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Doc. 8536
21 September 1999
OECD and the global economy
Opinion
Committee on Science and technology
Rapporteur: Mr Pierre Beaufays, Belgium, Group of the European People's Party
As the OECD pointed out in a June 1999 Policy Brief, scientific advances and technological change are leading the transition towards a knowledge-based economy. The ability to create, distribute and exploit knowledge and information is rapidly becoming the major source of competitive advantage, wealth creation and improvements in the quality of life. Some of the main features of this transformation are rapid technological progress, driven by a productive scientific community and greater business efficiency; the growing impact of information and communications technologies (ICT); a shift to more knowledge-intensive industries and services; increased networking and collaboration; and rising skill requirements.
In a speech to the Meeting of the OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy at Ministerial Level, which was held in Paris on 22 and 23 June 1999, the OECD Secretary General said that, in order to take advantage of the growth and job opportunities that new technologies offered, there had to be more flexibility in the economies of member states, meaning that product and labour markets must be able to adjust rapidly to the demands of these new economic paradigms. The work done under the aegis of the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy had shown that innovation policy, whose first responsibility was to stimulate interaction between entrepreneurs, researchers, financiers and consumers, must aim to make the economy and society more receptive to new technologies and their diffusion.
The progress made in biotechnology, which the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy has been monitoring for twenty years, has implications for a number of areas such as health, agriculture and the environment. Although promising, this progress does raise some significant social, economic, political and ethical questions. What is more, the combination of poor public understanding, an inappropriate legislative framework and a number of technical obstacles further limits the large-scale application of some innovations. Especially sensitive issues include the work on genetically modified organisms, which inspires lively debate not only amongst the general public, but also in scientific circles. New biotechnological applications must be exploited in the interests of sustainable development. In addition, so that the potential benefits of scientific and technological progress in this field may become reality at the national level and worldwide, international co-operation must be strengthened through the expansion of existing policies on the life sciences.
As regards international co-operation in the field of science and technology, it fell to the OECD's Megascience Forum, which was created in 1992, to establish a framework for intergovernmental talks between senior science policy officials. This body has now been succeeded by the Global Science Forum, which will continue to build on the achievements made hitherto, but with a wider mandate, the result of which should be to improve the international pooling of scientific resources and simultaneously to help find answers to scientific questions of global significance.
In Paris, the ministers of the OECD member states took note of the Scientific and Technological Policy Committee's 1998 report on ”Technology, Productivity and Job Creation: Best Policy Practices”, and particularly of its detailed recommendations that steps be taken to ensure that the development and diffusion of technologies make an even greater contribution to productivity, growth and employment. In acknowledging the report, the ministers laid a foundation for embarking on follow-up action, introducing measures and improving understanding of developments in national potential in terms of scientific, technological and innovative capacity, and of their effect on economic performance and employment, particularly in the services sector. The report is a key international analytical instrument for framing and implementing innovation and technology policies which will better meet the needs of economies that are increasingly knowledge-based and affected by globalisation. The function of such policies will be to improve long-term growth prospects.
The attitude of the general public towards science and technology can have a direct effect on the development and funding of scientific programmes. In certain cases, should society reject or appear to mistrust a given science policy priority, policy makers may find themselves in the unenviable situation of having to choose between retaining the confidence of the electorate and making what they believe to be the right decision. For this reason, special attention must be given to keeping the public up to date with scientific and technological progress.
One current problem very closely linked to the public attitude towards science is that of young people’s evident lack of interest in the field of research. Disturbingly, this is likely to mean a real shortage of scientists in the near future.
To conclude, I believe that the excellent resolution proposed by my colleague Mr Townend could be made even more effective by the inclusion of certain additional paragraphs. I would therefore suggest the following amendments:
1. Insert the following paragraph after paragraph 10 of the draft resolution:
“The Enlarged Assembly therefore calls on the OECD and Council of Europe member states to prepare policies in line with the recommendations of the OECD Scientific and Technological Policy Committee's report on ”Technology, Productivity and Job Creation: Best Policy Practices”. The report is a key international analytical instrument for developing and implementing innovation and technology policies which will meet the needs of knowledge-based economies affected by globalisation.”
2. Insert the following paragraph after paragraph 18 of the draft resolution:
“Particular attention must be given to the services sector, which is an increasingly important employer of labour by virtue of work rationalisation through the growth of information technologies and robotisation.”
3. Insert the following paragraph after Amendment No. 2 above:
“The Enlarged Assembly asks the OECD and Council of Europe member states to establish new channels of communication, both domestic and international, between the scientific community, policy makers and society at large. On the domestic front, talks on possible action must be based on sufficient understanding by the general public of scientific matters, and the international dissemination of best practices in member states will facilitate the task of finding practical solutions to the major problems which exist in Europe and worldwide.”
Selective bibliography
1. Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level (Paris, 26-27 May 1997) — summary.
2. Meeting of the OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy at Ministerial Level (Paris, 22-23 June 1999) — working documents.
3. “Technology, Productivity and Job Creation: Best Policy Practices”, Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy, OECD.4.
4. Progress Report by the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy since the last ministerial meeting, OECD, Directorate of Science, Technology and Industry,
16-17 March 1999.
5. “Fostering scientific and technological progress”, OECD Policy Brief, June 1999.
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Reporting committee: Committee on Science and Technology (Doc. 8465)
Committee for opinion: Committee on Science and Technology
Opinion approved by the committee on 20 September 1999
Secretaries to the committee: MM. Lervik, Torcatoriu