Panama
The crisis hit Panama’s economy hard. In 2020, gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by almost 18% annually, due especially to the disruption in global trade and tourism. The poorest in society are the most affected. After years of improvement, in 2020, the poverty rate reached 17.8% based on latest international comparable estimations, an increase of more than three percentage points, compared to a year earlier. This figure is lower than in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region (30.9%). Extreme poverty was stable in 2020 at 6.4%, compared to a LAC average of 10.0%. Similarly to other LAC countries, the pandemic hit Panama’s health sector hard. Before the crisis, Panama’s public expenditures on health stood at 7.3% of GDP, slightly higher than the LAC average (6.8%). They have remained stable in the last decade, compared to an increase of 0.3 percentage points in LAC. Nonetheless, people’s perceptions of the quality of health care deteriorated. In 2020, 50.8% of people declared being satisfied with health care, higher than the LAC average (48.2%) but considerably lower than the average across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (70.7%). This proportion is almost 18 percentage points lower than ten years earlier. The pandemic had a harsh effect on education as well. Between March 2020 and May 2021, schools were fully closed for 55 weeks, one of the highest figures in LAC (26 weeks) and much higher than in the OECD (15 weeks). Effective online learning did not help much in cushioning the drawbacks for students, as it was available in only 23.9% of schools, compared to 32.5% in LAC and 54.1% in the OECD. Concerning perceptions of government transparency, 86.6% of Panamanians thought that the government was corrupt in 2020, considerably higher than in LAC (72.4%) and the OECD (58.8%).
Panama’s legal framework implementing the AEOI Standard is in place but needs improvement in order to be fully consistent with the requirements of the AEOI Terms of Reference. While Panama’s international legal framework to exchange the information with all of Panama’s Interested Appropriate Partners (CR2) is consistent with the requirements, its domestic legislative framework requiring Reporting Financial Institutions to conduct the due diligence and reporting procedures (CR1) has deficiencies significant to the proper functioning of elements of the AEOI Standard. More specifically, Panama does not fully incorporate some of the due diligence procedures and does not incorporate the categories of Non-Reporting Financial Institutions in accordance with the requirements. Moreover, there is a deficiency in Panama’s legal framework for the enforcement of the requirements.
Paraguay sigue mejorando con respecto al desarrollo de una sociedad y economía digital incluyente. El país se ha esforzado por mejorar el acceso digital de todos sus ciudadanos. Ha aumentado el número de usuarios de Internet y de suscripciones a servicios de banda ancha móvil activa y fija en la última década. Paraguay ascendió en el índice de desarrollo de gobierno electrónico del 0.47 en 2008 al 0.53 en 2018, una evolución inferior al promedio de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) (0.65) y de la OCDE (0.82). Este índice mide la disposición y la capacidad de las administraciones nacionales para utilizar las TIC (tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones) para prestar servicios públicos.
As of 2019, Panama cannot legally issue any type of rulings within the scope of the transparency framework. In the prior years, Panama could legally issue one type of ruling within the scope of the transparency framework: rulings related to preferential regimes. With respect to the following preferential regime: Multinational Companies Headquarters’ regime (i.e. MHQ/SEM). These rulings are known as “fiscal agreements”. Law 57 of 2018, entered into force on 1 January 2019, repealed the provision that included the possibility for Multinational headquarters (MHQ) Licensed Companies to obtain a fiscal agreement. Therefore as of 2019, Panama cannot legally issue any type of rulings within the scope of the transparency framework. In practice, Panama issued only one past ruling within the scope of the transparency framework.
Panama was reviewed as part of the 2017/2018 and the 2018/2019 peer reviews. This report is supplementary to those previous reports (OECD, 2019[1]) (OECD, 2018[2]).
Panama aims to shape an inclusive digital economy and stronger, more transparent administration with the use of digital tools. The country has made efforts to enhance digital access and use for all. Internet users, active mobile broadband and fixed broadband subscriptions increased in the last decade although regional, gender and age disparities remain a challenge. Panama rose in the E-Government Development Index from 0.47 in 2008 to 0.61 in 2018, which is below the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) average (0.65). The index measures national administrations’ willingness and capacity to use information and communications technology (ICT) to deliver public services. The UNCTAD B2C E-commerce Index shows that the economy, despite being a regional hub, is slightly below the LAC average for online shopping.
This peer review covers Panama’s implementation of the BEPS Action 5 transparency framework for the year 2018. The report has four parts, each relating to a key part of the ToR. Each part is discussed in turn. A summary of recommendations is included at the end of this report.
Panama has made progress in several development indicators in the last decade. The share of the population living on less than USD 5.5 a day (2011 PPP) decreased from 26.7% to 14.6% between 2008-16. Over the same period, the population living on USD 5.5-13 a day (2011 PPP) shrank from 33.3% to 27%. Life expectancy improved to 78 years and is now slightly below the OECD average of 80.1 years. The infant mortality rate is 13.9 per 1 000 live births, just below the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) average of 14.7. However, the maternal mortality ratio remains high, at 94 per 100 000 live births.
Paraguay ha logrado avances en algunos indicadores de desarrollo en las décadas pasadas. La tasa neta de matrícula en educación secundaria, a 64.9%, permanece por debajo del promedio de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) de 74.4%. Sin embargo, el país mejoró en su tasa de mortalidad infantil (18 por cada 1 000 nacidos vivos) y en esperanza de vida al nacer (73.1 años). Además, el porcentaje de la población que vive con menos de 5.50 USD al día (PPA de 2011) disminuyó de 35% a 20.1% entre 2005 y 2016. En el mismo periodo, el porcentaje de la población vulnerable, que vive con 5.50-13.00 USD al día (PPA de 2011), permaneció estable en alrededor de 39.3%.
Panama was first reviewed during the 2017/2018 peer review. This report is supplementary to Panama’s 2017/2018 peer review report (OECD, 2018[1]).
This chapter analyses the experience of the data-driven public sector in Panama. It introduces a model for data governance featuring the facets of leadership and vision, capacities for coherent implementation, regulation, the data value cycle, and data architecture and infrastructure. The chapter then considers the application of data to unlock public value in terms of anticipatory governance, the design and delivery of policy and services, and performance monitoring and evaluation. Finally, the chapter explores the role of data in building trust with a discussion of transparency, data protection, citizen consent and ethics.
Digital government strategies are critical artefacts in guiding policy action in work streams that are constantly and rapidly evolving. Strategies are able to align goals, objectives and initiatives, but are also fundamental in building consensus and contributing to the necessary cross-government co‑ordination for efficient and effective policy implementation. Additionally, their public availability and regular monitoring positively contribute to improved transparency and accountability from the ecosystem of digital government stakeholders (OECD, 2016[1]). Aware of the importance of this policy instrument, all OECD countries that completed the OECD Digital Government Performance survey (2014[2]) and 73% of the Latin American and Caribbean countries that participated in the OECD Government at a Glance survey (2016[3]) have a digital government strategy.
Panama has long championed the value of digital government, demonstrating a broad national consensus on seizing the opportunities brought by new technologies to make the public sector more efficient, responsive and sustainable. The country has laid strong foundations for equipping the public sector as a whole to tackle broader strategic goals for Panama’s digital economy and society. Working towards these goals requires not only sustaining existing efforts, but also exploring data-driven activity, open-by-default approaches, collaborative design and delivery of services, and digital skills development for public servants as well as citizens and businesses.
This chapter analyses the service design and delivery landscape in the Panamanian public sector. It discusses the existing culture for service design and delivery, and details the resources and enablers that support delivery and adoption. The chapter highlights the challenges of digital inclusion including the country’s connectivity infrastructure, digital literacy and accessibility. It then considers Government as a Platform capabilities including the channels for accessing services, standards and guidance and digital identity (DI). Finally, the chapter looks at the issues of data and interoperability, emerging and disruptive technologies, and the potential for cross-border services in the Latin America and Caribbean region.