Economic Policy Reforms

Frequency :
Annual
ISSN :
1813-2723 (online)
ISSN :
1813-2715 (print)
DOI :
10.1787/18132723
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OECD’s annual report highlighting developments in structural policies in OECD countries. Closely related to the OECD Economic Outlook and OECD Economic Surveys, each issue of Economic Policy Reforms gives an overview of structural policy developments in OECD countries followed by a set of indicators that reflect structural policy evolution. A set of Country Notes summarises priorities suggested by the indicators with actions taken and recommendations suggested. The Country Notes section also includes a set of indicators tables and graphs for each country. Each issue also has several thematic studies.

Also available in: French
 
Economic Policy Reforms 2006

Economic Policy Reforms 2006

Going for Growth You do not have access to this content

Authors:
OECD
Publication Date :
07 Feb 2006
Pages :
162
ISBN :
9789264035928 (PDF) ; 9789264035911 (print)
DOI :
10.1787/growth-2006-en

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Across the OECD, governments are seeking to undertake structural reforms to strengthen their economic growth. Going for Growth 2006 takes stock of the progress made in implementing policy reforms to improve labour productivity and utilisation that were identified as priorities in the 2005 edition.  It also provides comparative indicators covering structural policy areas such as labour markets, education and product market regulation. Graphs and tables in this publication include StatLinks, URLs which provide the reader with Excel spreadsheets of individual graphs and tables.

A special feature of Going for Growth 2006 is the focus on innovation, which  is a key driver of economic growth. It provides comparative indicators on performance and relevant policies in this area, and country-specific policy recommendations for each OECD country to improve innovation performance.  This issue contains two analytical chapters covering regulation of financial systems and economic growth and alternatives to GDP as a measure of well-being.

Multilingual Summaries
Also available in: French
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  • Mark
  • Progress in Responding to the 2005 Policy Priorities
    This chapter provides an overview of the progress achieved by member countries over the past year in taking measures consistent with the policy priorities identified in the 2005 edition. Overall, several important steps have been taken to reform competitionrestraining regulations in product markets and towards improving educational outcomes in most countries where this was seen as a priority. However, less progress has been made in responding to priorities in the area of labour market policies.
  • Progress in Responding to the 2005 Policy Priorities
    This chapter contains information about the progress in implementing reforms in line with the 2005 priorities for individual OECD member countries and for the European Union.
  • Encouraging Innovation
    Innovation has long been a key source of progress in material living standards but the outcomes of innovation efforts are generally highly uncertain and the benefits for society as a whole may exceed those for private firms. To encourage innovation, governments have therefore put in place various measures such as financial support for private R&D projects and funding for research in universities. This chapter provides a cross-country comparison of innovation efforts and outcomes as well as of the main policy areas having an influence on those outcomes.
  • Encouraging Innovation
    This chapter presents key policy recommendations to strengthen innovation performance for individual OECD countries and for the European Union.
  • Regulation of Financial Systems and Economic Growth

    This chapter sheds some light on the link between financial market regulation and economic growth. Financial systems are found to differ substantially across OECD countries in terms of overall size, structure as well as in the degree of competitive pressures prevailing in the banking and securities markets. To some extent, these variations reflect differences in regulatory underpinnings. In particular, regulatory settings that maintain excessively high barriers to competition in banking, or that provide too little protection for investors in securities markets, hamper the development of financial systems, resulting in weaker economic growth.

  • Alternative Measures of Well-being
    This chapter assesses if GDP per capita can serve as a reasonable proxy of overall well-being. Other national accounts measures are arguably better suited for this purpose but they are not as readily available and are in any case closely correlated with GDP in most OECD countries. Illustrative calculations to "extend" GDP to include leisure time, the sharing of income within households and distributional concerns suggest that cross-country ranking based on these indicators and GDP per capita are generally similar. Across OECD countries, levels of most measures of specific social conditions are positively related to GDP per capita while changes over time are not. However, survey-based data on happiness and life satisfaction across OECD countries are only weakly related to levels of GDP per capita. Overall, GDP per capita remains critical for any assessment of well-being but needs to be complemented with other
    measures to get a comprehensive picture of well-being.
  • Structural Policy Indicators
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