KEY ISSUES FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE G20

Restrictions on foreign entry Restrictions on the movement of people Other discriminatory measures
Barriers to competition Regulatory transparency Average
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Notes: The Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) indices take values between zero and one, one being the most restrictive. They are
calculated on the basis of the STRI regulatory database which records measures on a most-favoured-nation basis. Preferential trade
agreements are not taken into account. The data have been verified by OECD countries and the Russian Federation.
Source: OECD, Services Trade Restrictiveness Index Database, www.oecd.org/tad/services-trade/services-trade-restrictiveness-index.htm.
Another challenge at the firm level is management, including the ability of managers to take risks and engage
in restructuring. Research shows that implementing and realising the full productivity benefits from new
technologies (such as ICT) entails significant organisational restructuring, which requires considerable
managerial skill (Bloom et al., 2014). Higher managerial quality raises within-firm productivity (Bloom, Sadun
and Van Reenen, 2012) while better managed firms may also be better able to address skills challenges within
the firms, e.g. in screening job applicants, developing new work practices, internally reallocating overskilled
workers, and retraining or removing under-skilled workers. Competition and product market regulations are a
key determinant of managerial quality, but competition may be less effective at facilitating the exit of poorly
managed family-owned firms to the extent that they may be subsidised by their family owners through cheap
capital (Bloom et al., 2014). Available estimates show considerable variation in management scores across G20
economies (Figure 25).