-hand with disruptions. Our interactions with one another and with society more broadly are being transformed, as are the nature and structure of organisations and markets, raising important issues around jobs and skills, privacy, security, and how to ensure that technological changes benefit society as a whole, among others.

Some countries and some groups are better placed than others to harness the benefits of digital transformation. To bring about stronger and more inclusive growth from the digital revolution, it is essential to build a coherent and comprehensive policy approach. This is the essence of the OECD's Going Digital project.

The digital transformation is affecting all areas of government policy making This page presents OECD work on digital issues in many of these areas. Yet the essence of the Going Digital project is to foster new cross-cutting thinking and a whole-of-government approach that the digital age requires, where silos are broken down to enable more effective policy making. 

To this end, the project will leverage the latest evidence and data across domains within a new framework for policies towards the digital transformation.

Globalisation, technological progress and demographic change are having a profound impact on OECD labour markets, affecting both the quantity and quality of jobs that are available, as well as how and by whom they are carried out. The future of work offers unparalleled opportunities, but there are also significant challenges associated with these mega-trends.

While it is difficult (if not counter-productive) to try and plan in detail for the potential changes that might affect the world of work in years to come, it is important that policy makers strengthen the resilience and adaptability of labour markets so that workers and countries can manage the transition with the least possible disruption, while maximising the potential benefits.

Against this backdrop, the OECD Future of Work initiative looks at how demographic change, globalisation and technological progress are affecting job quantity and quality, as well as labour market inclusiveness - and what this means for labour market, skills and social policy. 

oecd.org (24.10.2017 ) The world is moving so fast that tomorrow seems like yesterday. Nowhere are the changes coming faster than in the science of artificial intelligence. Applications that sounded like science fiction only a decade ago are now part of our daily lives. Douglas Frantz, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD discusses the potential of Artificial Intelligence ahead of the OECD conference “AI: Intelligent Machines, Smart Policies”.

SunStar 25.10.2017)  The Employees Compensation Commission (ECC) is stepping up its efforts to increase awareness on the programs and services it provides by utilizing an online application as platform to reach more potential recipients.

Moneycontrol.com (25.10.2017) The index measuring 30 countries and covering 60 percent of the world’s population, has urged countries with unsustainable pension systems to take action now

EurActiv (24.10.2017) Au travail, les inégalités entre les femmes et les hommes persistent en Europe, d’après une étude Insee Eurostat  Si les femmes sont plus diplômées que les hommes dans la majorité des pays européens, elles gagnent encore beaucoup moins que leurs collègues masculins et sont plus durement touchées par le chômage.

Bloomberg (23.10.2017) U.S. life expectancy is declining, new calculations show. The U.S. retirement age is rising, as the government pushes it higher and workers stay in careers longer.

Le Monde (24.10.2017) Les ministres du travail de l’UE se sont accordés sur la révision de la directive de 1996. Un dossier défendu par le président françai  C’est une victoire indéniable pour Emmanuel Macron. Sa première au niveau de l’Union européenne (UE). Les ministres européens du travail et des affaires sociales, réunis à Luxembourg lundi 23 octobre, ont fini par s’accorder sur une révision de la directive de 1996 sur le travail détaché. Une priorité de la présidence française, placée au cœur de sa stratégie réformatrice d’une « Europe qui protège ».

Atlas info (24.10.2017)  La Caisse Marocaine des Retraites (CMR) a été récompensée par l’Association Internationale de la Sécurité Sociale (AISS) en recevant un certificat d’Excellence et trois certificats de mérite dont un avec mention spéciale, lors du Forum régional de la sécurité sociale pour l’Afrique qui a ouvert ses travaux, lundi, au Centre de la Commission économique des Nations Unies pour l’Afrique (UNECA), à Addis-Abeba.

Accenture 2015 - Governments need to drive digital at depth to rebuild public accountability and boost their mission productivity. But that means instigating digital change, not just reacting to it. By becoming digital disruptors themselves, not just adding digital services but digitalizing to transform their operations, governments can seize the initiative from the nimble new entrants invading their traditional turf and greatly enhance their own competitiveness. By becoming public entrepreneurs, in partnership with the new digital businesses and micro-multinationals that now account for such a large share of new jobs, they can catalyze a digital economy that will sustain innovation and drive economic growth. This report describes how digital leaders in government are delivering public service for the future—and how others can follow their example. Accenture examined the digital transformation of government, looking at the impact digital services have on a country’s economy, competitiveness, government innovation and its citizens through a research report and a global pulse survey.

The International Migration Outlook 2017, the 41st edition of this annual OECD publication, analyses recent developments in migration movements and policies in OECD countries and selected non-member countries. Where relevant, it examines the impact of the recent increase in humanitarian migration. It looks at the evolution of the labour market outcomes of immigrants in OECD countries, with a focus on the medium-term dynamic of employment outcomes and on the implications of structural changes in the labour market. It includes one special chapter on family migrants, looking at this important part of migration and the policies that govern it. A statistical annex completes the book.

2017 - ‘Towards a Fairer Gig Economy’ is a small collection of articles examining the social and economic problems associated with the ‘gig economy’. The gig economy includes a wide range of labour carried out by workers providing services as couriers, taxi drivers, online freelancers and more. Issues examined include an over-supply of labour, falling wages, long hours and poor working conditions. Each article makes suggestions for how these problems can be addressed and how a fairer gig economy can be built: including through regulation, collective bargaining and wider policy recommendations.

The “Development Implications of Digital Economies” (DIODE) strategic network researches the digital economy – that part of economic output derived solely or primarily from digital technologies – and its role in developing countries.

Chinadaily.com.cn (06.08.2017) A pension revolution has been rolled out to help up to 260,000 retired people in Shenzhen. Traditional fingerprint identification has been replaced by "face recognition technology"

The stakeholders' Working Group on mHealth assessment guidelines, which the Commission established in February 2016, recently concluded its works. A report, including a few case studies on mHealth, is now available.

While no consensus was reached amongst the represented constituencies on a set of guidelines, the Group allowed for valuable exchanges captured in a report summarising the process and the positions from the represented stakeholders.

mHealth remains an important topic in Commission policy on eHealth, in particular aspects around the validity and reliability of data from mHealth solutions.

With these words, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan captured the promise of information and communication technologies (ICT) in his opening address to the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003. Building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), this compelling vision opened the door to new commitment, new investment and, most of all, to creativity and the drive to push the boundaries of technology far beyond anything ever dreamed. Today, it is thanks to those pioneers determined to experiment with new technologies in new settings -- often challenging and risky -- that many can take for granted the benefits that ICT brings to health. For too many others, that promise is still unfulfilled.

A fundamental change in the years since the MDGs were agreed upon is the appreciation of the role that ICT can play in meeting health targets. It was not so long ago that health decision makers were questioning the utility of adopting ICT in health services and systems -- that is, "e-Health" -- particularly in developing countries. At that time, e-health projects were few in number, disconnected, small, and costly. They were driven not by countries, but by funders. Their planning and implementation usually relied on technical assistance provided by aid agencies and the international private sector, as there was little local expertise to draw on. The aim of these initiatives was most often technology proof-of-concept or exploration of new markets, rather than strengthening local health care processes. Not surprisingly, decision-makers remained unconvinced of the value of ICT for health as projects distracted staff from regular duties, applications and infrastructure were unsuitable and unreliable, and in the end there was no definitive way to measure the impact on health outcomes.

Nación (19.10.2017) El alto costo que representa para los empleadores el pago de las cargas sociales de sus trabajadores es uno de los factores que explican la alta informalidad en el empleo de Costa Rica, de acuerdo con la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE). Por ese motivo, el ente internacional propone que se reduzcan los impuestos sobre el trabajo y que los costos de los programas que financian se trasladen a otro tipo de gravámenes, como el impuesto sobre el valor agregado (IVA) y el impuesto sobre la renta.

Le Monde (19.10.2017) Les dépenses sociales des départements ont progressé de 24,5 % entre 2010 et 2016. Elles sont la première cause de la dégradation de leur situation financière, selon un rapport de la Cour des comptes  ntre 2010 et 2016, les dépenses sociales des départements (RSA, aide sociale à l’enfance, personnes âgées et personnes handicapées) ont crû de 24,5 %. Elles atteignent désormais 32 milliards d’euros et représentent plus de la moitié (55 %) de leurs dépenses de fonctionnement (65 % dans les outre-mer). Elles sont la première cause de la dégradation de la situation financière des départements, note la Cour des comptes dans son dernier rapport sur les finances publiques locales.

The Lancet (14.10.2017) The article briefly introduces the major-illness medical insurance in China, which has covered 1.01 billion people (of which 60% from rural areas) since its implementation in 2013. The new scheme is mainly funded (with an annual fee of 15 Yuan to 30 Yuan per person) through surpluses from the existing (social) medical insurance programmes (NCMS for rural residents and URMI for urban residents), and provided by commercial insurance companies through a bidding process. Local governments pay an annual administration fee to the commercial insurance companies that is about 1-3% of their total annual budget. As a result, an actual reimbursement rate of up to 70-80% (compared to less than 50% before the implementation) has been realized by combining the reimbursement under such a scheme ant those under the existing schemes. While much is still to be improved especially in terms of secured financing, the authors believe that the scheme could serve as a useful example for other countries with limited resources.

This report examines how the two global mega-trends of population ageing and rising inequalities have been developing and interacting, both within and across generations. Taking a life-course perspective the report shows how inequalities in education, health, employment and earnings compound, resulting in large differences in lifetime earnings across different groups. It suggests a policy agenda to prevent, mitigate and cope with inequalities along the life course drawing on good practices in OECD countries and emerging economies.

oecd.org (18.10.2017) Younger generations will face greater risks of inequality in old age than current retirees and for generations born since the 1960s, their experience of old age will change dramatically. Moreover, with family sizes falling, higher inequality over working lives and reforms that have cut pension incomes, some groups will face a high risk of poverty, according to a new OECD report.

gouvernement.lu  (18.10.2017) Le ministre de la Sécurité sociale, Romain Schneider, et le ministre du Travail et de l'Insertion professionnelle du Maroc, Mohamed Yatim, ont signé le 17 octobre 2017, au Luxembourg, l'accord administratif pour l'application de la convention bilatérale de sécurité sociale entre le Grand-Duché de Luxembourg et le Royaume du Maroc.

OECD (11.10.2017) The biennial OECD Digital Economy Outlook examines and documents evolutions and emerging opportunities and challenges in the digital economy. It highlights how OECD countries and partner economies are taking advantage of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet to meet their public policy objectives. Through comparative evidence, it informs policy makers of regulatory practices and policy options to help maximise the potential of the digital economy as a driver for innovation and inclusive growth.