Management Index

The Status Index

The Status Index ranks 30 OECD countries in terms of sustainable reform performance.

OECD average

Democracy
Electoral process | Access to information | Civil rights | Rule of law

Although most OECD states are consolidated
democracies, differences in electoral procedures,
media environments, legal certainty and civil rights
protections can affect reform prospects.

Do political and legal systems
effectively protect citizens' rights?

OECD countries widely guarantee basic
voting rights, but campaign rules, media
bias and special-case restrictions on voting
can influence the fairness of campaigns.

Is political participation free of
unreasonable barriers?

Even in democracies, the media's role can be
undermined by governmental or oligopolistic
control.

Does an independent media express
a diversity of opinions, with government
information accessible?

Approaches to civil rights shifted in many
countries following the 9/11 attacks, even
as traditional struggles to prevent
discrimination persisted.

Are citizens' civil rights respected and
protected against discrimination?

A well-functioning democracy benefits from
predictable, legally enforceable norms of
state behavior.

Do legal and cultural norms
ensure that state institutions
act in accordance with the law?

Socioeconomics
Socioeconomic measures

Macroeconomic data provides one useful quantitative means of evaluating nations' socioeconomic performance.

How do countries perform on a variety of socioeconomic measures?

The SGI considers economic and social
questions, economic globalization and
social cohesion as equally important.

What are the key findings regarding
OECD socioeconomic strengths
and weaknesses?

Economy and employment
Labor market | Enterprises | Taxes | Budgets

The historic link between economic growth
and lower unemployment has weakened,
making employment issues a significant
concern for many OECD countries.

Does economic policy address the
challenges of economic globalization?

Large-scale unemployment currently
represents a critical challenge for
economic policy in OECD countries.

Have labor market policies
successfully minimized
unemployment?

Although states normally exert little direct
influence on corporate actions, enterprise
policies can shape several aspects of the
regulatory framework.

Has enterprise policy successfully
stimulated economic activity?

The goals of equity, competitiveness and
the generation of sufficient public revenues
are key to a sustainable tax policy, but do
not dictate absolute levels of tax burden.

How successful and sustainable
are tax policies?

To be sustainable, a country's budgetary
policy must maintain solvency and
intergenerational fairness while sustaining
economic growth.

Have policymakers pursued fiscally sustainable budget policies?

Social affairs
Health care | Social cohesion | Families | Pensions

Aging societies and growing social
inequalities are stressing OECD countries'
closely knit networks of social relations.

Are welfare state and other social
goals met in an era of financial
constraint?

Health-care systems are struggling to
balance the demands of inclusiveness,
aging populations, and rising costs.

Do policies produce high-quality,
inclusive and cost-efficient health
care?

Poverty prevention and the mitigation of
socioeconomic disparities can coincide,
but may require different policies, and are
valued differently across the OECD.

Do policies prevent poverty and limit socioeconomic disparity?

Family policy, blending economic and
social programs, ideally maximizes
opportunities for both parents.

Do social support policies
allow women to combine
parenting and employment?

Demographic change poses challenges
to all pension systems, as reformers balance
different mixes of public and private plans.

Is a sustainable pension system in
place which prevents poverty while
maintaining intergenerational equity?

Security and integration
Security | Integration

This category covers internal and external
security policy as well as a wide array of
integration-related cultural, educational
and social policies.

How effectively do external and internal
security policies protect citizens? Do policies
support the integration of migrants into society?

A globalized world has complicated
efforts to ensure internal and external
security, as governments must cooperate
with others to protect their citizens.

How well do states respond to
security threats both old and new?

Globalization has led to growing
communities of immigrants even in
traditionally homogeneous societies.

Do policies facilitate the smooth
integration of migrants into society?

Sustainability
Environment | R&D | Education

Given resource scarcity, demographic shifts
and climate change, consensus is rising
on the need to establish sustainable societies.

How well is the environment protected?
Are innovation and education understood
as important assets of sustainability?

Environmental policy is at the heart of
sustainability, encompassing everything
from responses to climate change to
energy policy.

Do policies preserve national
resources and environmental quality?

In a high-tech world, R&D and scientific
education can be critical to maintaining
an innovative economy.

Do governments support research,
science education and other
sources of innovation?

A strong education system is crucial to
establishing future competitiveness,
and contributes to personal development
and social cohesion.

How successful are national
education policies?

The Management Index

The Management Index ranks 30 OECD countries in terms of their reform management.

OECD average

Steering capability
Capacity | Coordination | RIA | Consultation | Communication

Capable governance is characterized by sustainable,
long-term and knowledge-based planning in policy
formulation, implementation and communication.

What constitutes the strategic quality of governance? Do governments draw on internal
and external expertise in developing policy?

Strategic planning efforts can involve
dedicated central government units,
or a reliance on expert advice.

How widespread are strategic
planning techniques?

Effective interministerial coordination
increases a government's capacity to
formulate strategically oriented policies.

Are decision-making processes
coordinated across institutional lines?

Regulatory impact assessments (RIAs)
can be a critical means of evaluating the
impact of proposed policy before passage.

How important is RIA in the
policy-making process?

For policies to be successful, it can be critical
for governments to consult with economic and
social actors in the course of policy preparation.

Does societal consultation play a role
in policy-making?

A coherent communication policy and broad
public acceptance of governmental policies
are important elements of strategic governance.

How successful are governments'
communication policies?

Resource efficiency
Legislative efficiency | Veto players | Implementation

The full process of reform can be daunting, requiring
the approval of the legislature and potential veto
holders, and implementation on the part of ministries
or subnational governments.

How effectively and efficiently are governments
able to turn their programs into implemented policy?

Governments' most sweeping reform programs amount to little without legislative support and approval.

How successfully did governments win legislative approval for their programs?

Legislative success depends in part on the
government’s ability to anticipate the action of
veto players, such as heads of state, second
parliamentary chambers or courts.

How successfully did governments
anticipate veto of their legislative programs?

Once adopted, a reform program's efficacy
depends on a government's ability to
implement its own agenda.

How effectively are governments able
to translate adopted legislation into
active policy?

International cooperation
Domestic adaptability | External adaptability

Many types of reform, from trade to
environmental policy, are more effective
if they incorporate international influences and
are aligned with other states' actions.

Do governments cooperate with
other states, while adapting to
new developments at home?

In an interconnected world, distant
international events often have strong
domestic consequences.

How flexible are governments
in adapting their structures to
outside events?

Cross-border reform projects and coalitions are taking on a growing role in response to threats such as climate change and terrorism.

Do governments participate in international coalitions, and seek to spread their own reform priorities?

Institutional learning
Organizational reform

At their best, governments routinely examine
themselves, ensuring institutions remain
well-adapted to their goals.

Do governments monitor their own
institutional arrangements, reforming
them if necessary?

Economic and political change can render
even the most effective institutions obsolete.

Do governments identify and respond
to the need for institutional reform?

Accountability
Citizens | Parliament | Intermediary organizations

Governments cannot prepare and
implement reforms unilaterally. Reform
capacity also depends on the organized
participation of nongovernmental actors.

Do citizens, legislators and social groups provide both advice and a check on government actions?

Good democratic governance presupposes
active participation by informed citizens.

Do citizens have information and
knowledge that enables them to
evaluate government policies?

The legislature's role in governance consists in interpreting popular interests and scrutinizing, not simply implementing, executive proposals.

Do parliaments have the capability and resources to control the executive?

Healthy democracy requires intermediary organizations that aggregate and articulate social interests.

Do intermediary organizations provide both advice and a check on government actions?

Managing the Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Governance in 14 Countries

April 2010: The SGI and

Transformation Index teams have released a

new study on policy strategies in response to the global financial and economic crisis. It offers a

comparative assessment of economic governance in the world’s major economies. Highlighting the similarities and differences in strategic choices made, the comparative study is based on in-depth

analyses of 14 countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Russia, Sweden, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the United States.

The book, which includes the comparative assessment and individual SGI and BTI perspectives on crisis management can be ordered

here.