Browse by: "2013"

Going for Growth is the OECD’s annual report highlighting developments in structural policies in OECD countries. It identifies structural reform priorities to boost real income for each OECD country and key emerging economies (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa). The Going for Growth analysis also regularly takes stock of reform implementation in all the countries covered.

This report provides internationally comparable indicators that enable countries to assess their economic performance and structural policies in a wide range of areas. Each issue also has several thematic studies.

Education at a Glance 2013: Highlights summarises the OECD’s flagship compendium of education statistics, Education at a Glance. It provides easily accessible data on key topics in education today, including:
• Education levels and student numbers: How far have adults studied, and how does early childhood education affect student performance later on?
• Higher education and work: How many young people graduate from tertiary education, and how easily do they enter the world of work?
• Economic and social benefits of education: How does education affect people’s job prospects, and what is its impact on incomes?
• Paying for education: What share of public spending goes on education, and what is the role of private spending?
• The school environment: How many hours do teachers work, and how does class size vary?

Each indicator is presented on a two-page spread. The left-hand page explains the significance of the indicator, discusses the main findings, examines key trends and provides readers with a roadmap for finding out more in the OECD education databases and in other OECD education publications. The right-hand page contains clearly presented charts and tables, accompanied by dynamic hyperlinks (StatLinks) that direct readers to the corresponding data in Excel™ format.

Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators is the authoritative source for accurate and relevant information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances, and performance of education systems in more than 40 countries, including OECD members and G20 partners.

Featuring more than 100 charts, 200 tables, and over 100 000 figures, Education at a Glance provides key information on the ouput of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; the financial and human resources invested in education; access, participation and progression in education; and the learning environment and organisation of schools.

In the 2013 edition, new material includes:

• More recent data on the economic crisis, showing that education remains the best protection against unemployment;
• More detailed data on programme orientation (general versus vocational) in secondary and tertiary education;
• An analysis of how work status (full-time, part-time, involuntary part-time) is related to individuals’ level of education;
• A review of the relationship between fields of education and tuition fees, unemployment rates and earnings premiums;
• An indicator showing how many of the students who enter a tertiary programme ultimately graduate from it;
• An indicator on the relationship between educational attainment and two health-related concerns, obesity and smoking; and
• Trend data covering the years 1995 to 2010-11 for all the key indicators.
  
  The Excel™ spreadsheets used to create the tables and charts in Education at a Glance are available via the StatLinks provided throughout the publication.

Electricity Information provides a comprehensive review of historical and current market trends in the OECD electricity sector, including 2012 preliminary data.

An Introduction, notes, definitions and auxiliary information are provided in Part I. Part II of the publication provides an overview of the world electricity developments in 2011 covering world electricity and heat production, input fuel mix, supply and consumption, and electricity imports and exports. A greater focus is given to the 34 OECD countries with more detailed information covering production, installed capacity, input energy mix to electricity and heat production, consumption, electricity trades, input fuel prices and end-user electricity prices.

Part III of the publication provides a corresponding statistical overview of developments in the world and OECD electricity and heat market for 2011, as well as monthly OECD production and trade electricity data for 2012.

Part IV provides, in tabular form, detailed and comprehensive statistical coverage of the power and heat industry developments for each of the OECD member countries and for OECD and IEA regional aggregates. It provides comprehensive statistical details on overall energy consumption, economic indicators, electricity and heat production by energy form and plant type, electricity imports and exports, sectoral energy and electricity consumption, as well as prices for electricity and electricity input fuels for each country and regional aggregate.

Electricity Information is one of a series of annual IEA statistical publications on major energy sources; other reports are Coal Information, Natural Gas Information, Oil Information and Renewables Information.

Electricity use is growing worldwide, providing a range of energy services: lighting, heating and cooling, specific industrial uses, entertainment, information technologies, and mobility. Because its generation remains largely based on fossil fuels, electricity is also the largest and the fastest-growing source of energy-related CO₂ emissions, the primary cause of human-induced climate change. Forecasts from the IEA and others show that “decarbonising” electricity and enhancing end-use efficiency can make major contributions to the fight against climate change. 

Global and regional trends on electricity supply and demand indicate the magnitude of the decarbonisation challenge ahead. As climate concerns become an essential component of energy policy-making, the generation and use of electricity will be subject to increasingly strong policy actions by governments to reduce their associated CO₂ emissions. Despite these actions, and despite very rapid growth in renewable energy generation, significant technology and policy challenges remain if this unprecedented essential transition is to be achieved.

This book provides an authoritative resource on progress to date in this area, with statistics related to CO₂ and the electricity sector across ten regions of the world. It also presents topical analyses on meeting the challenge of rapidly curbing CO₂ emissions from electricity, from both a policy and technology perspective.

 This volume contains data on the supply and consumption of coal, oil, gas, electricity, heat, renewables and waste presented as comprehensive energy balances expressed in million tonnes of oil equivalent. Complete data are available for 2010 and 2011 and supply estimates are available for the most recent year (i.e.2012). Historical tables summarise production, trade and final consumption data as well as key energy and economic indicators. The book also includes definitions of products and flows, explanatory notes on the individual country data and conversion factors from original units to energy units.

More detailed data in original units are published in the 2013 edition of Energy Statistics of OECD Countries, the sister volume of this publication.

This volume contains data for 2010 and 2011 on the supply and consumption of coal, oil, natural gas, electricity, heat, renewables and waste presented as comprehensive energy balances.  Data are expressed in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent for over 100 non-OECD countries.

Historical tables summarise production, trade and final consumption data as well as key energy and economic indicators. These tables also include preliminary estimates of 2012 production (and trade when available) for natural gas, primary coal and oil. This book includes definitions of products and flows, explanatory notes on the individual country data and conversion factors from original units to energy units.

More detailed data in original units are published in the 2013 edition of Energy Statistics of Non-OECD Countries, the sister volume of this publication.

Energy efficiency has been referred to as a “hidden fuel”, one that extends energy supplies, increases energy security, lowers carbon emissions and generally supports sustainable economic growth. Yet it is hiding in plain sight: in 2011, investments in the energy efficiency market globally were at a similar scale to those in renewable energy or fossil-fuel power generation.

The Energy Efficiency Market Report provides a practical basis for understanding energy efficiency market activities, a review of the methodological and practical challenges associated with measuring the market and its components, and statistical analysis of energy efficiency and its impact on energy demand. It also highlights a specific technology sector in which there is significant energy efficiency market activity, in this instance appliances and ICT. The report presents a selection of country case studies that illustrate current energy efficiency markets in specific sectors, and how they may evolve in the medium term.

The energy efficiency market is diffuse, varied and involves all energy-consuming sectors of the economy. A comprehensive overview of market activity is complicated by the challenges associated with quantifying the components of the market and the paucity of comparable reported data. This report underscores how vital high-quality and timely energy efficiency data is to understanding this market.

This first Energy Efficiency Market Report sits alongside IEA market reports for oil, gas, coal and renewable energy, highlighting its place as a major energy resource. It summarises in one place the trends and prospects for investment and energy cost savings in the medium term, up to 2020.

This Report joins the IEA market reports for oil, gas, coal and renewable energy, highlighting energy efficiency’s place as a major energy resource. It summarises the trends and prospects for investment and energy cost savings in the medium term, up to 2020.

This review of Estonia’s energy policies analyses the energy policy challenges and opportunities facing Estonia, and provides critiques and recommendations for future policy improvements. It finds that Estonia is actively seeking to reduce the intensity of its energy system. Many of these efforts are focused on oil shale, which the country has been using for almost a century and which meets 70% of its energy demand. While it provides a large degree of energy security, oil shale is highly carbon-intensive.
The government is seeking to lessen the negative environmental impact by phasing out old power plants and developing new technologies to reduce significantly CO2 emissions.

The efforts on oil shale complement Estonia’s solid track record of modernising its overall energy system. Since restoring its independence in 1991, Estonia has fully liberalised its electricity and gas markets and attained most national energy policy targets and commitments for 2020. It has also started preparing its energy strategy to 2030, with an outlook to 2050. Estonia is also promoting energy market integration with neighbouring EU member states.

Since the IEA last reviewed Germany’s energy policies in 2007, the country has taken two fundamental policy decisions that will guide its energy policy in coming decades.  In September 2010, the federal government adopted the Energy Concept, a comprehensive new strategy for a long-term integrated energy pathway to 2050. Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in March 2011, Germany decided to accelerate the phase-out of nuclear power by 2022 starting with the immediate closure of the eight oldest plants. This decision resulted in the adoption of a new suite of policy measures, determined renewable energy as the cornerstone of future energy supply, a set of policy instruments commonly known as the Energiewende.

In order to achieve the ambitious energy transformation set out in the Energiewende, by 2030 half of all electricity supply will come from renewable energy sources; Germany must continue to develop cost-effective market-based approaches which will support the forecast growth of variable renewable generation. Furthermore, the costs and benefits need to be allocated in a fair and transparent way among all market participants, especially households.

Renewable energy capacity must expand alongside the timely development of the transmission and distribution networks. In addition, a stable regulatory system is necessary to ensure long-term finance to network operators. Furthermore, close monitoring of Germany’s ability to meet electricity demand at peak times should continue in the medium term.

Energy policy decisions in Germany inevitably have an impact beyond the country’s borders and must be taken within the context of a broader European energy policy framework and in close consultation with its neighbours.

This review analyses the energy-policy challenges facing Germany and provides recommendations for further policy improvements. It is intended to help guide the country towards a more secure and sustainable energy future.

Sweden has made progress in recent years towards a more secure, sustainable energy future. The Scandinavian nation already has an almost carbon-free electricity supply and has phased out oil use in residential and power sectors. It is increasingly integrated within the Nordic and Baltic electricity markets, and its joint renewable electricity certificate market with Norway offers a unique model for other countries.

Now Sweden must take concrete steps to realise its vision of a fossil-fuel-independent vehicle fleet by 2030 and no net greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. Although Sweden has decided to allow the replacement of its existing nuclear reactors, further emission reductions will come at a higher cost and require technology change. This means Sweden will need to carefully evaluate the most cost-effective pathways for its transition to a low-carbon economy.

Sweden has a high energy-intensity level, which requires greater energy efficiency in industry, buildings, heat and transport.  A decarbonisation vision should be mapped out for each industry sector. Starting with transport, Sweden must specify how it will wean its vehicle fleet from fossil fuels by 2030.

Sweden’s industry lead in smart grids is an asset. Sweden should scale up investment in clean energy technologies. As all Nordic countries decarbonise, cost-effective regional solutions can control consumers’ costs. The large-scale deployment of renewable and energy technologies in a common Northern European energy market can drive decarbonisation without comprising competitiveness, security of supply and affordability.

This review analyses the energy-policy challenges currently facing Sweden, and provides studies and recommendations for each sector.

This volume contains data on energy supply and consumption in original units for coal, oil, gas, electricity, heat, renewables and waste.  Complete data are available for 2010 and 2011 and supply estimates are available for the most recent year (i.e. 2012). Historical tables summarise data on production, trade and final consumption.  The book also includes definitions of products and flows and explanatory notes on the individual country data.

In the 2013 edition of Energy Balances of OECD Countries, the sister volume of this publication, the data are presented as comprehensive energy balances expressed in million tonnes of oil equivalent.

Access to finance represents one of the most significant challenges for entrepreneurs and for the creation, survival and growth of small businesses. As governments address this challenge, they are running up against a major and longstanding obstacle to policy making: insufficient evidence and data. Better data is needed to understand the financing needs of SMEs and entrepreneurs and to provide the basis for informed institutional and public policy decisions. The OECD Scoreboard on financing SMEs and entrepreneurs represents a major step in addressing this obstacle by establishing a comprehensive international framework for monitoring SMEs’ and entrepreneurs’ access to finance over time. The Scoreboard presents data for a number of debt, equity and financing framework condition indicators. Taken together, they provide governments and other stakeholders with a tool to understand SMEs’ financing needs, to support the design and evaluation of policy measures and to monitor the implications of financial reforms on SMEs’ access to finance.

This second edition comprises 25 countries, including Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. It includes an overview of SME financing trends and conditions across participating countries, focusing in particular on the changes which occurred between 2010 and 2011, and of government policy responses intended to improve SMEs’ access to finance. The second edition also includes a Reader's Guide, a thematic focus on Credit Guarantee Schemes and methodological Annexes.