The European Union is closing the digital gap with the United States. More than half of European firms invested in digitalisation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are rapidly catching up with their US peers in implementing advanced digital technologies. Despite the progress, however, Europe is not well positioned in digital innovation, and it is at risk of developing dependencies in several critical technologies. Some key takeaways: Digitalisation has helped European firms adjust at a time of repeated economic shocks. Digital firms also tend to be more productive. Successfully managing the digital transition and taking advantage of its long-term benefits goes beyond technology adoption – it requires societal change. Firms' digitalisation depends on several factors, such as adequate digital infrastructure, competition-friendly regulation and labor market skills. The report, Digitalisation in Europe 2022-2023 : Evidence from the EIB Investment Survey, uses data collected from firms to shed light on the progress small and medium firms in Europe are making on digitalisation.

Currently, there is an ongoing debate about the future of public administration. The role of public administration is evolving and changing, thus impacting the dynamics and mechanism of public affairs. Its models, programs, characteristics, and expectations at all levels have radically grown to facilitate public concerns. This book looks into the future efficiency of public administrations and attempts to predict their meaning and role in the future. It is a useful guide for the world’s public administration leaders as it will help administrations to change their everyday operations, ethics, and policies. It presents the critical skills and tools needed to master public administration, supplementing the efforts of governments to work for people's welfare. It advances the connection between administrative authorities and citizens and channelizes a more logical way of gaining a country's progression. The book contains six chapters that articulate the foundation of the future of public administration. By embracing digital transformation, prioritizing citizen engagement, and addressing public concerns, the future of this field is an exciting frontier which ensures a brighter, more connected, and equitable future for all of us.

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

Bringing together insights from political economy, public policy, science, technology and legal scholarship, this book explores the role of public procurement in digital technology regulation.

The “digital economy” is a conceptual umbrella referring to markets, organizations and their networks that are based on digital technologies, communication, data processing and e-commerce. It is multidimensional and its dynamic structure must be analysed from various dimensions, such as economic – changes in the nature of resources, production factors and economic processes; technological – technological progress viewed from a macroeconomic perspective vs. technological innovation viewed from a microeconomic perspective; regulatory – challenges facing regulators, new risks affecting the institutional order; and sociological – changes in society’s functioning principles, attitudes towards work and human relations. The purpose of this book is to analyse the effectiveness of digital technologies as well as the fundamental factors that contribute to technological progress in the long run. It also examines structural and qualitative shifts in economies and societies. It investigates many research questions, such as the gap between the level of digital economic development in European Union countries; digital transformation and its impact on workplace skills development patterns; and also the legal framework for data as resource. The book approaches these issues from a multidisciplinary perspective, from law to economics and sociology. It focuses on definitional discussions, the measurement challenges, drivers for digital transition, the impact on labour relations, digital skills and education, data reuse and data extractivism. This is a comprehensive introduction to the different contexts from which the digital economy can be addressed, offering an innovative method for studying this complex phenomenon, and as such, it will be a valuable resource for students, scholars and researchers across a range of disciplines.

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