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This annual publication describes the recent trends in international migration, the magnitude of flows, the different channels for immigration and the nationality of the immigrants concerned. It shows that the criteria for admission to host countries is becoming more selective and more oriented to labour market needs. The report also examines recent policy developments for the control of flows and the integration of immigrants. Special attention is given to the links between migration, free trade and regional economic integration.
Detailed country notes present the main migration characteristics of twenty-six OECD countries and Bulgaria, Romania, and the Slovak Republic. The latter country is included for the first time in the notes. Finally, immigration and social transfers is the topic of a special chapter focusing on analytical issues and results obtained in several OECD countries.
A statistical annex provides tables on foreign and immigrant populations, foreign workers, migration flows and naturalisations.
This annual publication provides unique information on direct taxes levied from employees and their employers in all OECD countries. In addition, the book specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight households types, which differ by income level and household composition. Results include the tax burden for one- and two- earner families.
While the development of new knowledge is becoming increasingly important in the emerging knowledge-based economy, the impact of technology on growth, jobs and welfare is determined largely by the way in which technology is diffused, absorbed and used throughout the economy. For technological progress to bring not only higher productivity but also economic expansion and new jobs it is pivotal with conditions which allow for industrial restructuring, entry and expansion of small firms, growth of new industries, launching of new products, and mechanisms accounting for effective upskilling of the labour force.
This report points to a decline in public support for research and development (R&D), mainly affecting basic, long-term research, and examines the levelling-off in private sector R&D along with changes in its direction away from basic, exploratory research towards more market-driven and short-term innovative efforts. It explores how the special characteristics of national innovation systems impact on the mechanisms for innovation and diffusion of technology, and examines the rationale for policy in this area. A key challenge for policy makers is to co-ordinate measures so as to obtain consistent and credible incentives for firms and individuals. Assessing what works and what does not work in policy, the report identifies "best practices" in specific areas: management of the science base; financial support for industrial R&D efforts; technology diffusion policies and initiatives; policies for new technology-based firms; policies for facilitating growth in new demand; and policies for high-performance workplaces and intangible investment.
Despite many initiatives, OECD countries have not yet fully adapted to the characteristics and challenges of knowledge-based economies. Technology policies continue to be too piecemeal, paying insufficient attention to linkages within national innovation systems and to broader structural reforms. They focus too much on the small high-tech segment of the economy and too little on fostering innovation and technology diffusion economy-wide. There is also scope for improving the effectiveness of policies, notably through increased use of market-based instruments and better evaluation. Recommendations are put forward of measures to be taken by individual OECD countries.
In all of the OECD countries, employment is seen to be sharply segregated by gender, with women's employment heavily concentrated in the same occupations: secretaries, primary school teachers, nurses and home helpers. These jobs, whose image has in many cases remained stereotyped and traditional, are at the heart of the information and service economy and have therefore been undergoing far-reaching changes due to information technologies, the development of a knowledge-based economy and population ageing. These transformations represent a major challenge for women's employment and for gender equality in the labour market.
Beyond the high segregation and concentration scales which are a constant of women's employment in all countries, international comparisons show that there can be differences in the status of a given occupation from one country to another. These differences can stem from the way in which occupations are defined or from how the relevant activities and work are organised. Understanding these differences is essential to identify ways to promote women's career prospects in female-dominated occupations.
Greece, Ireland and Portugal, on the periphery of Europe, are still influenced by a history of migration from agriculture to urban areas and to other countries, and have all received extensive assistance from the European Union's Structural Funds.
Which of these countries' varied, often innovative, strategies in relation to unemployment benefits, hiring subsidies and job creation measures, have been most effective? Employment services have taken on particular responsibility for training, but does this help the long-term unemployed? With a legacy of older workers who left school early, and continuing high levels of self-employment, how can placement performance be improved? This publication examines how the Public Employment Service can actively promote and manage transitions out of unemployment into market work, both directly and via labour market programmes.
Traditional welfare and employment policies have been unable to tackle the problems of high unemployment and exclusion in OECD countries and recently a wave of new approaches has emerged together with new political notions of welfare-to-work. This book describes these new approaches in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and the Netherlands. All these countries are relying increasingly on local agencies to design and manage policy to try and ensure that policy solutions meet local needs and to bring to bear local energies, skills and resources. What is the role that local agencies can play? How can they be integrated in effective partnerships? And what policy tools can best be applied? This book gives valuable answers to these questions and shows that governments and practitioners have much to learn from each other on the practicalities of implementing effective welfare-to-work policies.
These Proceedings of the Sheffield Conference, held in November 1998 in collaboration with the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) in the United Kingdom, were prepared by the Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme of the OECD's Territorial Development Service.
Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax and social security contributions levied from employees and their employers in all OECD countries. In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. Results reported include the marginal and effective tax burden for one- and two-earner families, and total labour costs of employers.
Over the last decade, labour market policy in the United States has been undergoing a period of significant restructuring. In the face of welfare reform initiatives, persistent unemployment and declines in real income among some groups (particularly the less skilled), and continued economic expansion, there is pressure on the public employment service (PES) to improve effectiveness. But, it must also come to terms with resource limitations.
How have reforms fared so far -- what seems to be working well or not so well? Which of the new approaches may require revision in the event of an economic downturn? Where might adjustments lead to improved effectiveness? While considering such questions, this publication provides an in-depth look at the PES and recent policy initiatives in the United States. Areas of concern about recent reforms are outlined and options for making policies more effective are presented.
Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax and social security contributions levied from employees and their employers in all OECD countries. In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. Results reported include the marginal and effective tax burden for one- and two-earner families, and total labour costs of employers.
In a rapidly changing world, the success of nations, communities and individuals may be linked, more than ever before, to how they adapt to change, learn and share knowledge. This report helps clarify the concepts of human and social capital and evaluates their impact on economic growth and well-being. Although the evidence on social capital is less developed, reflecting the novelty of the concept in economic and social science, the report draws on a number of empirical studies which suggest potentially important linkages between human and social capital. The evidence suggests that human and social capital can be of key importance in contributing to a wide range of positive outcomes, including higher income, life satisfaction and social cohesion. Although there is no evidence for systematic "under-investment" in either human or social capital, concerns are expressed about the distribution and quality of each form of capital and how this might impact on future well-being. There is limited scope for public policy to change the quality, stock and distribution of human and social capital in the short-term. However, a number of areas are discussed in which public, private and voluntary actors may leverage long-term improvements in both human and social capital.
Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax and social security contributions levied from employees and their employers in OECD countries. In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed programme by programme, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. Results reported include the marginal and effective tax burden for one- and two-earner families, and total labour costs of employers.
Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax and social security contributions levied from employees and their employers in OECD countries. In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed programme by programme, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. Results reported include the marginal and effective tax burden for one- and two-earner families, and total labour costs of employers. These data on tax burdens and cash benefits are widely used in academic research and the preparation and evaluation of social and economic policies. This year's issue includes a Special feature on "Taxing families".
Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax paid by workers and social security contributions levied on employees and their employers in OECD countries. In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. Results reported include the marginal and effective tax burden for one- and two-earner families, and total labour costs of employers. These data on tax burdens and cash benefits are widely used in academic research and the preparation and evaluation of social and economic policy-making. This year's issue includes a Special feature entitled "Thresholds for paying income tax and social security contributions".
Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax paid and social security contributions levied on an average worker and their employers in OECD countries. In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. For each country, a detailed description of the tax regime is provided. This year's issue includes a Special feature entitled "Broadening the Definition of the Average Worker".
International competition, accelerating technological change and shifting societal concerns are important drivers of structural change, both within and across firms, industries and regions. As well as bringing undoubted opportunities, structural adjustment raises acute challenges. This must be acknowledged in making the case for open markets. This brochure aims to identify, for both developed and developing countries, the requirements for successful trade-related structural adjustment via the reallocation of labour and capital to more efficient uses, while limiting adjustment costs for individuals, communities and society as a whole. It draws on a longer study incorporating detailed sectoral case studies...
Employee stock option plans have become a common component of remuneration packages in multinational enterprises. This publication presents and examines the many important tax issues that arise for beneficiaries and companies.
Focusing first on domestic tax issues, it considers what tax treatment would provide no tax-related incentives for a company to either increase or cut the use of stock options, and would be neutral regarding the choice of either granting stock options or paying ordinary salary. The approach is non-prescriptive and serves to provide a benchmark for policymakers. This is complemented by a survey of taxation of stock options in OECD countries in 2002 that calculates the effective rate of tax and compares it with tax on ordinary salary.
Cross-border taxation issues are then discussed. Issues such as the timing of the benefits from stock options, the distinction between employment income and capital gains and the identification of the services to which they relate are relevant to the application of tax treaties, which are based on the OECD Model Tax Convention, and the resulting changes to the Model's Commentary are fully explained. Finally, the effects on transfer pricing are analysed in three circumstances: when an enterprise grants stock options to employees of a subsidiary in another country, when using transfer pricing methods that are affected by remuneration costs, and when employees benefiting from stock options are involved in activities that are the subject of a cost contribution arrangement.
Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax paid by workers and social security contributions levied on employees and their employers in OECD countries. In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. Results reported include the marginal and effective tax burden for one- and two-earner families, and total labour costs of employers. This year's issue includes a Special feature entitled "Part-time Work and Taxing Wages".
Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax paid by workers and social security contributions levied on employees and their employers in OECD countries. In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. Results reported include the marginal and effective tax burden for one- and two-earner families, and total labour costs of employers. This year's issue includes a Special feature entitled "Part-time Work and Taxing Wages".