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Most parents know instinctively that spending more time with their children and being actively involved in their education will give their children a good head-start in life. But since most parents have to juggle competing demands at work and home, there never seems to be enough time or they feel ill-equipped to help.
This book from OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has some good news for concerned parents: it does not require a Ph.D or unlimited hours for parents to make a difference in their children's education. In fact, many parent-child activities that are associated with better reading performance among students involve relatively little time and no specialised knowledge. What these activities do demand is genuine interest and active engagement.
"I enjoyed reading Let's Read Them a Story! The wide sample of countries shows the universality of the conclusions - conclusions which reassure parents that it is important to simply transmit the pleasure of reading to our children. No need to exhaust oneself finding the latest trendy children's books or educational toys; parents should simply read to children, enjoy reading themselves, and make family time to discuss what we've read."
-Kristine Minski, mother of two
This brochure is published within the framework of the Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables established by OECD in 1962. It comprises explanatory notes and illustrations to facilitate the uniform interpretation of the current standard for Lettuces, Curled-leaved Endives and Broad-leaved (Batavian) Endives. It demonstrates the quality parameters on high quality photographs. Thus it is a valuable tool for the inspection authorities, professional bodies and traders interested in international trade in these products. This brochure is available in electronic format only.
This brochure is published within the framework of the activities of the Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables set up by OECD in 1962. It comprises comments and illustrations to facilitate the common interpretation of standards in force and is therefore a valuable tool for both the Inspection Authorities and professional bodies responsible for the application of standards or interested in the international trade in these products.
As the global energy transition accelerates, all energy sectors will experience significant transformations, affecting how energy is produced and consumed. This implies a changing role of hydrocarbon fuels such as oil and natural gas. While these fuels will continue to play a role in energy systems, notably in large energy demand centres, all scenarios point to a gradual decline in demand for both oil and gas. As a result, producer economies such as Oman, whose economic development has been to a significant part enabled by a thriving oil and gas industry, have been exploring opportunities to adapt their economic model to the emerging energy economy we are observing.
Nevertheless, it remains important to appreciate the role producer economies play in the global energy transition. While this transformation involves a wide range of challenges to secure future revenues and employment opportunities for citizens, the energy transition also holds with it a range of opportunities. Oman's assets, infrastructure, and skills were once developed in the service of an omnipresent oil and gas industry. Today, the objective of this study is to lay out the opportunities of repurposing these advantages in the services in developing clean energy supply chains in Oman, led by solar PV, wind and low-emission hydrogen where significant economic value is expected to lie as the global economy decarbonises.
India, the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative aims to encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles in India and internationally to tackle the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change.
This report examines how India has integrated several policies in its energy transition strategy that are aligned with the LiFE initiative, highlighting the potential for behavioural change and consumption choices to help advance energy transitions globally.
It then analyses the impact on energy consumption, costs and emissions of measures like those proposed by the LiFE initiative, such as buying an EV or taking public transport, if they were adopted globally.
Finally, it considers how India’s first G20 Presidency could strengthen the LiFE initiative by anchoring it in the G20’s current framing of energy transitions and initiating processes to gather experience and best practices of policies and programmes that G20 members are already conducting.
Building on a recent groundbreaking OECD/World Bank seminar, this volume explores whether and how trade liberalisation can contribute to achieving universal service goals and the types of complementary policies required. It focuses on experiences in four sectors - telecommunications, water and sanitation, financial services, and electricity. The unique multi-sector perspective taken in this book, together with the national case studies, yield insights which can help countries promote their universal access goals. A horizontal assessment also helps determine how far the current services negotiations in the WTO, under the General Agreement on Trade in Services, can aid the attainment of universal service goals.
Aviation is one of the most regulated industries in the world. Much of this regulation is safety-related, to mitigate the inherent risks tied with air transport. But aviation is also subject to economic regulation that influences which airline flies which route, at which frequency, capacity and price. It even stipulates the nationality of its owners and decision makers. Aviation has freed itself from some restrictions over the past three decades, with many benefits to society. Yet liberalisation has also raised issues with regard to maintaining fair competition, high labour standards and mitigating aviation’s growing environmental impact.
This publication provides a unique overview and analysis of the main measures and practices which affect international insurance operations in OECD countries. The survey focuses in particular on main insurance fields where obstacles to a full liberalisation may still exist, i.e. cross-border trade and establishment of foreign branches. This is the first time since 1983 that such a work is undertaken by the OECD. This study will certainly contribute to further liberalisation of insurance markets in OECD countries and will provide an indispensable reference tool for any person involved in issues related to trade in insurance.
This publication reviews the significant changes that have taken place in the world fisheries sector and provides an in-depth analysis of the prospects for and potential effects of further market liberalisation in the sector. It also contains an inventory of market measures and policies in place in OECD countries. A principal outcome of the study is that there is room for further market liberalisation in the trade in fish and fish products.
This publication helps policy makers to better understand annuity products and the guarantees they provide in order to optimise the role that these products can play in financing retirement. Product design is a crucial factor in the potential role of annuity products within the pension system, along with the cost and demand for these products, and the resulting risks that are borne by the annuity providers. Increasingly complex products, however, pose additional challenges concerning consumer protection. Consumers need to be aware of their options and have access to unbiased and comprehensible advice and information about these products.
This report provides Hungary with key recommendations and policy options to establish comprehensive and user-friendly methodologies and tools for the greater uptake of life-cycle costing (LCC) methodology in public procurement. The report introduces the concept of LCC and its links to the wider sustainable public procurement agenda, and maps the current practices in Hungary and existing LCC tools in other EU and OECD countries, with a view of drawing insights to promote the development and uptake of LCC tools.
The mobility and fungibility of money makes it possible for multinational groups to achieve favourable tax results by adjusting the amount of debt in a group entity. The recommended approach ensures that an entity’s net interest deductions are directly linked to its level of economic activity, based on taxable earnings before deducting net interest expense, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). This approach includes three parts: a fixed ratio rule based on a benchmark net interest/EBITDA ratio; a group ratio rule which allows an entity to deduct more interest expense in certain circumstances based on the position of its worldwide group; and targeted rules to address specific risks. A country may choose not to introduce the group ratio rule, but in this case it should apply the fixed ratio rule to multinational and domestic groups without improper discrimination.
The mobility and fungibility of money makes it possible for multinational groups to achieve favourable tax results by adjusting the amount of debt in a group entity. The 2015 Report established a common approach which directly links an entity’s net interest deductions to its level of economic activity, based on taxable earnings before interest income and expense, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). This approach includes three elements: a fixed ratio rule based on a benchmark net interest/EBITDA ratio; a group ratio rule which allows an entity to deduct more interest expense based on the position of its worldwide group; and targeted rules to address specific risks. Further work on two aspects of the common approach was completed in 2016. The first addressed key elements of the design and operation of the group ratio rule, focusing on the calculation of net third party interest expense, the calculation of group-EBITDA and approaches to address the impact of entities with negative EBITDA. The second identifies features of the banking and insurance sectors which can constrain the ability of groups to engage in BEPS involving interest, together with limits on these constraints, and approaches to deal with risks posed by entities in these sectors where they remain.
The long-term safety of deep disposal of radioactive waste is strongly dependent on the performance of the geological setting. The geology fulfils important safety functions including isolating the waste from human contact or intrusion, providing a stable physical and chemical environment, insulating against external disturbances, and preventing or delaying the transport of radioactive materials away from the waste. Thus, a sound understanding of the geology's history and evolution is central in supporting assessments that examine the long-term performance and safety of deep disposal. This conference proceedings examines how geoscientific arguments and data are compiled and linked to create a unified description of the geological setting to support a safety case. It also examines practical aspects and limitations in collecting, linking, extrapolating and communicating such information.
Improving the environmental performance of agriculture is a high priority for OECD countries. But measuring and evaluating the impact of agri-environmental policies on the environment can be challenging, as it requires linking economic and biophysical models in country-specific contexts.
The OECD has developed the Stylised Agri-environmental Policy Impact Model (SAPIM), which can be adapted and applied by researchers and policy makers to better understand the impact of policies on the agri-environment conditions in their countries.
This report applies the model to representative farms in Finland, Japan, Switzerland and the United States. These countries include a wide range of objectives, policy measures and agri-environmental conditions. The results highlight that when positive or negative environmental externalities are not taken into account by farmers then the production choices by farmers will reflect private costs and benefits. Policies can potentially raise social welfare by taking account of those externalities.
This report notes that, overall, the diversity of conditions across sectors and countries makes it difficult to generalise the impact of agri-environmental policies beyond the situations that are modeled. Nevertheless, some wider policy messages emerge. Drawing on the four case studies examined, this report recommends that; polluting activites that are not regulated should be included in policy design; the existing overall policy environment needs to be taken into account in evaluating agri-environmental policies; and environmental co-benefits and trade-offs need to be recognised.
Green growth policies can stimulate economic growth while preventing environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and unsustainable natural resource use. The results from this publication contribute to the Green Growth Strategy being developed by the OECD as a practical policy package for governments to harness the potential of greener growth.
The 38 million Indigenous peoples living across 12 OECD countries contribute to stronger regional and national economies, and have unique assets and knowledge that address global challenges such as climate change. Supporting their economic inclusion at local and regional levels is essential to achieving the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals to “leave no-one behind” and overcoming the significant gaps in well-being that continue to exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, notably in rural areas. This report provides recommendations to achieve vibrant local and regional Indigenous economies that deliver on their objectives for development by: improving Indigenous statistics and data governance; enabling policies for entrepreneurship and small business; providing instruments to mobilise land for development; and implementing effective and inclusive governance to support a place-based approach.
There are approximately 800,000 Indigenous Australians, which is 3.3% of Australia’s total population. Indigenous Australians are custodians of the world’s oldest living continuous culture and make a vital contribution to contemporary Australian society. Indigenous Australians are also important for the future of the national economy. For example, the amount of land with Indigenous ownership and interest has increased significantly in the last 50 years and now covers approximately half of Australia’s land mass. Indigenous Australians play an important role in the development of regional economies. Compared to the non-Indigenous population, Indigenous peoples are more likely to be located in predominantly rural regions. However, significant gaps in socio-economic outcomes with non-Indigenous Australians remain and these gaps are larger in rural regions. The report provides three key recommendations to improve economic outcomes for Indigenous Australians: improving the quality of the statistical framework and the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in the governance of data; promoting entrepreneurship to provide opportunities for Indigenous peoples to use assets and resources in ways that align with their objectives for development; and, implementing an approach to policies that is adapted to places, and empowers Indigenous institutions and communities.
Canada’s Constitution Act (1982) recognises three Indigenous groups: Indians (now referred to as First Nations), Inuit, and Métis. Indigenous peoples make a vital contribution to the culture, heritage and economic development of Canada. Despite improvements in Indigenous well-being in recent decades, significant gaps remain with the non-Indigenous population. This study focuses on four priority issues to maximise the potential of Indigenous economies in Canada. First, improving the quality of the statistical framework and the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in the governance of data. Second, measures to improve the fairness and transparency for how Indigenous peoples can secure land tenure and the use of tools and such as land use planning to use it to promote community economic development. Third, promoting entrepreneurship so Indigenous peoples can use assets and resources in ways that align with their objectives for development. Fourth, implementing an approach to governance that adapts policies to places, and empowers Indigenous institutions and communities.
A trend toward decentralisation has meant that sub-national governments increasingly find themselves responsible for providing a host of public goods and services. Rarely, however, can they "go it alone". Co-ordination among levels of government is imperative. This book offers a unique analytic framework for assessing multi-level governance arrangements, which is subsequently applied to five case studies of regional development policy: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The book reveals the importance of contractual arrangements for customised management of interdependencies, for clarifying responsibilities among actors, for dialogue, and for learning.