BRAZIL ACTIVE WITH
BRAZIL: a key partner and candidate for accession to the OECD Brazil has been a key partner of the OECD for almost three decades and has enriched our work through its participation in numerous committees and projects. As the world’s eighth largest economy, and the largest in Latin America, it is a major economic power and has made significant progress in its efforts to raise millions out of poverty. As a key partner, Brazil has been a source of valuable policy experience, providing insights on innovative approaches to global challenges. The Brazilian authorities have been working hand-in-hand with OECD experts to support a resilient, sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, engaging in our work across policy areas, from competition to taxation, from education to environment, and from digital policies to regulatory framework. Today, Brazil participates in more OECD bodies, projects and programmes, and has adhered to more OECD instruments, than any other key partner of the OECD. Brazil also provided leadership as Co-Chair with Mexico of our Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Programme, which focusses on improving productivity, strengthening governance and enhancing inclusiveness. Following the OECD Council’s decision in January to open accession discussions with Brazil, we are taking this longstanding partnership a step further, with the recent adoption of the Accession Roadmap at our Ministerial Council. The Roadmap sets out the detailed process for assessing a country’s alignment with OECD standards, policies and practices, required for consideration to become part of the Organisation’s membership, and as a way to promote further reforms for the benefit of its people. The process of accession to the OECD presents an opportunity to further deepen our mutually beneficial co-operation and to support Brazil’s ambitious structural reform agenda. Building on our shared values of democracy, rule of law, human rights, and open and transparent market economies, this process can support Brazil’s efforts to raise investment levels by improving the business climate and access to finance, tackle infrastructure bottlenecks, promote gender inclusion and opportunities for vulnerable citizens, and increase its participation in global value chains to reap and distribute the benefits of globalisation more widely. I very much look forward to my meetings in Brasilia this week for the OECD-Brazil Forum, the OECD Latin America and the Caribbean Ministerial Ceremony, the OECD Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Programme’s Ministerial Summit on Productivity, and to formally commence accession discussions as Brazil embarks on this positive transformative process.
MATHIAS CORMANN, OECD Secretary-General
CONTENTS
Contents
THE OECD AND BRAZIL: A GROWING AND MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL CO-OPERATION Brazil: The most active Key Partner of the OECD Accession to the Organisation Finding global solutions at the G20 Leading OECD work with Latin America and the Caribbean
4 6 8 9 11
EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Supporting SME development and strengthening local skills Creating jobs Strengthening the health system Educating and empowering new generations with the right skills Tackling gender inequality Measuring better lives Strengthening adult skills
44 46 47 48
SUSTAINABLE, BALANCED AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH Strengthening economic growth Promoting green growth Increasing agriculture productivity and food security Upgrading participation in global value chains Making growth work for all
13 14 16 17 18 19
INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION Building a knowledge and digital economy Promoting a vibrant global steel industry
50 51 52
EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF MARKETS Promoting trade Invigorating international investment Fostering sound competition Strengthening financial education Reinforcing consumer protection
21 22 23 24 25 26
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Promoting sustainable development Supporting water governance Improving energy strategy Enhancing nuclear energy and other applications Strengthening chemical and transgenic safety
53 54 55 56 57 58
PUBLIC AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Strengthening corporate and state-owned enterprise governance Enhancing the business environment Aligning with international tax standards Increasing budgeting and public expenditure efficiency Fighting transnational corruption Promoting digital transformationin the public sector Improving regulation and delivering better public services Fostering open government and a protected civic space
27
A GLOBAL AND REGIONAL PLAYER Promoting effective development co-operation and the 2030 agenda Reaching out to trade unions, business communities and foundations
59
28 29 30 32 34 35 36 37
ANNEXES Today’s OECD: Better policies for better lives OECD Legal Instruments: facilitating international co-ordination Brazil’s participation in OECD Bodies
38 39 40 42
60 62 64 65 67 71
CONTENTS . 1
THE OECD AND BRAZIL
2 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
THE OECD AND BRAZIL . 3
THE OECD AND BRAZIL
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER
The OECD and Brazil: A growing and mutually beneficial co-operation With a gross domestic product of USD 3.153 trillion and a population of 212 million, Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and the eighth in the world. On 25 January 2022, the OECD Council decided to open accession discussions with Brazil, along with Argentina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania, kicking off the process for them to become a full member of the Organisation. Brazil has been one of the most active partners of the Organisation since the early 1990s, when the Organisation launched its engagement with four Latin American countries (including Argentina, Chile and Mexico). In 2007, together with China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, Brazil became a Key Partner and has since gradually and constantly increased its participation in the OECD
bodies and projects and adherence to the standards of the Organisation. Consolidating this growing and mutually beneficial co-operation, Brazil presented its application for OECD membership at the Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) in May 2017.
“It is a top priority for Brazil to keep increasing its engagement with the OECD and its members, specially now throughout the accession process, which Brazil is keen to advance.” Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil.
1. GDP in PPP, 2020. Source: World Bank
1996
During President Cardoso’s government, Brazil joins its first OECD committee (Steel committee).
4 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
1999
Minister of Finance Luis Felipe Lampreia visits OECD Headquarters
2000
Brazil joins the Anti-Bribery Convention and Recommendation of the Council against Hard Core Cartels.
2007
Brazil is invited to an “enhanced engagement” with the OECD, subsequently referred to as Key Partnership.
2008
Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim visits OECD headquarters.
2009
Minister Mantega launches the Economic Survey of Brazil with SecretaryGeneral Gurría in Brasilia.
THE OECD AND BRAZIL
“Brazil is ready to initiate the OECD accession process, as requested in April 2017. There is no doubt that Brazil share’s the OECD goals to support sustainable economic growth, end poverty and leave no one behind as well as to protect our environment and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, inside and outside the OECD, as outlined in the OECD Convention. Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil BRAZIL IS UPDATING QUOTE
Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, and Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the OECD, Rome, 30 October 2021.
2014
OECD launches the Better Life index in Portuguese in São Paulo with football legend Pelé.
2015
Brazil signs Co-operation Agreement and Programme of Work.
2017
Brazil presents its application for OECD membership during the 2017 Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM).
2018
President Michel Temer receives OECD Secretary-General Gurría in Brasilia.
2019
President Jair Bolsonaro and OECD Secretary-General Gurría in Osaka, Japan.
2021
OECD SecretaryGeneral Cormann receives Brazilian high-level delegation during MCM 2021 Part II.
2022
Brazil is invited to start the accession process to become a Member of the OECD THE OECD AND BRAZIL . 5
Brazil: The most active Key Partner of the OECD The OECD-Brazil co-operation has steadily evolved over the last three decades, and today, Brazil is the most active partner of the OECD. It is an “Associate” (or “member”), i.e. participating on an equal footing with OECD Members, in 14 OECD Bodies and Programmes, and a “Participant” in another 25 OECD Bodies (see Annexes). In terms of legal instruments, which are standards, best practices and policy guidelines developed by the Organisation’s committees, Brazil has adhered to 105 OECD legal instruments. “Brazil is keen to promote a green an inclusive growth in a global scale, which will generate opportunities for all. Increasing our partnership with the OECD through the accession process has a central role in our country’s objective to foster better and more sustainable lives for our people.” Ciro Nogueira, Minister-Chief of Staff of the Presidency
“Brazil has a history of respect for the core values of the OECD such as the preservation of individual liberty, democracy and rule of law. There is no doubt that Brazil shares the OECD`s goal to support sustainable economic growth, end poverty and leave no one behind, as well as to protect our environment.” Carlos Alberto Franco França, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil
“Brazil is fully committed to the values of the OECD. The accession process will be very positive for the economic and regulatory modernization that is happening in Brazil.” Paulo Guedes, Minister of the Economy of Brazil
“Brazil has consistently shown its commitment to work closely with the OECD, intensified its participation in OECD Committees and adhered to more than one third of OECD instruments. Now the accession process will be an opportunity for a wide ranging evaluation of our public policies with a view to improving them.” Carlos Marcio Cozendey, Ambassador of Brazil to the OECD
“The OECD Council’s decision to start accession discussion with Brazil is the result of a long and mutually beneficial cooperation. For the past three decades, Brazil has demonstrated a strong commitment to better policies and higher policy standards in many areas. As a Key-Partner, it has adhered to more than one third of OECD standards. The accession process will further strengthen our strategic and ever close partnership, and support Brazil’s reform agenda and its recovery from the crisis.” Andreas Schaal, OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Director and Sherpa for the G7, G20 and APEC
6 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
THE OECD AND BRAZIL
Partnerships in OECD Bodies and Projects and adherence to OECD Legal Instruments Adherence to OECD legal instruments
Partnerships in OECD Bodies (as Associate/member or Participant)
120
100 Key Partnership starts 80
60 Accession request 40
20
0
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2021
2020
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-20 1994
Number of legal instruments
Joint Work Programme starts
Source: OECD, Global Relations Secretariat THE OECD AND BRAZIL . 7
Accession to the Organisation
The OECD Council decided on 25 January to open accession discussions with six candidates to OECD Membership – Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania. The decision follows careful deliberation by OECD Members on the basis of its evidence-based Framework for Consideration of Prospective Members and the progress made by the six countries since their first respective requests for OECD membership.
be required to bring them into line with OECD standards and best practices, thus serving as a powerful catalyst for reform.
The process will include a rigorous and in-depth evaluation by more than 20 technical committees of the candidate country’s alignment with OECD standards, policies and practices.
There is no deadline for completion of the accession processes. The outcome and timeline depend on each candidate country’s capacity to adapt and adjust to align with the Organisation’s standards and best practices.
As a result of these technical reviews, and prior to any invitation to join the organisation as Members, changes to the candidate countries’ legislation, policy and practices can
Once all the technical committees have completed their reviews, a final decision will need to be taken by unanimity of all OECD Member countries in OECD’s Council.
The technical reviews will cover a wide range of policy areas and will focus on priority issues including open trade and investment, progress on public governance, integrity and anti-corruption efforts, as well as the effective protection of the environment and action on climate.
J OECD SecretaryGeneral Mathias Cormann receives a Brazilian high-level delegation during MCM 2021 Part II. I G20 Summit family picture, Rome, 30-31 October 2021(detail). 8 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
THE OECD AND BRAZIL
Finding global solutions at the G20
The OECD and Brazil have established a close cooperation in the context of the G20, with the aim to strengthen the global economy and make it more inclusive, rules-based and open. In this context, cooperation under the G20 especially, in areas such as infrastructure, international taxation, capital flow management, steel and digital, have proven to be an important platform to advance OECD-Brazil partnership. As co-chair of the G20’s Infrastructure Working Group, Brazil is actively engaged in ongoing work under the Indonesian Presidency, focusing on the priorities of scaling up sustainable infrastructure investment and addressing subnational disparities. The OECD is providing evidence and analysis on both priority areas, with the aim of helping G20 countries narrow the infrastructure-financing gap and promote quality infrastructure investment.
Brazil continues to be actively engaged in the G20/OECD international tax agenda. Brazil has played an important role in guiding this work as a member of the Steering Group of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which includes over 141 countries and jursidictions, and aims to implement 15 measures to tackle tax avoidance, improve the coherence of international tax rules and ensure a more transparent tax environment. Brazil has also joined the October 2021 Statement on a Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy which will ensure that multinational enterprises (MNEs) will be subject to a minimum tax rate of 15%, and will re-allocate profit of the largest and most profitable MNEs to countries worldwide.
THE OECD AND BRAZIL . 9
Finding global solutions at the G20
Regarding tax transparency, Brazil is also closely involved in work on automatic exchange of information (AEOI) and is part of the Steering Group of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. On tax and environment, Brazil is also engaged in discussions around carbon pricing. Engagement under the G20 has also led to Brazil’s request to adhere to the revised OECD Code of Liberalisation of Capital Movements. The ongoing adherence process of Brazil to the Code represents an important call to bring other key G20 emerging economies closer to this important standard,. In that same vein, as an active member of the G20 Anticorruption Working Group, Brazil helps promote the OECD Anti Bribery Convention in the G20.
L The names and flags of the current members of the G20. 10 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
Brazil has been engaged in a number of other G20 initiatives where the OECD is playing a leading or facilitating role. This includes for instance the G20 High Level Principles for Children Protection and Empowerment in the Digital Environment or the development and adoption of highlevel principles on artificial intelligence (AI). On the latter, Brazil is an adhering country to the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and to the G20 AI Principles, which were drawn from the OECD Principles; is participating in the work of the OECD AI Observatory; and is working closely with the OECD to implement the G20 AI Principles. www.oecd.org/g20
THE OECD AND BRAZIL
Leading OECD work with Latin America and the Caribbean Launched at the OECD’s 2016 Ministerial Council Meeting, the OECD Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Programme (LACRP) aims to support LAC countries advance their reform agenda through four key priorities: increasing productivity, advancing social inclusion, and strengthening institutions and governance, while ensuring Environmental Sustainability. LACRP activities bring and adapt the OECD comparable statistics, policy dialogue, policy assessment, and policy advice to the region, thereby facilitating the broader participation of LAC countries in OECD work and their access to OECD expertise. The LACRP responds to the region’s growing interest for better policies and structural reforms to ensure a strong, inclusive and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2019, Brazil has co-chaired the LACRP, together with Mexico, and lead the discussions of the Steering Group to provide strategic guidance to Programme activities. It consists of OECD members, the European Union, 11 nonOECD LAC countries1 and ten International Organisations2. Brazil also participates in a number of LACRP activities, including the OECD LAC Regional Policy Networks related to competition, corporate governance, state-owned enterprises, fiscal affairs, regulation, investment, open government, budgeting, migration and development. On 23-24 June 2022, the 2022 Ministerial Summit on Productivity will take place in Brasilia, Brazil, closing the 2019-2022 cycle and opening the 2022-2025 cycle. The event will discuss how the pandemic has significantly affected Global Value Chains with an important reconfiguration of trade patterns and discuss how to optimise the strength
and quality of recovery in the region by focusing on the human side of productivity and ways in which to promote a sustainable integration in the international economy. It will gather senior officials from OECD and LAC countries, International Organisations, private sector and civil society representatives, to discuss strategies and actions to boost a productive, human-centred and sustainable integration of the LAC region into the world economy in the aftermath of COVID-19. “I would like to highlight the role of Brazil as Co-Chair, alongside Mexico, of the OECDLAC Regional Programme. Thanks to this collaboration, we have witnessed how Brazil has not only committed to domestic reform but also to disseminate OECD standards across the region.” Sybel Galván Gómez, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the OECD
“Since its request for accession, Brazil has intensified its participation in the OECD, in line with its Key Participant Status. We have been present in basically all Committee level meetings, raised the status and substance of participation in different OECD bodies, becoming, for instance, an “associate” in the Competition Policy Committee. We have now adhered to around 40% of OECD “acquis” on the basis of a careful internal coordination work. Time to move!” Carlos Marcio Cozendey, Ambassador of Brazil to the OECD
1. As established in C(2016)1/FINAL, the LACRP Steering Group is open to representatives from LAC partner countries preferably, but not limited to, those already members of the OECD Development Centre. Non-OECD LAC Members of the Development Centre are Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Honduras, not being a member of DEV, requested through a letter and was accepted as member of the Steering Group. 2. ECLAC, World Bank, ILO, IADB, SEGIB, SELA, CAF, OAS, EU-LAC Foundation, FLACSO THE OECD AND BRAZIL . 11
Leading OECD work with Latin America and the Caribbean
Shaping the Digital Transformation in Latin America, Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Integrity for Good Governance in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Brazil takes part in OECD regional flagship publications, including the Latin American Economic Outlook (LEO), Boosting Productivity and Inclusive Growth in Latin America,
4th Ministerial Summit on PRODUCTIVITY
WORKING TOGETHER FOR A BETTER RECOVERY The Latin American Economic Outlook 2021: Working Together for a Better Recovery aims to analyse and provide policy recommendations for a strong, inclusive and environmentally sustainable recovery in the region. The report explores policy actions to improve social protection mechanisms and increase social inclusion, foster regional integration and strengthen industrial strategies, and rethink the social contract to restore trust and empower citizens at all stages of the policy-making process. Moreover, it stresses the need to promote sustainable and adapted macro-economic frameworks to finance the recovery, as well as the importance of renewing international co-operation to support these policy actions. Finally, the publication includes three crucial cross-cutting themes: climate change and the green recovery, the digital transformation, and gender. The LEO is a joint annual publication produced by the OECD Development Centre, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and the European Union (EU). It is the first pillar of the EU Regional Facility for Development in Transition for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Latin American Economic Outlook 2021 WORKING TOGETHER FOR A BETTER RECOVERY
Towards a Productive, Human-centred and Sustainable Integration in the World Economy
Latin American Economic Outlook 2021
Latin American Economic Outlook 2021 WORKING TOGETHER FOR A BETTER RECOVERY
Co-funded by the European Union
PRINT ISBN 978-92-64-63983-6 PDF ISBN 978-92-64-68231-3
Boosting Productivity and Inclusive Growth in Latin America
Shaping the Digital Transformation in Latin America
Integrity for Good Governance in Latin America and the Caribbean
STRENGTHENING PRODUCTIVITY, IMPROVING LIVES
FROM COMMITMENTS TO ACTION
Consult this publication on line at https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264269415-en. This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information.
9HSTCQE*cgjeai+
Boosting Productivity and Inclusive Growth in Latin America
FROM COMMITMENTS TO ACTION
STRENGTHENING PRODUCTIVITY, IMPROVING LIVES
Integrity for Good Governance in Latin America and the Caribbean
Shaping the Digital Transformation in Latin America
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ISBN 978-92-64-26940-8 11 2017 01 1 P
12 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
Boosting Productivity and Inclusive Growth in Latin America
Over the past two decades, most Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have experienced robust economic growth and been able to make significant reductions in poverty and income inequality. However, growth in the region was not strong enough to ensure convergence towards levels of per capita income observed in advanced OECD economies. An important part of this underperformance can be explained by weak productivity growth. Should this weakness persist, it will be very difficult for LAC countries to achieve better lives for the majority of families. The present publication portrays the situation of LAC countries and discusses best-practice policies. Participation in global value chains is encouraged to enable knowledge spillovers and a process of learning by doing. More regional trade integration would help this process, as Latin America ranks very low and remains a sizeable outlier. The diffusion of knowledge and technology would be facilitated by making it easier to do business, notably allowing new entrants that are facing high barriers to operate and grow. Improved access to education is important to meet the demand for skills, and to boost innovation and research and development, which is particularly true in a context of fast technological change.
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SUSTAINABLE, BALANCED AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH
SUSTAINABLE, BALANCED AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 13
Strengthening economic growth
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected wellbeing and prosperity, while also raising inequalities. Improving living standards will require ambitious structural reforms to boost productivity growth. Raising spending efficiency would create fiscal space for growthenhancing policies and more inclusive social protection. The OECD provides thorough economic analysis, policy recommendations and best practice examples to help Brazil realise its full potential. Brazil has made good progress in recent years to implement growth-enhancing reforms commended by the OECD. Thanks to a successful policy reform that aligned directed lending rates with market rates, financial markets are now undergoing a profound transformation. These developments have facilitated a structural decline in interest rates and reduced financing costs for the economy. Several tariff lines have been reduced unilaterally to foster trade integration. Rules for foreign entry in air transportation and banking, as well as import licensing requirements, have been eased. A major pension reform was passed, which will make the pension system more sustainable and strengthen its redistributive character.
14 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
Brazil has been included in the major OECD publications related to economic growth: The OECD Economic Survey of Brazil, published every two years, assesses the major challenges faced by the Brazilian economy and makes concrete policy recommendations to address specific structural issues. The OECD Economic Outlook analyses twice a year the short-term economic prospects of OECD Members, Key Partners such as Brazil, and other selected non-Members. The publication highlights that Brazil’s recovery has been supported by a rebound in export growth, offsetting the impact of the severe wave of COVID-19 infections. The report also provides forecasts for major macro-economic aggregates, such as GDP growth, inflation, government balance and unemployment. The annual OECD Going for Growth flagship report identifies structural reform priorities to enhance long-term growth prospects. Since 2011, Brazil is included with other key emerging economies (China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa). Based on a broad set of internationally comparable indicators of structural policies and performance, five priorities are identified for each country with the aim of improving labour productivity and utilisation. Potential effects of the reforms on policy objectives other than GDP growth include reducing inequality, public finance and macroeconomic imbalances.
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
Finally, a strong, long-lasting and inclusive economic recovery will require further action and long-standing structural challenges to be addressed. These challenges include improving fiscal outcomes, fighting corruption, strengthening social protection, raising productivity and improving education and training policies. Barriers to trade, entrepreneurship and competition are still high compared
to the OECD, which reduced Brazilian firms’ incentives to become more productive. Deforestation, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, has recently rebounded, calling for policies that strengthen the effective protection of natural resources. www.oecd.org/eco J Bilateral meeting between SecretaryGeneral Mathias Cormann and Mr Paulo Guedes the Brazilian Economy Minister, at the OECD, 28 March 2022.
SUSTAINABLE, BALANCED AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 15
Promoting green growth
Governments around the world are striving to re-ignite growth in their economies while reducing widening inequalities. But returning to the previous type of growth is not an alternative. There is now a unique window of opportunity to bring the climate and economic growth agendas together, fostering economic growth and development, while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies. The OECD’s Green Growth Strategy offers an opportunity to re-think our current economic model and equip countries, including Brazil, to tap into greener and more sustainable development. The Green Growth Indicators 2017, prepared in co-operation with OECD Member and Partner countries including Brazil,
places great emphasis on productivity gains and on the role of policy action, with enriched analysis on environmentally related taxes and subsidies, and international financial flows. The report raises awareness, measures progress and identifies opportunities and risks, supporting governments in their design of policies to promote green growth. The Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum (GGSD Forum) is an OECD initiative aimed at providing a dedicated space for multi-disciplinary dialogue on green growth and sustainable development. The next GGSD Forum will focus on “The impact of COVID-19 on innovation for green growth” (23-24 November 2022, Paris). Under this overarching theme, the Forum will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the speed and direction of innovation, which is a key driver for green growth. Brazil will continue to be included in the OECD Green Recovery Database, which will be updated in 2022. www.oecd.org/environment
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L Mr Joaquim Leite, Brazilian Environment Minister, and Secretary-General Mathias Cormann at the OECD, 30 March 2022. 16 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
Increasing agricultural productivity and food security security. The Webinars discussed the importance leveling the playing field for a sustainable and resilient global integration in these key fronts:
As one of the world’s major exporters of primary products, Brazil relies on its agriculture to build a resilient and dynamic economy. Agriculture growth is also critical from a social perspective, as it means more income opportunities and more affordable food available.
25 April 2022 – Levelling the playing field for sustainable integration to the world economy of agriculture and industry.
Brazil’s co-operation with the OECD on agriculture related issues has deepened over the past decades. Thus, Brazil integrates a range of collaborative analytical activities, including:
13 May 2022 – Sustainable Integration to the Global Economy of Agricultural and Industrial Services. www.oecd.org/tad
l The OECD Seed Schemes: Brazil joined it in 1999 and is
currently a member of 6 Schemes out of 8. l
l
l
Brazil joined the OECD Fruit and Vegetables Scheme (2018) and the OECD Tractor Codes (2019). Brazil is the first LatinAmerican country to join both Programmes and took the lead developing the first OECD Explanatory Brochure on Papayas. OECD explanatory brochures are used by traders, producers and authorities to classify the quality of fruit and vegetables. OECD Food Chain Analysis Network: ANVISA (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency) representatives involved in the development of the Brazilian food labelling regulation participated actively in the meetings of the OECD Food Chain Analysis Network that took place in June 2021 and January 2022.
In preparation of the 4th LAC Ministerial Summit on Productivity, and with the support the Brazilian government, the OECD hosted two webinars on agriculture and food
ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES FACING FOOD SYSTEMS
ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES FACING FOOD SYSTEMS
Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation: an annual OECD monitoring and evaluation exercise that measures government support to agriculture. The 2021 report includes 64 major agriculture-producing countries, such as Brazil.
Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2021
Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2021
l
Joint Working Party on Agriculture and Trade: Brazil actively participates by providing comments during the meeting and also submits written comments to the papers.
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SUSTAINABLE, BALANCED AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 17
Upgrading participation in global value chains Brazil is one of the world’s largest economies, yet the role it plays on international markets is far from commensurate with its economic size. Making better use of its existing competitive strengths would provide significant opportunities for growth and productivity. It will also require an acceleration of Brazil’s integration into the world.
The OECD maintains 11 OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFIs), which cover the full spectrum of border procedures for more than 160 economies. Brazil is included in the OECD TFI database. Despite performing better than many upper middle-income countries on a number of indicators, there is still room for improving the trade facilitation policy environment, and the OECD stands ready to support such efforts. Brazil has also been a member of the OECD Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development since 2018. Through this initiative, Brazil is sharing the country’s upgrading experience in the agro-food sector with other countries. Finally, recent OECD analysis, focused on examining how the changing structure of global production networks impacts productivity, provides useful insights to Brazilian policy-makers as they work to foster productivity growth and Brazil’s participation in GVCs. In particular, analysis of central hubs for production around the world reveals that, although Brazil was the most central Latin American country within global production networks in 2015, it has a less significant role compared to other countries globally. Brazil is highly central in primary sectors, such as mining and quarrying, but in many services and manufacturing industries it is relatively peripheral. www.oecd.org/sti/ind/measuring-trade-in-value-added.htm www.oecd.org/sti/ind/global-value-chains.htm
18 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
Making growth work for all Through its participation in several initiatives of the OECD on a wide array of social discussions, Brazil has demonstrated its commitment to promote development as a transition to higher levels of well-being, beyond GDP growth. As member of the OECD Development Centre, Brazil has shown commitment to a wide variety of initiatives aimed at assessing the multiple dimensions of development, in particular, to the following fora: policy dialogues, mutual learning groups and peer reviews. l
OECD Initiative for a Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development (PD-GVCs): Brazil has been a member of the OECD
initiative since 2018. With around 15% of merchandise trade being intra-regional between 2017-19 (see below). l
l
l
l
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Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-based Development (PD-NR) Equitable Framework and Finance For Extractive-based Countries in Transition (EFFECT) Policy Dialogue on Social Protection for Development (PD-SPD) Mutual Learning Group of the Governing Board of the Development Centre (MLG) Peer reviewer in the Production Transformation Policy Reviews (PTPRs):
Intra-regional trade across regions Latin America and the Caribbean and selected regions, 1997-99 and 2017-19 70% Primary Prod
Resource Based
Low Tech
Medium Tech
High Tech
60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
1997-1999
2017-2019 EU27
1997-1999
2017-2019 Asia
1997-1999
2017-2019 LAC
1997-1999
2017-2019 Africa
Note: LAC stands for Latin America and the Caribbean; Asia includes the definition of the United Nation regional aggregation of East-Asia, South- Asia and South-East Asia https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/ Source: OECD Development Centre’s elaboration based on UN Comtrade (2020), database, https://comtrade.un.org SUSTAINABLE, BALANCED AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 19
Making growth work for all
Finally, in 2021, Brazil was included in two major OECD publications, such as the “Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean” and the Latin American Economic Outlook (LEO). In addition, the 2021 report “Working Together for a Better Recovery” insists on the need to promote sustainable and adapted macro-economic frameworks to finance the recovery. This approach is particularly relevant in Brazil. In fact, although Brazil has been very badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, it experienced one of the smallest contractions of gross domestic product (GDP) in the region. www.oecd.org/development/
2022
Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean Estadísticas tributarias en América Latina y el Caribe
1990-2020
Estadísticas tributarias en América Latina y el Caribe
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1990-2020
1990-2020
1990-2020
2022
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EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF MARKETS
EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF MARKETS . 21
Promoting trade
Brazil’s performance in ensuring transparency, predictability and due process in trade facilitation surpasses most other Latin American, Caribbean and upper middle-income countries. Further opening up to global trade supports Brazil’s continued growth and economic development, as it not only enables access to competitively-priced inputs and final goods, but also helps the diffusion of technology and best practices.
The Digital Trade Review of Brazil 2021 report examines the specific challenges and opportunities the digital transformation raises for Brazil’s trade. It provides tailored policy recommendations that can ensure that Brazil makes the most out of digitalisation for its engagement in international trade. The Brazilian delegation has been very active and helpful liaising with relevant authorities and providing necessary data.
The OECD and Brazil have collaborated for many years on a range of trade-related issues, including in particular with regards to global value chains, trade facilitation, trade in services, and the development of the statistical data. Brazil has Participant status in the Trade Committee (TC), meaning it is systematically invited to TC Plenary sessions. Brazil is a very active Delegation in the TC and all its subsidiary bodies.
In support to the Brazil’s ongoing trade liberalisation agenda, the OECD prepared a Trade Adaptation Policies Review to discuss and better prepare the country to deal with the impact of trade liberalisation on less competitive sectors and their workers. The review builds on the more recent literature on experience with social protection and assistance programmes aimed at accompanying trade adjustment of workers.
Brazil is also part of the Services Trade Restrictiveness Index that annually monitors policy changes on services trade. The STRI 2021 data pertaining to Brazil and 49 other countries was published in February 2022 and received national media coverage in Brazil.
www.oecd.org/tad Responsible business conduct
OECD Responsible Business Conduct Policy Reviews
BRAZIL
Services share of: Gross imports
Brazil
Gross exports
OECD average
Value-added imports Value-added exports SCAN TO READ THE REPORTS
GDP Employment 0% 22 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
50%
100%
FUNCTIONING MARKETS
Invigorating international investment
Brazil is the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the eleventh largest recipient worldwide. After dropping by 57% in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions, FDI flows in Brazil rebounded in the first three quarters of 2021 but remained 14% below pre-pandemic levels – and the rebound is slower than many other economies. Foreign investment will be particularly important towards a productive and sustainable recovery.
Brazil recently adhered to the OECD Codes of Liberalisation of Capital Movements and of Current Invisible Operations, which has already led to important reforms. Adhering to this Code further enhances the transparency of Brazil’s capital account regime and strengthens its investment climate. Brazil has been also an adherent to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises (the Declaration) since 1997. This policy commitment provides an open and transparent environment for international investment and encourages the positive contribution of multinational enterprises to make economic and social progress. As an element of the Declaration, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are the leading international instrument providing government-backed recommendations on responsible business conduct in existence today. In addition, in the framework of Responsible Business Conduct, the Brazil RBC Policy Review report provides key policy recommendations to reinforce the role of government in promoting and enabling responsible business practices. These recommendations constitute a major input into the elaboration process of the NAP. The review fostered dialogue between the government and stakeholders, and ensured buy-in across ministries on the RBC agenda. Finally, Brazil also participates in the OECD’s work on investment promotion and facilitation, which allows the government to benchmark its agency APEX Brasil with other agencies in the LAC region and the OECD, and to exchange on its investment facilitation policies. www.oecd.org/investment
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EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF MARKETS . 23
Fostering sound competition
Brazil’s current Competition Law entered into force in May 2012, marking the start of a new era of competition enforcement. Since then, Brazil has continued to innovate and improve its procedures to detect, investigate and prosecute anti-competitive conduct and work with policy makers to reform competition regulations. The OECD plays a unique role in the field of competition, owing to its internationally recognised standards and guidelines, longstanding technical expertise, and competition roundtables which help advance dialogue on key and emerging issues. The OECD’s convening power, whether through its Competition Committee, Global Forum on Competition or the OECD-IDB Latin American and Caribbean Competition Forum (LACCF) promotes peer-to-peer learning, international co-operation between competition authorities, and facilitates the dissemination of OECD standards and best practices. As one of the leading competition authorities in Latin America, Brazil contributes substantially to OECD’s competition knowledge and the development and revision of
standards and guidelines. The country requested the OECD’s support to assess the Brazilian federal public-procurement framework in light of the OECD Recommendation on Fighting Bid Rigging. In May 2021 it was launched the OECD’s review of Brazil’s public-procurement framework which resulted in over 40 recommendations for reform to help prevent and detect bid rigging. In addition, the OECD organised four workshops on how to fight bid rigging which were attended by almost 200 public officials, judges and prosecutors. Looking forward, Brazil and the OECD are envisioning strengthening collaboration through: 1) promoting effective competition in public tenders by reducing collusion; 2) competition assessment which involves analysing specific sectors for anti-competitive regulation; and 3) ex-post impact and efficiency evaluations of the decisions of the competition authority. www.oecd.org/competition www.oecd.org/competition/latinamerica
FIGHTING BID RIGGING IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
Fighting bid rigging in Brazil: A review of federal public procurement 2021
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24 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
FUNCTIONING MARKETS
Strengthening financial education
Financial education is an important component of financial consumer protection and financial inclusion policies, and a way to enhance individual financial well-being. Brazilian authorities are developing financial literacy policies and programmes to support the rising middle class and vulnerable groups to strengthen their financial resilience in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, and to help the poorest households understand and use basic financial services, including digital ones.
and analyses, and to strengthening co-operation with the region’s governments and financial authorities in the design and implementation of financial education and inclusion policies. www.oecd.org/finance/financial-education
Brazil plays an important role in disseminating OECD work on financial education in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Brazil’s Central Bank and Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) both actively participate in the OECD International Network on Financial Education (INFE). Currently, 51 public authorities from 22 countries are members of the INFE LAC Regional Network, helping to extend the reach of OECD standards, research and capacitybuilding activities. Brazil’s support for the OECD’s work on financial education in the LAC region helps to enhance financial well-being and resilience, including for indigenous populations and vulnerable groups. In particular, data collection activities undertaken though the OECD/CMV Centre have contributed to the development of joint research published with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) on the challenges in implementing financial inclusion and education policies in the region. In 2020, the OECD and CVM renewed the Memorandum of Understanding that established the OECD/CVM Centre on Financial Education and Literacy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Therefore, the co-operation between the OECD and the CMV via the Centre will continue to be instrumental in enhancing financial literacy in the region through surveys EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF MARKETS . 25
Reinforcing consumer protection
Consumers in Brazil increasingly benefit from e-commerce, but the complexity of the environment and the continued emergence of new business models can also put their interests at risk. Protecting digital consumers is hence becoming a key issue in Brazil. To achieve effective consumer protection in e-commerce and address key challenges and risks, the OECD revised in 2016 its Recommendation on Consumer Protection in E-commerce, which seeks to underpin the dynamic and innovative potential of e-commerce while addressing important consumer concerns. Brazil adhered to the Recommendation in August 2018, as well as to the Ministerial Declaration on Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce.
As Participant in both the OECD’s Committee on Consumer Policy (CCP) (since 2020) and the OECD’s Working Party on Consumer Product Safety (WPCPS), Brazil has actively contributed to a number of their projects. In addition, in 2021, Brazil took part in an online survey aimed to monitor the five-year implementation of the Recommendation on Consumer Protection in E-commerce, reporting on a range of dissemination activities. The report OECD Review of Digital Transformation: Going Digital in Brazil includes policy recommendations on ways in which to enhance the country’s consumer policy framework and adequately address consumer protection issues arising from digital transformation. www.oecd.org/sti/consumer www.orcd.org/going-digital/topics/digital-consumers/
OECD Reviews of Digital Transformation
Going Digital in Brazil
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26 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
PUBLIC AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
PUBLIC AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE . 27
Strengthening corporate and state-owned enterprise governance Corporate governance is attracting growing attention in Latin America as a means of strengthening corporate performance and enhancing investor confidence in the integrity of companies, in both the public and private sectors. Brazil has been playing a leading role in OECD work in this area.
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In order to strengthen the enforcement of shareholder rights, improve corporate governance of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), and align with good international practices in privatisation, Brazil has been actively participating in the OECD’s Latin American Corporate Governance Roundtable and the Latin American Network on Corporate Governance of StateOwned Enterprises.
Comparative research and workshops – hosted by Brazil’s Securities Commission (CVM) and Ministry of Economy, they stimulate the development of legal reforms to provide shareholders with greater recourse when their rights are violated. Assessing Brazil against the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises aims at creating capacity-building activities with SOEs and state officials responsible for overseeing them.
www.oecd.org/corporate www.oecd.org/daf/ca/corporategovernanceinlatinamerica.htm
In December 2019, the OECD published the Equity Market Development in Latin America, in which recommendations aimed at strengthening Brazil’s equity market development are proposed. OECD Review of the Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises BRAZIL
Currently, as a result of the adoption of the “SOE Statute” (Law 13,303) and the current push for privatisation, the following OECD initiatives are being implemented in Brazil: l
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The shareholder rights project – supports the development of legal and regulatory reforms to help strengthen investor confidence in Brazilian capital markets. The federal-level SOEs project – aims at strengthening the professionalisation of state owners and SOE boards of directors, to level the playing field between SOEs and private firms and to improve transparency and disclosure.
Private Enforcement of Shareholder Rights
A comparison of selected jurisdictions and policy alternatives for Brazil
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GOVERNANCE
Enhancing the business environment
While governments use regulations to address market imperfections and mitigate dangers to health, safety or the environment, ill-designed regulations can create unnecessary barriers to the entry and growth of firms and impede the effective development of competition, limiting the economy’s growth potential. Evidence from a wide range of firm, industry and macro-level studies show that a regulatory framework that creates unnecessary obstacles to competition induces significant negative effects on productivity and growth by reducing investment and weakening multi-factor productivity performance. Governments across the OECD have widely adopted policies to ensure the quality of their regulations in order to enhance the business environment, amongst other policy objectives. Central elements of these policies are the use of public consultation in the preparation of draft regulation, ex ante assessment of regulations to ensure that the expected benefits of the regulation are larger than the costs, and administrative simplification. OECD DUE DILIGENCE GUIDANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONDUCT
In relation to the OECD, Brazil participates in an exercise that measures the adoption of these policies alongside other Latin American countries. Currently, the OECD is undertaking a review of the regulatory reform in Brazil: an integral assessment of the policies, tools and institutions in place in Brazil to enhance the quality of regulations.
REGULATORY POLICY
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Once the review of the regulatory reform of Brazil is carried out, Brazil will have a set of recommendations to speed up the adoption of policies, institutions and tools that will help increase the quality of its regulations from a whole-ofgovernment perspective.
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© Skreidzeleu - shutterstock.com
www.oecd.org/gov
PUBLIC AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE . 29
Aligning with international tax standards
Continuously evolving and transforming global economy continues bringing new tax policy and administrative challenges. Brazil is actively involved in the work of G20 and OECD to address those tax challenges through developing and implementing new international tax standards in the area of tax transparency and in the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project.
Brazil is also involved in the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and has made significant progress in implementing tax transparency. Brazil has successfully launched the Automatic Exchanges of Information (AEOI) on financial accounts and experienced significant improvement of tax compliance as a consequence.
Brazil has been actively involved in the process of reaching a consensus-based solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. In October 2021, Brazil has joined the Statement on the Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy together with 137 jurisdictions, which is truly a multilateral landmark deal paving the way for major reform of the international tax system.
Brazil participates in the OECD-Latin America and the Caribbean Fiscal Initiative, which aims at improving tax and public expenditure policies by providing a high-quality tool for the comparative analysis of tax policy over time and between countries. In addition, it takes part in the Global Forum on VAT and is currently working at replacing the existing indirect tax regimes by a value added tax system in accordance with OECD standards.
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GOVERNANCE
Currently, the OECD and Brazil closely collaborate on the following projects: l
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Report on Transfer Pricing in Brazil: Towards Convergence with the OECD Standard: Brazil has continued working jointly with the OECD on the reform of its transfer pricing system, which would address the issues identified in the joint report. The alignment of the transfer pricing rules to the OECD standard will prevent the revenue losses and double taxation resulting from the current gaps and divergences.
the recommendations previously made in Stage 1 review. The report indicates that Brazil is making significant progress in enhancing its tax treaty framework and also added more personnel to the competent authority function, while making organisational improvements with a view to handling MAP cases in a more timely, effective, and efficient manner. www.oecd.org/tax/beps www.oecd.org/tax/transparency/automatic-exchange-ofinformation
Making Dispute Resolution More Effective – MAP Peer Review Report, Brazil (Stage 2) – This report reflects the progress made by Brazil on implementation of the Action 14 Minimum Standards and monitors the follow-up of “Aligning Brazil’s transfer pricing rules with the OECD standard will reduce the barriers to investment stemming from the existing risk of double taxation.”
Making Dispute Resolution More Effective – MAP Peer Review Report, Brazil (Stage 2) Making Dispute Resolution More Effective – MAP Peer Review Report, Brazil (Stage 2)
Grace Perez-Navarro, Deputy-Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.
OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project
INCLUSIVE FRAMEWORK ON BEPS: ACTION 14
Transfer Pricing in Brazil Towards Convergence with the OECD Standard
A JOINT ASSESSMENT OF THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE BRAZILIAN AND OECD FRAMEWORKS
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PUBLIC AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE . 31
Increasing transparency and public expenditure efficiency In the context of economic productivity and growth, Brazil is currently facing a significant infrastructure investment gap. Over the last decade, annual investments in infrastructure have not exceeded 2% of Brazil’s GDP and have actually seen a decline from 2009 to 20181. These figures are particularly low if compared to infrastructure investment in other economies in the region. Today, Brazil is only investing half of what is needed in infrastructure. In fact, in order to close this gap, annual investment requirements for the following decade should be close to 4.5%of Brazil’s GDP2.
Officials from the Ministry of Economy participated in the webinar “The role of infrastructure and its governance for a sustainable recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean”. This webinar fostered analysis and debate on how to ensure that infrastructure investments and public procurement could become a lever for economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis, while discussing alternative infrastructure delivery methods (such as PPPs) that facilitate investment, and recognising and mitigating the risks that these methods imply in order to generate public trust.
J Minister Walton Alencar from “Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts”, OECD’s Secretary General Mathias Cormann and Mr Bruno Dantas, Minister Vice-President of “Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts” on 3 December 2021 at the OECD, Paris. 1. Infralatam, 2019 2. World Bank, 2017 32 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
GOVERNANCE
OECD Public Governance Reviews
OECD Public Governance Reviews
Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts InsIGht AnD FOREsIGht FOR BEttER GOvERnAnCE
Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts InsIGht AnD FOREsIGht FOR BEttER GOvERnAnCE
OECD Public Governance Reviews
OECD Public Governance Reviews
Auditing Decentralised Policies in Brazil COLLABORATIVE AND EVIDENCE‑BASED APPROACHES FOR BETTER OUTCOMES
Auditing Decentralised Policies in Brazil
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The OECD and Brazilian authorities are working together on a review, which would pay special attention to the following three dimensions: i) Developing a strategic vision for infrastructure planning; ii) ensuring affordability, valuefor-money, and ESG considerations; and iii) co-ordinating infrastructure policy across levels of government. The next step is to formally agree on moving forward with the review. The OECD Council adopted in July 2020 the Recommendation on the Governance of Infrastructure, which provides a tool to assist governments to invest in infrastructure projects in a way that is cost effective, affordable and trusted by investors, citizens and other stakeholders. Currently, the OECD is aiming to build the evidence base around the principles included in the Recommendation through its application in different countries. Given the significant infrastructure investment
gap in many Latin American countries, the implementation of the Recommendation is particularly relevant to countries of the region. www.oecd.oeg/budgeting PUBLIC AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE . 33
Fighting transnational corruption
The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention is the cornerstone of the OECD’s efforts to fight international bribery. It is the first and only global instrument to fight the supply side of corruption in cross-border business deals. As a Party to the Convention, Brazil has committed to fighting bribery in international business both domestically and in cooperation with other jurisdictions. In 2017, the Working Group on Bribery (WGB) commended Brazil’s significant progress in implementing the AntiBribery Convention, including through landmark changes in its legislation. Following concerns raised by the WGB around
legislative and case law developments, the WGB established a Monitoring Sub Group (MSG) in December 2020 to monitor Brazil’s response. Brazil has been very co-operative with the MSG. The Phase 4 evaluation of Brazil’s implementation of the Convention is currently scheduled 2023. The WGB works together with Brazilian authorities to boost the country’s enforcement efforts, improve the capacity of law enforcement institutions, and reinforce guarantees of their independence. Brazil is also a member of the OECD Latin America and Caribbean Anti-Corruption Initiative, where Brazil plays a growing leading role in the fight against foreign bribery. Brazil has also co-operated with other jurisdictions to resolve prominent foreign bribery cases. These developments contribute to reducing tolerance for corruption within Brazil and to international recognition that Brazil is a credible interlocutor in the fight against foreign bribery. Its key achievements include the enactment of a new corporate liability law allowing companies to be responsible for corrupt acts for the first, the conclusion of Brazil’s first foreign bribery cases, and the introduction of new Non-Trial Resolution tools. www.oecd.org/corruption
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GOVERNANCE
Promoting digital transformation in the public sector Brazil has embraced the journey towards being a digitally enabled government and has taken concrete actions to improve public operations and services thanks to the adoption and use of digital technologies and data. In line with the experience of OECD countries, Brazil now has the opportunity to consolidate its digital competency to fully transform how its public sector interacts and meets the needs of citizens and business in the digital age.
www.oecd.org/digital-government
OECD Digital Government Studies
Digital Government Review of Brazil TOWARDS THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR Like most OECD countries, Brazil has been taking steps towards digital government to ensure that public policies and services are more inclusive, convenient and designed to meet citizens’ needs. This report takes stock of the progress made by the Brazilian government, based on good practices and principles in OECD countries, and provides recommendations to help Brazil drive its digital transformation of the public sector.
OECD Digital Government Studies
Digital Government Review of Brazil TOWARDS THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Digital Government Review of Brazil
This publication is a contribution to the OECD Going Digital project which aims to provide policymakers with the tools they need to help their economies and societies prosper in an increasingly digital and data-driven world. For more information, visit www.oecd.org/going-digital #GoingDigital
Making the transformation work for growth and well-being
Consult this publication on line at https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264307636-en. This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information.
OECD Public Governance Reviews
OECD Public Governance Reviews ISBN 978-92-64-30762-9 42 2018 49 1 P
TOWARDS THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR
In line with the solid co-operation with Brazil in previous years, the OECD has benefitted by the extensive participation and knowledge sharing with the Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials – E-leaders - and its subsidiary thematic groups on digital identity, service design and delivery, and digital government indicators; contributing to the OECD Expert Group Meeting on Open Government Data; and Co-Chairing the OECD Network of Open and Innovative Government LAC to support policy dialogue on digital ethics in the public sector.
OECD Digital Government Studies
Building upon the longstanding relationship between the OECD and Brazil on digital government, including the assessment and policy recommendations provided in 2018 for a sustainable and people-driven digital transformation, the OECD has continued collaborating with the country to benchmark the digital and open data transition of the public sector through the Digital Government Index and Open, Useful and Reusable Index during 2019 and 2020. In both flagship initiatives, Brazil stands out as an advanced regional and global player in making effective use of digital tools and data for a people-driven digital transformation of the public sector, including the design and provision of public services.
As the Brazilian government continues its digital transformation journey in the public sector, further efforts are needed to consolidate advances towards a humancentric digitally-enabled public service design and delivery approach. The OECD will continue working with Brazil to tap on the advances achieved in the past years towards greater digital and data maturity in the public sector, for example through increased international co-operation on trusted and portable digital identity systems and enhanced approaches for user-driven service design and delivery .
The Innovation System of the Public 9HSTCQE*dahgcj+ Service of Brazil AN EXPLORATION OF ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE JOURNEY
The Innovation System of the Public Service of Brazil
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PUBLIC AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE . 35
Improving regulation and delivering better public services Regulations are the rules that govern the everyday life of businesses and citizens. They are an essential instrument in the hands of government to promote economic growth, social welfare and deliver better public services. However, regulations can also be costly and ineffective in achieving their objectives. Reforms to improve the quality of regulation provide a real opportunity to stimulate economic activity and enhance the efficiency of public services.
Brazil’s Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) underwent an assessment of both its internal and external governance arrangements with the aim of enhancing its performance to deliver better public services. The OECD also assessed the state of play of regulation in the mining sector of Brazil, and the governance arrangements of the National Mining Agency (ANM). The OECD recommendations provided to ANEEL and ANM aim to enhance their performance as regulators, and to offer a clear path to improve the delivery of public services and effective enforcement of regulations.
Brazil has shown commitment to improve its regulatory framework and the institutions that issue and enforce these regulations. Brazil participates in an exercise to identify the degree of adoptions of policies and tools to improve regulations, alongside other Latin American countries.
Plans are also under way to reform laws and regulation in the mining sector to strengthen policy objectives on economic growth and environmental protection.
Clear and simple regulations, including government formalities, are essentials for governments to be effective in the delivery of public objectives, including public services. Additionally, the establishment of strong and agile regulatory agencies to issue and enforce regulations is paramount to reach the policy objectives
www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy
Regulatory Governance in the Mining Sector in Brazil
Driving Performance at Brazil’s Electricity Regulatory Agency
Regulatory Governance in the Mining Sector in Brazil
The Governance of Regulators Driving Performance at Brazil’s Electricity Regulatory Agency
36 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
The Governance of Regulators
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GOVERNANCE
Fostering open government and a protected civic space
Brazil is a key partner of the OECD in the area of open government. Brazil is as an adherent of the OECD Recommendation on Open Government, an active member of the OECD Working Party on Open Government, and Co-Chair of the OECD Network on Open and Innovative Government in Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazil has longstanding experience on open government to share with OECD Member and Partner countries, as well as impactful case studies at Federal and subnational levels of government, and the Legislature.
0.9
0.88
Data availability Data accessibility Government support for data re-use
0.8
0.60 0.43 0.37
0.46
0.4
0.41
0.52 0.46
0.54
0.53 ARG
0.5
GTM
0.63
0.62 URY
0.6
BRA
0.71
0.7
0.29
0.28
ECU
SLV
0.3
LAC
OECD
BHS
HND
CRI
CHL
PAN
PRY
DOM
0
0.04
0.1
DMA 0.00
0.16
0.2
COL
At the request of the Brazilian Government, the OECD is collaborating with the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU) to conduct an evidence-based assessment of the country’s federal open government agenda. The OECD Open Government Review of Brazil (OGR) will be published in 2022 and will outline key accomplishments, identify areas of reform and formulate actionable recommendations to support Brazil in fostering transparency, accountability, and citizen participation. For the first time, the OECD is including the role of a protected and promoted civic space as a precondition for inclusive and effective open government initiatives. The OGR will give Brazil the opportunity to display its success stories to a global audience.
OURData Index, 2019
MEX
Today, Brazil is recognised as a regional and global leader in the area of open government thanks, for example, to the design of innovative initiatives such as the first participatory budget in the city of Porto Alegre, its ambitious transparency agenda and its contribution to the creation of the Open Government Partnership. In 2019, Brazil adhered to the OECD Recommendation on Open Government, showing the country’s commitment to a more transparent, accountable and participatory government. However, recent domestic and global challenges such as a declining level of trust in public institutions, political polarisation, and the rise of disinformation have reduced the impact of open government reforms.
Source: IDB-OECD (2019), Open Government Data Survey
The OECD will continue to engage and support the Government of Brazil to bolster the effectiveness and sustainability of its open government agenda and to promote a healthy civic space. The OECD is ready to support the Government of Brazil in implementing key recommendations of the OGR, such as the design of a Federal Open Government Strategy, and assist Brazil’s move towards an Open State, working closely with the relevant branches of power, levels of government and stakeholders www.oecd.org/open-government PUBLIC AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE . 37
EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
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SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Supporting SME development and strengthening local skills Small and medium-sized enterprises account for 62% of employment and 50% of national value added in Brazil, which are relevant figures, though lower than the corresponding OECD averages (70% and 55%). A full recovery of Brazil’s SME sector is, therefore, crucial to the overall recovery of the Brazilian economy after the COVID-19 crisis.
those in OECD countries. It finds, for instance, that labour productivity gaps between SMEs and large companies are wider in Brazil than the OECD average. Furthermore, the report’s tailored policy recommendations offer guidance to address Brazil’s specific challenges, such as the preferential tax regimes for micro and small companies, which play an important role in Brazil but could be overhauled in the context of a wider corporate tax reform.
In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Economy, the OECD published in 2020 the OECD Review of SME and Entrepreneurship Policy of Brazil. The report assesses strengths and areas for improvement in the national SME and entrepreneurship policy framework, including SME preferential tax regimes which play an important role in Brazil. The review is one of the first studies that compares the performance of Brazilian SMEs and SME policies against
The OECD published in early 2022 the 10th edition of Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs: An OECD Scoreboard, which also covers Brazil. The Scoreboard bears witness to the strong financing support offered by the Brazilian government to SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis, with SME loans increased by 36% and the average SME interest rate that has fallen considerably due to strong government intervention in the credit market. Moving forward, the OECD stands ready to assist Brazil when strengthening its SME policy making package and on the exchange of international policy good practices. www.oecd.gov/cfe OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship
OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship
SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Brazil 2020
SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Brazil 2020
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EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT . 39
Creating jobs
After a prolonged period of low unemployment, Brazil’s labour market has been hit by an economic downturn. Key challenges include increasing the quality of jobs and providing young people with career opportunities and effective entry points to the labour market.
In this context, through policy dialogue initiatives on innovative tools and policies the OECD could help Brazil to strengthen the labour market inclusion of groups at higher risk of marginalisation, building on the experience and good practices of member countries and other partner countries.
By engaging actively with OECD work on employment, skills and social affairs, Brazil can receive internationally comparable evidence and policy advice on adapting policies in areas such as active labour market policies, pensions, and family policies, also to better respond to global megatrends including automation, aging, and the green transition. In particular:
www.oecd.org/employment
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In co-operation with the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the OECD has developed data on social spending in line with the methodology as laid down in the OECD Social Expenditure Database (SOCX). The dataset includes public and private social spending according to the OECD SOCX methodology for multiple LAC countries, including Brazil. This project fits within the OECD’s broader work on social protection, which helps to identify policies that help individuals and their families, and makes societies and economies work more effectively;
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LEARNING FOR LIFE
LEARNING FOR LIFE
Looking forward, the 2022 OECD Employment Ministerial will be an opportunity for Brazil to join with OECD countries in discussing how to build a strong and sustained labour market recovery after the crisis.
OECD Skills Outlook 2021
OECD Skills Outlook 2021
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2018’s new OECD Jobs Strategy presents a framework and set of policy recommendations for fostering good jobs for all in a changing world of work. The Jobs Strategy report features a chapter on how Brazil and other emerging economies can confront the dual challenge of low productivity and inclusiveness in a context of widespread informality;
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Bottom performer
Top performer
Quantity Employment rate
South Africa (49.8%)
OECD (72.1%)
Iceland (87.2%)
Brazil (65.9%)
Unemployment rate
South Africa (27.4%)
China (2.9%) Brazil (13.0%)
Broad labour underutilisation
South Africa (50.2%)
OECD (5.9%)
OECD (27.2%)
Iceland (12.6%)
Brazil (32.7%)
Quality Earnings quality
Indonesia (1.6 USD)
OECD (16.6 USD)
Denmark (29.8 USD)
Brazil (4.8 USD)
Labour market insecurity
Greece (22.7%)
OECD (4.9%)
Japan (1.6%)
Brazil (6.6%)
Job strain
Greece (47.9%)
OECD (27.6%)
Norway (13.8%)
Brazil (32.7%)
Inclusiveness Low income rate
China (26.0%)
Gender labour income gap
India (78.1%)
OECD (10.9%)
Czech Republic (5.8%)
Brazil (17.3%) OECD (38.1%)
Finland (21.4%)
Brazil (48.2%)
Employment gap for disadvantaged groups
South Africa (50.3%)
OECD (24.7%)
Iceland (9.2%)
Brazil (39.2%)
Resilience Unemployment cost of a decline in GDP
South Africa (0.9 p.p.)
OECD (0.4 p.p.)
China (0.0 p.p.)
Brazil (0.3 p.p.)
Adaptability Labour productivity growth
Saudi Arabia (-2.7%)
OECD (0.8%)
India (5.6%)
Brazil (-0.2%)
Share of low-performing students
OECD (31.3%)
Japan (15.4%)
Brazil (79.0%) Source: https://www.oecd.org/employment/jobs-strategy/country/ EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT . 41
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
OECD Jobs Strategy dashboard for market labour performance
Strengthening the health system
A strong health system is critical to ensure a healthy population and promote sustainable growth. In recent years, Brazil has taken important steps in expanding access coverage across its population, notably through the Sistema Único de Saúde, but further steps are needed to improve access to high-quality care.
Around 90% of pharmaceutical spending is financed by out-of-pocket payments, which affects poor and disadvantaged people disproportionately. However, health spending in Brazil is expected to increase to 12.6% of GDP by 2040 (up from 9.6% in 2019) and could be made more efficient in areas like primary health care, hospital care, pharmaceuticals, long-term care and governance. Thus, Brazil should better use health data to follow the patients throughout episodes of care, to regularly monitor health care quality and performance.
At a time when investing in health is more important than ever, the OECD has identified key challenges for the sustainability and performance of the health system of Brazil. For the first time, the Brazilian health system had an in-depth comparison with OECD countries, which highlighted, among other things that Brazil devoted less of its public budget to health (10.5%) than most OECD countries in 2019, well below the average of 15.3%.
The OECD published two major reports on health in Brazil in December 2021. Firstly, the OECD Review of Health Systems: Brazil 2021 uses internationally recognised indicators and policy frameworks to examine the performance of
Breast cancer screening coverage in Brazil and OECD countries, 2013 and 2019 % of women aged 50-69 screened
2013
2019
72
75
77
81
83
DNK
72
76
FIN
72
SVN
61
62
ISL
50
60
61
CZE
49
58
61
PAN
40
56
ITA
SVK
39
55
BEL
31
BRA
32 24
36
CHL
40
LVA
45
DEU
50
FRA
53
EST
60
AUS
70
30
72
70
NLD
80
GBR
90
53
39
20 10
Source: ??? 42 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
NOR
ISR
NZL
KOR
CAN
OECD
LTU
LUX
MEX
HUN
CRI
TUR
0
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Brazilian health system. The report points to key actions that Brazil should consider prioritising in the coming years to strengthen health system performance, especially improving efficiency and sustainability of financing, upgrading its health data infrastructure to leverage a digital transformation, and addressing major population risk factors such as overweight and harmful alcohol consumption. Secondly, the OECD Review of Primary Health Care in Brazil further examines the key role of primary health care to improve the performance of the Brazilian health system.
The reviews provide key findings and recommendations that need to be further disseminated and discussed in Brazil. The country has already expressed interest in expanding co-operation in the area of improvement and dissemination of the OECD System of Health Accounts, which is key to understanding the main challenges of health financing. www.oecd.org/health
OECD Reviews of Health Systems
BRAZIL 2021
Primary Health Care in Brazil
Primary Health Care in Brazil
OECD Reviews of Health Systems
OECD Reviews of Health Systems
OECD Reviews of Health Systems BRAZIL 2021
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EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT . 43
Educating and empowering new generations with the right skills The OECD works closely with Brazil to improve the country’s education, training and skills system and help drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Through its international education surveys and knowledge base, the OECD provides Brazil with reliable and comparable evidence to inform education policy decisions. Brazil has a strong level of engagement with the OECD’s work on education and skills, and in particular with the organisation’s data collection efforts. Brazil’s diverse experience with large-scale international assessments has helped build the government’s capacity to design and implement standardised assessments within the country. For over a decade, Brazil has undertaken the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and
44 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), and reports data directly to the Indicators of Education Systems (INES) programme and their associated networks. Involvement in the OECD’s international education assessments and surveys, such as PISA and TALIS, has enabled Brazil to build an evidence base to inform effective education policies. This also allows the government to benchmark its progress against other countries. PISA, in particular, played an important role in the development of competence-based assessment in Brazil. Moreover, Brazil’s decision to participate in the PISA-based Test for Schools not only helps educators become more familiar with competence-based assessments but also supports participating schools in using data to improve teaching and learning.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
In 2021, the OECD also launched a number of policyoriented reports on Brazil’s education system. These include a review of Brazil’s Assessment System for Basic Education (Sistema de Avaliação do Ensino Básico, SAEB); a report focused on benchmarking educational progress in Brazil; and revised Education Policy Outlook country profiles. Co-operation with the OECD has also offered Brazilian policy makers and stakeholders access to international networks where successful education policies and practices are shared to further improve learning outcomes and to ensure that the skills needs of the labour market and society are being met. The OECD will continue to collaborate with Brazil in the field of education in 2022. In addition to Brazil’s participation in the on-going data collection efforts, the country has expressed interest in joining the next rounds of the OECD’s International Early Learning Child Well-being Study (IELS) and the State of São Paulo intends taking part in the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SESS). The country is expected to continue its participation in the Education Policy Outlook’s comparative work. Moreover, the OECD has been invited to support the Ministry of Education’s Ministerial Conference taking place in Brazil during the OECD-Brazil Week in June 2022. www.oecd.org/education www.oecd.org/education/talis www.oecd.org/pisa
EDUCATION POLICY OUTLOOK
BRAZIL With a focus on national and subnational policies
National assessment reform Core considerations for Brazil
June 2021 OECD EDUCATION POLICY OUTLOOK © OECD 2021
June 2021
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EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT . 45
Tackling gender inequality
Gender equality is both a fundamental right and a critical pillar of promoting inclusive and sustainable growth. Over the past decade, Brazil has promoted women’s rights and addressed barriers to gender equality though legal reforms and initiatives aimed at changing social norms. While gender gaps in Brazil have narrowed in recent years, more remains to be done. Discriminatory social norms and institutions are an important barrier to achieving development goals, as the OECD’s Social institutions and Gender Index’s (SIGI) data and research have shown, including in Brazil. The SIGI measures discrimination against women in social institutions across 180 countries. By taking into account laws, social norms and practices, the SIGI captures the underlying drivers of gender inequality with the aim to provide the necessary data for transformative policy change. The SIGI is also one of the official data sources for monitoring SDG 5.1.1, which measures “whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor gender equality and women’s empowerment”. The last SIGI Country Profile for Brazil, 2019, contains fully referenced information on laws and national action plans related to gender equality and women’s empowerment. In addition, the SIGI database contains additional information on social norms.
In addition, Brazil is actively seeking to ensure women’s involvement in the digital transformation, with programmes such as #MinasProgramam which help deconstruct stereotypes and encourage girls’ interest in code. Other OECD projects on gender equality include: l
l
Overall, Brazil performs relatively well in the SIGI compared to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It currently has low levels of discrimination in social institutions (0.21% compared to a regional average of 0.25%). For example, women and men are accorded equal parental authority in the household. Regarding women’s civil liberties, Brazil has a legislated quota of 30% to support women’s political participation. 46 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
The OECD Database on Gender gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean provides a set of cross-national indicators on gender outcomes and policies. It includes data for selected LAC countries, including Brazil and the OECD. The OECD programme of work on Gender Equality in Latin America: Towards a better sharing of paid and unpaid work includes a series of country reviews, which offer insights for Brazil into the economic benefits of achieving greater gender equality in the labour market, and policy options to do so.
www.genderindex.org www.genderindex.org/country/brazil
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Measuring better lives
Is life really getting better? How can we tell? What are the key ingredients to improving life: better education, environment, healthcare or housing? Does progress mean the same thing to all people or in all counties and societies? These questions are all the more relevant following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Co-operation with Brazil and the Latin American region as a whole will be advanced through the continued and improved inclusion of Brazilian data in outputs of the Better Life Initiative, whenever data allows. Following the launch of How’s Life in Latin America? in late 2021, a number of dissemination activities have been carried out in the LAC region, to further highlight the importance of measuring and monitoring the several dimensions that matter for people’s well-being, and to use this information to steer public policy choices.
How’s Life 2020? provided an overview of well-being trends since 2010. Findings for Brazil showed a mixed performance, highlighting areas where significant challenges remain in comparison to OECD members, such as employment, safety, youth educational attainment and trust in government.
http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/pt www.oecd.org/statistics/howslife.htm www.oecd.org/statistics/better-life-initiative.htm
The inclusion of Brazil in the How’s Life? report and other outputs of the Better Life Initiative allows for an improved monitoring of well-being outcomes in the country, as well as a comparison of performance against OECD member countries. This multi-dimensional, people-focused approach provides a more detailed and nuanced view of development achievements and challenges in the country than that provided by more narrow macro-economic assessments of national progress. In addition, the special report, How’s Life in Latin America? Measuring well-being for policy making allowed for a more How’s Life? 2020 in-depth exploration of Brazil’s strengths and weaknesses in the LAC regional context over the past two decades. Though challenges remain, compared to its LAC peers, Brazil has higher life expectancy and lower rates of child mortality, absolute poverty and informal employment. Initial evidence of the impact of the first year of the COVID pandemic on well-being in Brazil show a sharp drop in life satisfaction and social network support between 2019 and 2020. The inclusion of Brazil in the How’s Life in Latin America? report, in addition to deepening the well-being analysis in a regional context, highlighted key data gaps, showing where 9HSTCQE*gfeghj+ improvements in the development of comparable indicators could enhance regional and international comparisons. MEASURING WELL‑BEING
How’s Life? charts whether life is getting better for people in 37 OECD countries and 4 partner countries. This fifth edition presents the latest evidence from an updated set of over 80 indicators, covering current well‑being outcomes, inequalities, and resources for future well‑being. Since 2010, people’s well‑being has improved in many respects, but progress has been slow or deteriorated in others, including how people connect with each other and their government. Large gaps by gender, age and education persist across most well‑being outcomes. Generally, OECD countries that do better on average also feature greater equality between population groups and fewer people living in deprivation. Many OECD countries with poorer well‑being in 2010 have since experienced the greatest gains. However, advances in current well‑being have not always been matched by improvements in the resources that sustain well‑being over time, with warning signs emerging across natural, human, economic and social capital. Beyond an overall analysis of well‑being trends since 2010, this report explores in detail the 15 dimensions of the OECD Better Life Initiative, including health, subjective well‑being, social connections, natural capital, and more, and looks at each country’s performance in dedicated country profiles.
ISBN 978‑92‑64‑65467‑9
MEASURING WELL‑BEING
This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information.
MEASURING WELL‑BEING
How’s Life? 2020
Consult this publication on line at https://doi.org/10.1787/9870c393-en.
How’s Life? 2020
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EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT . 47
Strengthening adult skills
It is essential to close the gaps of school absence among adults that increased dramatically following the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, the OECD stands ready to assist Brazil by providing policy recommendations and guidelines to strengthen education engagement and the development of skills.
topics including Increasing Participation in Adult Learning, Training Certification and Quality Assurance, Financing and Governance, Career Guidance for Adults, and Alignment of training with labour market needs. Panel sessions were followed by discussion tables where participants discussed implementation challenges.
Following the successful engagement with Brazil on adult learning in 2018, the OECD undertook further work on this concern in Latin America, including in Brazil, during 2020 and 2021.
As a follow-up to the 2021 conference on adult learning, the OECD published an Action Plan for adult learning in Latin America (available in Portuguese) highlighting key actions needed to raise adult learning participation and make adult learning systems more responsive. This Action Plan should be a starting point for fruitful engagement with the Brazilian government in the coming months. The Action Plan has already received some good feedback by private sector stakeholders.
A major conference was organised in March 2021 on FutureReady Adult Learning Systems in Latin America, which was attended by over 300 participants from across Latin America. There were five panel sessions with experts on
Use of career guidance services among adults Percentage of adults who have spoken with a career guidance advisor over the past year 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Italy
Brazil
Mexico
Chile
Source: OECD 2020 Survey of Career Guidance for Adults (SCGA) 48 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
Argentina
Average
France
Germany
United States New Zealand
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
As part of the organisation’s work on adult learning, the OECD published a report focused more specifically on Career guidance for adults in Latin America which covered Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. In addition, the reports Getting Skills Right: Brazil (2018) and Career Guidance for Adults in Latin America (2021) also point to areas of improvement in Brazil’s skills system. The OECD is currently developing a skills profiling tool for adults for use by counsellors and advisors, and has been in touch with several non-profit institutions interested in using it. This tool assesses relevant skills for employability, allows users to compare their level of skills with the level of other users, and suggests potential occupations. The platform was launched on 24 February 2022 and is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. www.oecd.org/employment/skills-and-work/adult-learning/ Getting Skills Right
Getting Skills Right
Brazil
Brazil
Getting Skills Right
Getting Skills Right
Career Guidance for Adults in Latin America
Career Guidance for Adults in Latin America
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EMPLOYMENTINDUSTRY AND SOCIAL ANDDEVELOPMENT INNOVATION . 49
INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION
50 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
INDUSTRY & INNOVATION
Building a knowledge and digital economy
Developing innovation capabilities and disseminating advanced technologies across the economy and society is critical for advancing Brazil’s economic and societal objectives. The OECD offers Brazil evidence-based policy advice on how to leverage science, technology and innovation to drive new businesses, jobs and well-being.
Brazil is also a member of the OECD Global Forum on Productivity, and will host the 4th OECD Latin American and the Caribbean Programme Ministerial Summit on Productivity in Brazil on 23-24 June 2022. The OECD and Brazil share a common interest in several critical policy areas. Brazil adhered to the recent OECD Recommendation on Broadband Connectivity, adopted in February 2021, and participates actively in the Working Party on Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy (WPCISP). Brazil also adhered to the OECD Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence (AI Principles) adopted in May 2019 – the first intergovernmental standard on trustworthy AI – and the Recommendation of Digital Security of Critical Activities in December 2019. In addition, Brazil participates in the OECD AI Observatory (OECD.AI) that provides multidisciplinary, evidence-based policy analysis on AI and facilitates multi-stakeholder dialogue.
Brazil actively contributes to and leverages the OECD’s agenda on digital economy and innovation. Two reviews were launched by the Secretary General on 26 October 2020 on Brazil’s digital transformation and its telecommunication and broadcasting sectors. Firstly, the report Going Digital in Brazil provides recommendations to increase digital uptake by individuals and businesses, foster digital innovation and enhance data governance and privacy. Secondly, the OECD Review of Telecommunication and Broadcasting in Brazil 2020, sets out concrete recommendations for strengthening communication infrastructure as a fundamental building block for seizing the benefits of digital technologies, including reinforcing the institutional framework, adapting the legal framework to converging communication and broadcasting sectors, improving market conditions and fostering competition. It also recommends an overhaul of taxes, fees and tariffs that limits operators’ scope for investment and innovation.
OECD Reviews of Digital Transformation
Going Digital in Brazil
OECD Telecommunication and Broadcasting Review of Brazil 2020
OECD Telecommunication and Broadcasting Review of Brazil 2020
In the context of strengthening trust in digital technologies to foster their adoption across firms and contribute to productivity growth, Brazil helped develop an OECD questionnaire to measure corporate Digital Risk Management. Brazil is integrated into STIP Compass, an online tool which allows countries to compare and contrast their policy environment for STI with OECD and other peers. Brazil is working to align its national STI agenda with the Sustainable Development Goals.
www.oecd.org/sti
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INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION . 51
Promoting a vibrant global steel industry
Brazil plays a significant role in global steel and related raw materials markets. It is one of the largest iron ore producers in the world and the largest steel producer by far in Latin America. The country’s steel sector is nevertheless facing important headwinds associated with the recent slowdown in the economy and in the global steel market.
reached 36 metric million tonnes (mmt), representing 1.8% of global crude steel production and accounting for the lion’s share of South America’s steel production. With a production of 388 mmt of iron ore in 2020, Brazil is also the second largest iron ore producer (15.7%) and the second largest exporter in the world (21%).
The steel sector continues to suffer from excess capacity, which has weighted on the financial viability of many steel producers - including in Brazil – and led to an escalation of trade frictions. Brazil is the 9th largest steel producing economy in the world. In 2021, steel production in Brazil
The OECD co-operates with Brazil to monitor steel market and policy developments and promote structural adjustment in the steel sector. The OECD Steel Committee has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with Brazil, which participates actively in the Committee’s discussions as an Associate since 1996. Brazil is a founding member of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC), established in 2016, and has played an active role in all its deliberations thus far. The co-operation with Brazil in the Steel Committee and in the GFSEC significantly contributes to the shared international dialogue on the issue of steel excess capacity, steel and raw materials trade, industry upgrading, structural adjustment, innovation and environmental challenges. The GFSEC helps increase transparency with respect to steelmaking capacity developments and relevant government policies and measures, and provides a unique platform for developing co-ordinated and effective actions to address the global excess capacity challenge. The OECD is also committed to continue engaging with Brazilian steel industry stakeholders, including through the Brazilian Steel Institute and Latin American Steel Association, who are regularly invited to meetings and workshops of the Steel Committee to share their views on the market outlook and to inform policy makers of their position on trade and structural issues. www.oecd.org/sti/ind/steel.htm
52 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
INDUSTRY & INNOVATION
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY ANDAND INNOVATION ENERGY . 53
Promoting sustainable development
Environmental sustainability is a fundamental challenge of our time, and Brazil’s share of the world’s biodiversity and freshwater resources make the country a linchpin of green transition policies and efforts. The project “Evaluating Brazil’s progress in implementing Environmental Performance Review (EPR) recommendations and promoting its alignment with OECD core acquis on the environment”, executed in 2020-21 with the support of the UK Prosperity Fund, assessed the alignment of Brazil’s environmental legislation, policies and practices with selected 23 OECD legal instruments on the environment, as well as the country’s advancement in applying the related 13 recommendations of the 2015 OECD EPR of Brazil. The project was conducted in close collaboration with Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment. The report shows that Brazil has developed sound legislation on environmental information, water and waste management, and biodiversity conservation. However, further efforts are needed to translate legal provisions into effective practices promoting sustainability. In the other evaluated environmental areas – implementation of the polluter-pays principle, environmental assessment, integrated pollution prevention and control, environmental performance of government, use of economic instruments and provision of environmental information, as well as energy, air pollution and transport – a number of policies and practices fall behind OECD standards. The report makes a series of recommendations that constitute a roadmap for Brazil’s alignment with selected OECD legal instruments on the environment.
54 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
The project’s recommendations will help Brazil bring its policies and practices closer to OECD standards, improving the country’s environmental governance, contributing to poverty reduction and social inclusion, and raising Brazil’s trade and investment standing. The project has identified areas for possible further implementation support, should there be a strong political commitment from Brazil to implement recommended changes. With the support of the EU, the OECD is currently working on a project on post-COVID policy priorities for sustainable economic growth in collaboration with Brazil’s Ministry of the Economy. The report will touch upon a broad range of issues, but will have a focus on sustainability and Brazil’s green growth agenda. http://www.oecd.org/environment/ www.oecd.org/env/countryreviews
Evaluating Brazil’s progress in implementing Environmental Performance Review recommendations and promoting its alignment with OECD core acquis on the environment
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ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
Supporting good water governance
Harnessing water to drive sustainable growth requires investments in water infrastructure, information and institutions. Good quality water services are costly and require efficient water management. Brazil has made remarkable progress in water management in recent decades. Nevertheless, additional reforms could further strengthen the sustainability of these policies. Water is abundant in Brazil, but unevenly distributed across regions and users. The country faces both severe droughts and an over-abundance of water at the same time. Brazil’s National Water Agency (ANA) has collaborated in the past ten years with the OECD and this co-operation has resulted in a body of specific policy guidance on how to deliver effective water governance, contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth, enhance water resilience, and cope with pressing and emerging environmental, economic and social challenges. Outputs include: Water Resources Governance in Brazil (OECD, 2015), Water Charges in Brazil (OECD, 2017), and Fostering Water Resilience in Brazil: Turning Strategy into Action (OECD, 2022). The OECD/ANA collaborations have shed light on interesting examples of water policy solutions and good practices of interest to OECD Member countries and Partners. As an
Water Resources Governance in Brazil
www.oecd.org/water
OECD Studies on Water
Water Charges in Brazil THE WAYS FORWARD
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OECD Studies on Water
Fostering Water Resilience in Brazil TURNING STRATEGY INTO ACTION
TURNING STRATEGY INTO ACTION
THE WAYS FORWARD
Fostering Water Resilience in Brazil
Water Charges in Brazil
iSBn 978-92-64-23811-4 97 2015 11 1 P
Water Resources Governance in Brazil
i.org/10.1787/9789264238121-en.
which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. ion.
OECD Studies on Water
The OECD and Brazil will continue to work together through ANA’s ongoing membership of the OECD Water Governance Initiative, which benefits from Brazil’s contributions to the implementation strategy of the OECD Principles on Water Governance.
OECD Studies on Water
te of flux for Water Management ument in Brazil er governance in Brazil
OECD Studies on Water
OECD Studies on Water
vernance in Brazil
example, it is possible to point out Brazil’s National Pact for Water Management, which aims at enhancing federal-statebasin multi-level dialogue towards integrated management, while taking into account the diversity across states in terms of performance, hydrology, development and institutional capacity.
9HSTCQE*cdibbe+
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY . 55
Improving energy strategy
Brazil’s energy policies measure up well against the world’s most urgent energy challenges. Access to electricity across the country is almost universal and renewables meet almost 45% of primary energy demand, making Brazil’s energy sector one of the least carbon-intensive in the world. The International Energy Agency and Brazil have agreed to further intensify their co-operation on policy solutions towards a sustainable and secure energy future. On 31 October 2017, Brazil joined the International Energy Agency (IEA) as an Association country, opening new avenues for co-operation. The IEA works with Brazil to improve and consolidate the country’s energy data and statistics. The focus has been to further understand their current data collection and reporting methodologies, and support the development of energy efficiency indicators.
The IAE Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies Programme conducted in 2018, supported the development and review of the national Energy Efficiency Action Plan in Brazil. This included a national workshop on the role of energy efficiency in the further decarbonisation of Brazil’s energy system, and how it can support economic and social development. As part of the 2019 Clean Energy Transitions Programme, activities with Brazil were broader and deeper than ever before. In particular, the work on data and statistics regarding energy efficiency and energy innovation took off. Notably, Brazil became the first country in South America to fill out the IEA’s Energy Efficiency Data Questionnaire. As a consequence, the IEA included Brazil in the annual Energy Efficiency Statistical Report. The World Energy Balances 2019, features detailed data for over 150 countries and regions, on the supply and consumption of coal, oil, natural gas, electricity, heat, renewables and waste of Brazil, as well as many other Latin American countries. In January 2020, the sustained work between the IEA and Brazil led to the co-authoring of the IEA Hydropower Technology Roadmap, which is an international benchmarking exercise on energy efficiency. Brazil and the IEA are discussing a collaboration on the BioFuture Platform, which aims to promote international co-ordination on advanced low carbon fuels. The IEA will also support the development of Brazil’s ten-year energy efficiency plan and co-host an energy efficiency training event in Brazil to share regional and global experiences. www.iea.org
56 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
Nuclear energy provides reliable baseload electricity on a large scale, contributes to security of energy supply and is a proven solution to climate change and air pollution. Brazil continues to strengthen its engagement with the Nuclear Energy Agency notably through the exchange of views on nuclear power, education and research. Missions of NEA DDG and DG in March 2018 and November 2019 enabled the NEA to gain a clearer understanding of Brazil’s research programs, energy policies, and governmental infrastructure. The mission also allowed Brazilian nuclear institutions to become more familiar with the NEA and its added value. During a remote meeting in March 2021 with Minister of Energy and Mines Bento Albuquerque and high level stakeholders of the Brazilian nuclear program, it was confirmed that the Brazilian Government is seriously considering an application for full NEA membership as soon as conditions allow. Brazil has repeatedly asked for projections on the country’s future assessed contributions to the NEA and its Data Bank.
L Visit of William D. Magwood IV,NEA Director-General, to Brazil in November 2019.
Given Brazil’s already existing nuclear power plants and their plans to build new reactors and investing in nuclear research, Brazil’s participation as a full member of the NEA would be of added value to the work of the Agency. Accession to the NEA is also of interest for Brazil in view of its accession procedure for OECD membership. Brazil is one of the founding members of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), for which the NEA acts as the Technical Secretariat. The GIF carries out international research co-operation to develop reactors with improved performance in terms of safety, proliferation resistance, economic performance, better use of natural resources and waste minimisation. www.oecd-nea.org
L NEA Virtual Meeting with key stakeholders of the Brazilian Nuclear Program, 12 March 2021. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY . 57
ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
Enhancing nuclear energy and other applications
Strengthening chemical and transgenic safety
Brazil has made remarkable progress in its chemical and transgenic industry in the last decade. This development has been critical to its economic growth and social improvement; however, it is crucial to ensure that safety is not neglected in the process.
Brazil adheres to the OECD’s system for the Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) in the Assessment of Chemicals, which allows the results of non-clinical safety tests on chemicals to be shared across OECD and partner MAD-adhering countries. Like many OECD countries, Brazil is involved in the development and use of alternative in-vitro methods for testing chemicals. Brazil is also increasingly involved with work-sharing arrangements for the review of pesticides and in the OECD Network on Illegal Trade of Pesticides. Brazil adhered to the OECD Council Recommendation on the safety of recombinant DNA organisms in December 2020 and contributes regularly to the biosafety and novel food/feed safety activities including the preparation of documents for biotechnology products risk assessment. Brazil benefits from the OECD’s Chemicals and Biotechnology Programme which supports government and industry efforts to manage risks posed by the production and use of industrial chemicals, nanomaterials, pesticides, biocides, genetically-engineered organisms and novel foods and feeds. It also addresses related areas of concern, such as chemical accidents and the development of Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) which inform the public about the amount of hazardous chemicals and pollutants released into the air, water and soil. Further to its adherence to the Recommendation of the Council on the Safety Testing and Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials in December 2018, Brazil has been making progress in its implementation of the Recommendation, as demonstrated during a presentation to the Chemicals and Biotechnology Committee in June 2021. www.oecd.org/chemicalsafety
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A GLOBAL AND REGIONAL PLAYER
A GLOBAL AND REGIONAL PLAYER . 59
Promoting effective development co-operation and the 2030 agenda Brazil is a major provider of South-South co-operation, with a particular focus on Latin America and Africa. Collaboration between Brazil and the OECD on international development co-operation is long-standing and has been especially fruitful since 2019, following the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Co-operation (BAPA+40). Brazil is actively engaged with the DCD on triangular cooperation, on private sector engagement and on innovative finance for sustainable development, such as green, social and sustainability bonds. Brazil has been an active participant in the 2021 LAC-DAC Dialogue on Development Co-operation, has attended DAC meetings, including most recently the 2022 DAC SLM, and participated in the 2018 DAC Peer Review of Canada. Brazil has adhered in 2018 to the DAC Recommendation on Good Pledging Practice.
60 . ACTIVE WITH BRAZIL
Brazil is contributing to the development of the methodology of the new statistical framework to measure support for the SDGs, called Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD). In 2021, Brazil started reporting to TOSSD, providing all of its 2020 South-South Cooperation activities to the framework. In 2018, a new OECD report Scaling up climate-compatible infrastructure: Insights from national development banks in Brazil and South Africa was published. The report is a case study of the Brazilian Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) conducted under the joint OECD, UN Environment and World Bank initiative Financing Climate Futures: Rethinking Infrastructure, and was presented at the 2020 Private Finance for Sustainable Development (PF4SD) Conference with the participation of BNDES.
GLOBAL GOALS
The OECD co-hosted Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC) has organised with Brazilian government representatives and scholars structured exchanges on effective development co-operation and specific themes, such as on private sector engagement in South-South and triangular co-operation. For the OECD report Enabling Women’s Economic Empowerment: New Approaches to Unpaid Care Work in Developing Countries research was conducted in Brazil. The report analysed unpaid care work in four policy areas - infrastructure, social protection, public services and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and offered recommendations on how governments, donors, the private sector and civil society actors can design policies to support both those who need care and those who provide care.
In April 2019, the State of Paraná, Brazil, joined the OECD Programme “A Territorial Approach to the SDGs”, which aims at supporting cities and regions to develop, implement and monitor strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The collaboration with the State of Parana produced tailored policy recommendations and an action plan to leverage a territorial approach to the SDGs in Paraná. Moving forward, the OECD will continue to support the state in using the SDGs as a tool to address territorial disparities by implementing the OECD Checklist for Public Action for a territorial approach to the SDGs as well as the specific recommendations and the Action Plan formulated in the first phase of the project. www.oecd.org/dac www.oecd.org/cfe
PARANÁ, BRAZIL
A Territorial Approach to the Sustainable Development Goals in Paraná, Brazil
A territorial approach to the sustainable development goals in Parana Brazil
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A GLOBAL AND REGIONAL PLAYER . 61
Reaching out to trade unions, business community and foundations The OECD is an effective and inclusive policy community, successful in advancing its standards around the world through its engagement with all stakeholders. How does the Organisation ensure dialogue with trade unions, business, legislators and civil society organisations (CSOs)? The Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) is an international trade union organisation with a consultative status to the Organisation and its various committees. TUAC works closely with the International Trade Union Confederation and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas to ensure that the voice of workers in non-OECD countries is heard. The Central Única dos Trabalhadores and other union centres also participate in work undertaken in TUAC to prepare the
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positions taken by global unions in the G20 and other fora. The OECD equally convenes the business community to major policy discussions. Business at OECD – also a consultative body to the Organisation and its Committees – serves as the voice of business on behalf of major industrial and employer organisations. Through this arena, Brazil – represented by the Confederação Nacional da Indústria (CNI) – interacts with major business organisations from the OECD and non-OECD Member countries. Since 2013, parliamentarians from Brazil actively participate in the OECD Global Parliamentary Network –
GLOBAL GOALS
a “legislative learning hub” designed for legislators to share best practices and stay abreast of OECD work with a view to informing national deliberations. The creation of the Brazil-OECD Parliamentary Friendship Group in 2019 has further strengthened this co-operation. In 2021, it included over 35 MPs from diverse parties, in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. Brazilian MPs have also been active in the Network’s two thematic groups: the OECD Parliamentary Group on Tax and the OECD Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Engagement around AI is an important example of the value of such dialogue, as proposed legislation to regulate the uses of AI in Brazil refers to the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence.
Several coalitions of civil society organisations have been formed over the years to engage with the OECD’s work, such as OECD Watch, which brings together CSOs promoting corporate accountability linked to the work of the OECD Investment Committee. It counts four Brazilian members : Conectas Direitos Humanos, Forum Suape, Reporter Brasil and Coletivo Alternativa Verde (CAVE). The Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council (CSISAC) – a coalition created to represent civil society at the OECD Committee on the Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) – counts four Brazilian CSOs: Associação Data Privacy Brasil de Pesquisa, Coding Rights, Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor and the Internet Lab. The Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), one of the world’s leading think tanks, has engaged closely with the Organisation since 2010. They have brought the OECD Better Life Index to a Brazilian audience, supporting the development of a Portuguese language version in 2015. In 2021, the Better Life Index was updated, featuring more recent data on key factors that contribute to well-being in OECD countries and beyond. The partnership with FGV has also been essential to develop the OECD COVID-19 Recovery Hub in Portuguese. The OECD Mexico Centre also engages regularly with Brazilian research institutions to attract Portuguesespeaking users to OECD iLibrary. The Centre sends a monthly newsletter to the public foundation CAPES, selected universities and libraries, highlighting most recent OECD work and publications related to Brazil. www.oecd.org/biac www.oecd.org/tuac
A GLOBAL AND REGIONAL PLAYER . 63
ANNEXES
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TODAY’S OECD: BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER LIVES The OECD is an intergovernmental organisation created to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people all over the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to seek solutions to common problems, share experiences and identify best practices.
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Annexes
Governments of members and partners work with the Organisation to understand the key drivers of economic, social and environmental change. The OECD measures productivity and global flows of trade and investment, it analyses and compares data to predict future trends, and it sets international standards on a wide range of areas, from governance to the fight against bribery and corruption, taxation to the environment. ANNEXES . 65
Annexes
GLOBAL RELATIONS
GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
Through its relationship building over the last 50 years, the OECD has transformed itself into a global organisation, with 37 Members from America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, including developed and emerging countries. Costa Rica has been invited to join the OECD in 2020.
The OECD is structured around the Council, substantive committees and the Secretariat:
At the 2007 Ministerial Council Meeting, Ministers invited the Secretary General “to strengthen OECD co-operation with Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa through enhanced engagement programmes with a view to possible membership”. A central element of Enhanced Engagement has been the Partners’ direct and active participation in the work of the OECD’s official bodies. OECD’s relations with non-Members have been further extended. Its regional programmes cover South-East Asia, South-East Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean. The OECD has also developed Country Programmes with Kazakhstan, Morocco, Peru and Thailand.
l Decision-making power is vested in the OECD Council. Overseeing
the Organisation’s functioning and giving strategic direction, it is made up of one representative per Member country plus a representative of the European Union. The Council takes decisions by consensus. l At the committee level, representatives of member countries and
partners from the permanent delegations to the OECD or their capitals participate in meetings, to request, review and contribute to work undertaken by the Secretariat. l The Secretariat collects data, conducts research and analyses
and produces policy proposals. The Secretary-General heads the Secretariat and is assisted by one or more Deputy SecretariesGeneral. The Secretary-General also chairs the Council, providing the link between national delegations and the Secretariat.
FAST FACTS History: Established in 1961 Headquarters: Paris, France Secretary-General: Angel Gurría Membership: 37 countries (Costa Rica has been invited to become the 38th Member) Key Partners: 5 countries Regional Programmes: 5 regions Country Programmes: 4 countries Publications: About 250 new titles per year Committees: About 250 Committees and their subsidiary bodies
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Governance structure of the OECD COUNCIL Strategic direction and control
COMMITTEES Discussion, monitoring and peer reviews
SECRETARIAT Research, analysis and policy recommendations
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WORKING METHODS
OECD LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL CO-ORDINATION
Through the OECD, governments work together with a multidisciplinary approach to develop evidence-based policy guidance, increasingly involving different stakeholders including parliaments, business communities and civil society. On the basis of comparable statistics collected across member and partner governments, the OECD Secretariat analyses countries’ policy experiences and identifies good practices, to inform policy making in participating countries and beyond. “Peer reviews”, based on dialogue and consensus-building, allow for an effective monitoring of reform progress in a broad range of policy areas. Identified good practices and policy recommendations contribute to designing new international standards that can be embodied into OECD legal instruments as described in the next section.
The OECD works in a broad range of policy areas Development assistance Migration
Education
Pensions
Healthcare
Employment
Governance
The majority of them are Council Decision and Recommendations (known together as “OECD Acts”, see acts.oecd.org). Two further categories of legal instruments have been developed through the practice of the Organisation, namely Declarations and International Agreements concluded with the OECD framework. Perhaps the best-known examples are the Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises (and related OECD Acts) to which Brazil has been an Adherent since 1997; the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions to which Brazil has been a party since 2000; the 2018 Recommendation of the Council on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct; and the Recommendation of the Council on Artificial Intelligence adopted in 2019. Currently, a concerted effort is being made related to the Brazil’s accession to the OECD, in which the Organisation opened for discussions in January 2022, after the deliberation of its 38 member countries.
Corruption
Competition Trade
For more than 50 years, the OECD has developed policy guidelines and standards which promote a level playing field and enhance policy dialogue in the international community. There are currently 450 legal instruments of the OECD, setting out binding and non-binding standards in almost all fields of the Organisation’s work.
Tax evasion
Entrepreneurship Fiscal policy Finance Agriculture
Climate change Innovation
Energy
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Annexes
BRAZIL CURRENTLY ADHERES TO 106 OECD LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: Agriculture and Food 1. Decision of the Council Revising the OECD Schemes for the Varietal Certification or the Control of Seed Moving in International Trade 2. Decision of the Council revising the OECD Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables 3. Decision of the Council revising the OECD Standard Codes for the Official Testing of Agricultural and Forestry Tractors 4. Recommendation of the Council on the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains Anti-Corruption and Integrity 5. Recommendation of the Council on Tax Measures for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions 6. Recommendation of the Council for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions 7. Declaration on Propriety, Integrity and Transparency in the Conduct of International Business and Finance 8. Recommendation of the Council on Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas 9. Declaration on the Fight Against Foreign Bribery - Towards a New Era of Enforcement 10. Recommendation of the Council on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector 11. Recommendation of the Council on the Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractive Sector 12. Recommendation of the Council on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct Development 13. Recommendation of the Council for Development Co-operation Actors on Managing the Risk of Corruption 14. Declaration on Enhancing Productivity for Inclusive Growth 15. DAC Recommendation on Good Pledging Practice
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Education 16. Declaration on Future Educational Policies in the Changing Social and Economic Context 17. Recommendation of the Council concerning Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education 18. Recommendation of the Council on Financial Literacy Environment 19. Declaration on a Resilient and Healthy Environment for All 20. Decision of the Council concerning the Mutual Acceptance of Data in the Assessment of Chemicals 21. Decision-Recommendation of the Council on Compliance with Principles of Good Laboratory Practice 22. Recommendation of the Council concerning Information Exchange related to Export of Banned or Severely Restricted Chemicals 23. Recommendation of the Council on the Safety Testing and Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials 24. Recommendation of the Council on Establishing and Implementing Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) 25. Declaration on Risk Reduction for Lead 26. Recommendation of the Council on Quality Assurance in Molecular Genetic Testing Finance and Investment 27. Decision of the Council on International Investment Incentives and Disincentives 28. Third Revised Decision of the Council concerning National Treatment 29. Recommendation of the Council on Member Country Measures concerning National Treatment of Foreign-Controlled Enterprises in OECD Member Countries and Based on Considerations of Public Order and Essential Security Interest 30. Recommendation of the Council on Member Country Exceptions to National Treatment and National Treatment related Measures concerning the Services Sector 31. Decision of the Council on Conflicting Requirements being imposed on Multinational Enterprises 32. Recommendation of the Council on Member Country Exceptions to National Treatment and National Treatment related Measures in the Category of Official Aids and Subsidies
ANNEXES
33. Recommendation of the Council concerning Member Country Exceptions to National Treatment and National Treatment-related Measures concerning Investment by Established ForeignControlled Enterprises 34. Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises 35. Decision of the Council on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 36. The Bologna Charter on SME Policies 37. Istanbul Ministerial Declaration on Fostering the Growth of Innovative and Internationally Competitive SMEs 38. Sector Understanding on Export Credits for Civil Aircraft 39. Recommendation of the Council on High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection 40. Recommendation of the Council on Guidelines on Insurer Governance 41. Recommendation of the Council on Good Practices for Insurance Claim Management 42. Recommendation of the Council on Member Country Exceptions to National Treatment and Related Measures concerning Access to Local Bank Credit and the Capital Market 43. Recommendation of the Council on Budgetary Governance 44. Recommendation of the Council on Principles and Good Practices for Financial Education and Awareness 45. Recommendation of the Council on Good Practices for Enhanced Risk Awareness and Education on Insurance Issues 46. Recommendation of the Council on Good Practices for Financial Education relating to Private Pensions 47. Recommendation of the Council on Good Practices on Financial Education and Awareness Relating to Credit 48. Recommendation of the Council on a Policy Framework for Effective and Efficient Financial Regulation 49. Recommendation on Consumer Product Safety 50. Recommendation of the Council on a Policy Framework for Effective and Efficient Financial Regulation 51. Recommendation of the Council on Consumer Protection in the field of Consumer Credit Governance 52. Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions
53. Recommendation of the Council Concerning International Cooperation on Competition Investigations and Proceedings 54. Recommendation of the Council on Principles of Corporate Governance 55. Recommendation of the Council on Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement 56. Recommendation of the Council concerning Structural Separation in Regulated Industries 57. Declaration for the Future of the Internet Economy (The Seoul Declaration) 58. Recommendation of the Council to Facilitate Co-operation between Tax and Other Law Enforcement Authorities to Combat Serious Crimes 59. Recommendation of the Council on Principles for Internet Policy Making 60. Recommendation of the Council on Open Government 61. Recommendation of the Council on Bribery and Officially Supported Export Credits 62. Recommendation of the Council concerning Effective Action against Hard Core Cartels 63. Recommendation of the Council for Enhanced Access and More Effective Use of Public Sector Information 64. Recommendation of the Council on Merger Review 65. Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies 66. Recommendation of the Council on Improving the Quality of Government Regulation 67. Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance 68. Recommendation of the Council on the Governance of Clinical Trials Industry and Services 69. Declaration on Strengthening SMEs and Entrepreneurship for Productivity and Inclusive Growth 70. Recommendation of the Council on Competition Assessment 71. Multilateral Guidelines (Extract from the Annex to the Decision establishing a Steel Committee) 72. Recommendation of the Council on Transparency and Procedural Fairness in Competition Law Enforcement 73. Recommendation of the Council on Consumer Product Safety
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Regional, Rural and Urban Development 74. Declaration on Policies for Building Better Futures for Regions, Cities and Rural Areas 75. Recommendation of the Council on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government Science and technology 76. Daejeon Declaration on Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for the Global and Digital Age 77. Recommendation of the Council on Broadband Development 78. Recommendation of the Council on Digital Security of Critical Activities 79. Recommendation of the Council on Artificial Intelligence 80. Recommendation of the Council on Consumer Protection in E-commerce 81. Recommendation of the Council concerning a General Framework of Principles for International Co-operation in Science and Technology 82. Declaration on the Digital Economy: Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity (Cancún Dseclaration) 83. Declaration on International Science and Technology Co-operation for Sustainable Development 84. Recommendation of the Council on Digital Security Risk Management for Economic and Social Prosperity 85. Recommendation of the Council on Cross-Border Co-operation in the Enforcement of Laws against Spam 86. Recommendation of the Council on International Mobile Roaming Services 87. Recommendation of the Council concerning Principles for Facilitating International Technology Co-operation Involving Enterprises 88. Recommendation of the Council concerning Access to Research Data from Public Funding 89. Recommendation of the Council on Enhancing Access to and Sharing of Data 90. Recommendation of the Council on Digital Security of Critical Activities 91. Recommendation of the Council on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology
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Taxation 92. Recommendation of the Council concerning the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Estates and Inheritances and on Gifts 93. Recommendation of the Council on the Granting and Design of Tax Sparing in Tax Conventions 94. Recommendation of the Council on the Use of Tax Identification Numbers in an International Context 95. Recommendation of the Council on Counteracting Harmful Tax Competition 96. Protocol amending the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters 97. Declaration on Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters 98. Recommendation of the Council on Tax Avoidance and Evasion 99. Recommendation of the Council concerning Tax Treaty Override 100. Recommendation of the Council concerning an OECD Model Agreement for the Undertaking of Simultaneous Tax Examinations 101. Recommendation of the Council on Implementing the Proposals contained in the 1998 Report on Harmful Tax Competition 102. Declaration on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Trade 103. Declaration on Better Policies to Achieve a Productive, Sustainable and Resilient Global Food System 104. Declaration on Trade Policy 105. Recommendation of the Council on Competitive Neutrality 106. Recommendation of the Council on Competition Assessment
ANNEXES
BRAZIL’S PARTNERSHIPS IN OECD BODIES, PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES Associate/member1 (15): 1. Chemicals and Biotechnology Committee – Bodies responsible for the Council Acts related to the Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) in the assessment of chemicals 2. Competition Committee 3. Development Centre 4. Discussions concerning the Recommendation of the Council on Principles of Corporate Governance 5. Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes 6. Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence 7. Investment Committee meeting in enlarged session for work related to the Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises and related instruments 8. OECD Network on Fiscal Relations Across Levels of Government 9. Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Governing Board 10. Programme for the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) Governing Board 11. Project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) 12. Steel Committee 13. Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions 14. Working Party on Indicators of Educational Systems (INES WP) 15. Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct
5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.
18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.
Committee on Consumer Policy Committee on Digital Economy Policy Committee on Fiscal Affairs Committee on Statistics and Statistical Policy – Main Committee, Working Party on National Accounts, Working Party on International Trade in Goods and Services Statistics Corporate Governance Committee Education Policy Committee Enlarged Investment Committee for work related to the Codes of Liberalisation & the Freedom of Investment Roundtable International Transport Forum Joint Meeting of Tax and Environment Experts Joint Working Party on Agriculture and Trade Joint Working Party on Trade and the Environment Public Governance Committee Public Governance Committee & Committee of Senior Budget Officials – Working Party on Performance and Results & Network of Senior Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnerships Officials Trade Committee & the Working Party of the Trade Committee Working Group on International Investment Statistics Working Party on Consumer Product Safety Working Party on Financial Statistics Working Party on Private Pensions Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices
Participant/observer2 (23): 1. Advisory Task Force on the Codes of Liberalisation 2. Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) Governing Board 3. Committee for Agriculture – Main Committee, Group on Commodity Markets, Working Party on Agricultural Policies and Markets 4. Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy 1. These figures include Associate/member status granted in line with the Revised Resolution of the Council on Partnerships in OECD Bodies as well as similar membership status in OECD programmes or entities within the OECD family, which in the case of Brazil are: the Development Centre; the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes; the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence; and the Programme for the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) Governing Board. 2. These figures include Brazil’s status as an observer in the International Transport Forum. ANNEXES . 71
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Discover reports, data and analysis about Brazil alongside the world’s leading economies on OECD iLibrary, the global knowledge base – www.oecd-ilibrary.org For news and information about OECD work and events with Brazil www.oecd.org/brazil
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See more on the OECD-Brazil Co-operation www.oecd.org/ latin-america/ countries/brazil/
ANNEXES . 72
The OECD: A Global Policy Network
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation helping governments tackle the economic, social and governance challenges of a globalised economy. It provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD Member
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