Digital Education Outlook 2023 provides a comparative, thematic analysis of how countries shape or could shape their digital ecosystem.

Students face a future filled with uncertainty and change. For education systems to continue to remain relevant, they must empower students to navigate these changes and succeed in the future by equipping them with the requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. Teachers are key enablers of this endeavour, and it is imperative that governments and teacher organisations collaborate to support teachers in exploring and enacting pedagogies, and designing learning environments that support student attainment of future-ready competencies, through policies, processes and teacher professional development.

This report, linked with the Digital Education Outlook 2023, provides an overview of 29 countries’ (or jurisdictions') digital education ecosystem and governance.

Childhood is changing in ways that we are still unpacking, affected by digitalization, globalization and climate change, as well as shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In many OECD education systems, child empowerment is increasingly an explicit aim of policies and practices. But it is often poorly defined, which risks turning it into a mere slogan. With the advancement of children’s rights, children are increasingly being included as stakeholders in decision-making processes. This report gives examples of how children in OECD countries can and do participate in making decisions about issues that affect them. The report examines children's emotional well-being and physical activity, and the role of schools as a physical space to create and support relationships. It also underlines the untapped potential of media education when it comes to seizing opportunities in childhood. Empowering all children to make the most of digital opportunities starts with further narrowing the gap in terms of access to digital tools and the Internet, where inequalities are persistent and pervasive. So, what does child empowerment mean today? Empowered children have the opportunity and ability to act on issues important and relevant to them, can learn by making mistakes, and are key contributors to democracy.

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the six Western Balkan (WB6) economies depends on greater economic competitiveness. Although the gap is closing gradually, the standards of living in WB6 are well below those of the OECD and EU. Accelerating the rate of socio-economic convergence will require a holistic and growth oriented approach to policy making. This is the fourth study of the region (formerly under the title 'Competitiveness in South East Europe') and it comprehensively assesses policy reforms in the WB6 economies across 15 policy areas key to strengthening their competitiveness. It enables WB6 economies to compare economic performance against regional peers, as well as EU-OECD good practices and standards, and to design future policies based on rich evidence and actionable policy recommendations. The regional profile presents assessment findings across five policy clusters crucial to accelerating socio-economic convergence of the WB6 by fostering regional co-operation: business environment, skills, infrastructure and connectivity, digital transformation and greening. Economy-specific profiles complement the regional assessment, offering each WB6 economy an in-depth analysis of their policies supporting competitiveness. They also track the implementation of the previous 2021 study's recommendations and provide additional ones tailored to the economies’ evolving challenges. These recommendations aim to inform structural economic reforms and facilitate the region’s socio-economic convergence towards the standards of the EU and OECD.

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the six Western Balkan (WB6) economies depends on greater economic competitiveness. Although the gap is closing gradually, the standards of living in WB6 are well below those of the OECD and EU. Accelerating the rate of socio-economic convergence will require a holistic and growth oriented approach to policy making. This is the fourth study of the region (formerly under the title 'Competitiveness in South East Europe') and it comprehensively assesses policy reforms in the WB6 economies across 15 policy areas key to strengthening their competitiveness. It enables WB6 economies to compare economic performance against regional peers, as well as EU-OECD good practices and standards, and to design future policies based on rich evidence and actionable policy recommendations. The regional profile presents assessment findings across five policy clusters crucial to accelerating socio-economic convergence of the WB6 by fostering regional co-operation: business environment, skills, infrastructure and connectivity, digital transformation and greening. Economy-specific profiles complement the regional assessment, offering each WB6 economy an in-depth analysis of their policies supporting competitiveness. They also track the implementation of the previous 2021 study's recommendations and provide additional ones tailored to the economies’ evolving challenges. These recommendations aim to inform structural economic reforms and facilitate the region’s socio-economic convergence towards the standards of the EU and OECD.

France has faced two significant, successive shocks: the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in inflation. Emergency government measures were decisive in protecting business, jobs and purchasing power, but at a high fiscal cost. Efforts to reduce public spending will be key to lower government debt. Lifting productivity growth hinges on a wider diffusion of digital technologies, reduced regulatory barriers and stronger innovation.

This report builds on the OECD work on “government evaluations of COVID-19 responses”. It evaluates Belgium’s responses to the pandemic in terms of risk preparedness, crisis management, as well as public health, education, economic and fiscal, and social and labour market policies.

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students around the world know and can do. This volume – Volume III, Creative Minds, Creative Schools – is one of five volumes presenting the results of the eighth round of the PISA assessment. For the first time, in 2022, PISA assessed students’ capacity to engage in creative thinking in 64 countries and economies, defined as students’ capacity to produce original and diverse ideas. This volume describes student performance in creative thinking in different contexts and how creative thinking performance and attitudes vary across and within countries and economies. It examines differences in performance by student characteristics, including gender and socio-economic status, as well as school-characteristics. The volume also offers an insight into school leader and teacher attitudes towards creative thinking, how opportunities for students to engage in creative thinking vary across schools, and how these factors are associated with student outcomes.

There is broad consensus in the literature that job creation and productive employment are critical for building a vibrant, inclusive economy. The digital era has the potential to expand employment by creating new professional pathways and market opportunities, particularly in Africa, which has high levels of unemployment and considerable room for enhanced economic activity. However, advancing digital technologies also pose risks and concerns – notably that machines will increasingly take over the jobs of humans. The effects of digital developments on employment therefore warrant thorough investigation. This book delves into the effects of digital developments on employment in Africa, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. An important premise in the book is that employment is a leading determinant of inclusive growth, which has become a policy imperative across the continent. Despite a wide range of views on digital developments and employment, there is no well-established, empirically determined relationship between these two phenomena in Africa, which makes policy-making difficult. The book addresses this research gap, giving specific attention to the fact that African countries are far from homogeneous, evidenced by their highly diverse economic activities and varying levels of development. The book is essential reading for scholars in the development economics discipline who have an interest in policy studies and in gaining a holistic appreciation of the employment effects of digital developments in Africa. Such insights will go a long way towards shaping countries’ economic and digital policies and putting the continent onto a steadier path towards its digital future.