"Entrepreneurship is significant in driving economic growth and job creation and can be a powerful tool for achieving the goals of gender equality and enhancing women’s empowerment.

However, there is little evidence on women entrepreneurs in Asia. To support the Evidence and Data for Gender Equality (EDGE) initiative, this study examined gender gaps in entrepreneurship using unique household data collected from Georgia; Mongolia; and Cavite, Philippines. The study provides insights into women and men entrepreneurs and their activities. It suggests, using multivariate analysis, that the determinants of income vary by gender and across countries."

"This paper documents a substantial change in the use of currency of invoicing in import and export transactions, precipitated by the war on Ukraine and the subsequent introduction of trade sanctions on Russia. Over the course of 2022, the share of Russia’s imports invoiced in yuan (CNY) increased by 17 percentage points. The use of yuan as a vehicle currency increased on average by an extra 4 percentage points among trading partners that have an active yuan swap line. This effect is found only for third countries that did not impose economic sanctions on Russia. The share of CNY invoicing increased differentially more for trade in internationally sanctioned dual-use and industrial-capacity goods.

"The Asia and Pacific region is a crucial part of global efforts to curb climate change. It contributes around 50% of the global greenhouse gas emission (GHG) total, and many countries in the region are vulnerable to the adverse impact of climate change.

This report assesses climate finance in Asia and the Pacific and analyzes how it can be harnessed by developing member countries to expand climate action and spur low-carbon, resilient growth."

The paper From Fragmentation to Integration: Embedding Social Issues in Sustainable Finance aims to generate momentum within the financial system to tackle inequality and improve a common understanding of the social impacts of a market-based economy. Drawing insights from the climate agenda, it sheds light on how to catalyze action at the policy and regulatory levels through existing sustainable finance initiatives. Based on the collective expertise of several institutions and a global consultation, the paper provides key recommendations for governments, regulators and financial institutions to: support research on the systemic risk of socio-economic inequality for financial stability; adopt and improve social disclosure standards and risk management tools; and rethink the macroeconomic determinants of sustainable finance.  

Evidence from an OECD D4SME survey

Digitalisation has triggered a profound transformation of the retail sector, primarily composed of SMEs. While retail businesses are embracing more hybrid practices of managing online and brick-and-mortar channels, getting more traditional SME retailers fit for the hybrid era could open up new opportunities, with far reaching implications on the local economy. Through a novel survey conducted in six OECD countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Spain) in co-operation with e-commerce platforms, this report provides new insights to better understand retail SMEs’ perceived advantages and challenges of operating online sales through these platforms, with a particular spotlight on hybrid SME retailers.

"Inequality of opportunity (IOp) leads to misallocation of human capital and can affect economies via its impact on individual economic decision making. This paper studies the impact of IOp on investment, using a laboratory experiment. We randomized IOp, then subjects chose to invest in a risky asset or savings. Our results suggest that IOp impacts investment choices only for people who are penalized by their circumstances and only once they learn the impact of IOp on their relative position in the income distribution.

"This paper is a direct call to the finance community to reshape its strategies, incentivize across the value chain with innovative financial tools and invest responsibly for a greener, equitable future.

Representing approximately one-third of global emissions, food systems contribute significantly to the world’s greenhouse gas footprint, yet the transition to net-zero and sustainable food remains underfunded, with just under 4% of climate finance allocated to agriculture and food. Financial sector involvement can unleash the power of public and private investments and partnerships to harness the immense potential of transforming our food systems.

"The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2023-2032 provides a consensus assessment of the ten-year prospects for agricultural commodity and fish markets at national, regional, and global levels, and serves as a reference for forward-looking policy analysis and planning. Recent surges in agricultural input prices experienced over the last two years have raised concerns about global food security. This year’s Outlook demonstrates that rising fertiliser costs can lead to higher food prices.

"Using panel data of cities in the People’s Republic of China from 2011 to 2019, we analyze the impact of digital finance on low-carbon transition derived from a super-efficiency slacks-based measure data envelopment analysis. We find that digital finance promotes low-carbon transition, and this finding is robust with respect to the choice of sample, potential presence of measurement issue, choice of study period, presence of other policies, and potential endogeneity, among others. This impact, at least in part, is through increased green innovations. We also find evidence for impact heterogeneity across locations and by the level of low-carbon transition."

"Artificial Intelligence and the Labour Market

The 2023 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook examines the latest labour market developments in OECD countries. It focuses, in particular, on the evolution of labour demand and widespread shortages, as well as on wage developments in times of high inflation and related policies. It also takes stock of the current evidence on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the labour market.

"The Gender Inclusivity Toolkit equips young entrepreneurs with resources to promote gender equality and inclusivity in their businesses. This toolkit provides a pathway for transformative change, enabling entrepreneurs to cultivate an inclusive workplace that attracts and retains a gender-diverse talent pool. It aims to raise awareness of gender biases and discrimination, offering practical measures for addressing them."

"The Annual Review 2022 details how the Bank stepped up its investment last year and was particularly vigorous in support of Ukraine. 

The EBRD balanced its work in Ukraine with meeting key objectives in other areas, such as tackling climate change, fostering inclusion and building digital capacity in the economies where it operates. 

Crucially, green investments totalled 50 per cent of Annual Bank Investment (ABI) for 2022, in line with the EBRD’s goal of being a majority green bank by 2025."