Browse by: "2011"

National Accounts at a Glance presents information using an "indicator" approach, focusing on cross-country comparisons; the aim being to make the national accounts more accessible and informative, whilst, at the same time, taking the opportunity to present the conceptual underpinning of, and comparability issues inherent in, each of the indicators presented. 

This book includes OECD's unique StatLink service, which enables readers to download Excel® versions of tables and graphs. Look for the StatLink at the foot of each table and graph.

The range of indicators reflects the richness inherent in the national accounts dataset and encourages users to refocus some of the spotlight that is often placed on GDP to other economic important indicators, which may better respond to their needs.  The publication is broken down into six key chapters, and provides indicators related to income, expenditure, production, government and capital respectively.

Since the 1960s the family in the OECD area has undergone significant transformation. In many countries, the extended family has all but disappeared, and the traditional two-parent family has become much less widespread as divorce rates, re-marriages, cohabitation, single parenthood and same-sex partnerships have all increased.  With rising migration, cultures and values have become more diverse, with some ethnic minorities evolving as parallel family cultures while others intermingle with mainstream cultures through mixed-race marriages. Families have seen more mothers take up work in the labour market, their adolescents spend longer and longer in education and training, and the elderly members of the family live longer and, increasingly, alone.  The repercussions of these changes on housing, pensions, health and long-term care, on labour markets, education and public finances, have been remarkable. Recent demographic projections perfromed by many OECD countries suggest that the next 20 years are likely to see a continuation and even acceleration of changes in household and family structures.  In particular, the numbers and shares of single-adult and single-parent households are expected to increase significantly, as is the number of couples without children.

This report explores likely future changes in family and household structures in OECD countries; identifies what appear to be the main forces shaping the family landscape between now and 2030; discusses the longer-term challenges for policy arising from those expected changes; and on the basis of the three subsequent thematic chapters, suggests policy options for managing the challenges on a sustainable basis.  

This report presents the results of an assessment of the organisation of the central government of Denmark. The study looks at reforms that are aimed at improving the quality of services (more value) and efficiency (less money) in central government. Starting with facts and quantitative benchmarks on the Danish central government, the study reviews recent reforms in Denmark, and makes recommendations in ten selected areas. The study concludes with a survey of the effects on the quality of services and the potential savings.

Literacy for Life is the second report from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. It presents additional results on the nature and magnitude of the literacy gaps faced by OECD countries and how these gaps have evolved over the medium term.

It offers new insights into the factors that influence the formation of adult skills in various settings – at home and at work – for the eleven countries participating in the first and last round of data collection between 2003 and 2008. The study offers comparative evidence on the impact of various factors on the supply of skill. The study offers a special focus on numeracy skills and problem solving skills. It explores the relationships between numeracy and key socio-demographic factors as well as labour market outcomes and earnings.

It highlights the importance of problem solving skills by defining this foundational skill and by exploring its determinants as well as its relative role in influencing important labour market outcomes.

The report offers also an analysis of performance across multiple skill domains. It investigates the skill profiles of various population groups defined in terms of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of those who score at levels deemed to be low in one or more skill domains and explores the resulting consequences.

The report concludes by investigating the issue of skill mismatch in the labour market and its relationship to adult learning. The extent and distribution of mismatch between the day-to-day literacy related requirements of workers and the literacy skills they have obtained is an important issue that is being explored in this study.

This report covers seed stage financing for high growth companies in OECD and non-OECD countries with a primary focus on angel investment. The paper provides an overview of angel financing, including a description of how it has evolved in OECD and non-OECD countries and policy interventions taken within some countries.

Cette quatrième édition des Pensions dans les pays de l’OCDE est consacrée aux pensions, aux départs en retraite et à l’espérance de vie. De nombreux pays ont relevé l’âge de la retraite pour répondre au vieillissement de la population et à l’allongement de la vie. Certains ont introduit un mécanisme d’indexation automatique des pensions sur l’espérance de vie. De plus, l’amélioration des dispositifs incitant les actifs à rester en activité au lieu de faire valoir leurs droits à retraite est commune à bien des programmes de réforme récemment mis en place dans ce domaine. Néanmoins, s’assurer que les emplois disponibles pour les plus âgés sont en nombre suffisant tient encore de la gageure.

Les grandes problématiques des politiques conduites de nos jours en matière de retraite sont analysées de près dans cinq chapitres thématiques portant sur les aspects suivants : âge de la retraite, comportement vis-à-vis de la retraite, incitations au départ induites par le système de retraite, demande de travailleurs âgés et indexation des pensions sur l’espérance de vie. La présente édition contient des informations actualisées sur les principales caractéristiques des pensions servies dans les pays de l’OCDE, ainsi que des projections des revenus que percevront demain les salariés d’aujourd’hui. Elle propose une gamme élargie de 36 indicateurs, qui couvrent la conception des systèmes de retraite nationaux, les droits à retraite, les revenus des personnes âgées, l’équilibre financier des systèmes de retraite, le contexte démographique et économique dans lequel s’inscrivent les systèmes de retraite, ainsi que les pensions privées.

Le nombre des pays étudiés est plus important que dans les éditions précédentes. Les quatre nouveaux membres de l’OCDE – soit le Chili, l’Estonie, Israël et la Slovénie – font ainsi leur entrée dans la publication qui présente aussi, dans la mesure du possible, des données sur les autres grandes économies du G20 (Afrique du Sud, Arabie saoudite, Argentine, Brésil, Chine, Inde, Indonésie et Russie). Si l’on ajoute les 27 États membres de l’Union européenne, cela porte à 43 le nombre d’économies répertoriées dans cette publication.

Les pensions dans les pays de l’OCDE...

« Un recueil extraordinairement utile et rigoureux d’informations concernant les retraites dans un large éventail de pays, présentées sous un format commun et suivant une structure soigneusement étudiée. Félicitons les auteurs qui se sont efforcés de donner une nouvelle dimension aux comparaisons internationales dans ce secteur. Cet ouvrage comparatif est l’un des plus intelligents qui soient, écrit par des spécialistes qui maîtrisent les nuances – et les complexités – inhérentes à ce type de travail dans le domaine des retraites. »

Olivia Mitchell, Directrice du Boettner Centre for Pensions and Retirement Research, Wharton School, Université de Pennsylvanie.

Sweden reformed its labour migration management policy in 2008 and now has one of the most liberal labour migration regimes in the OECD. This book attempts to answer the question of whether Sweden’s labour migration policy is efficiently working to meet labour market needs that were not being met, without adversely affecting the domestic labour market. The review also examines the impact of the reform on labour migration flows to Sweden and on access to recruitment from abroad by Swedish employers.

After the reform, employers in Sweden were able to recruit  workers from abroad for any occupation, as long as the job had been advertised for a nominal period and the prevailing collective bargaining wage and contractual conditions were respected. Overall, Sweden’s new system has not led to a boom in labour migration, although this somewhat surprising result may be related to the slack labour market. The faith in employers appears to be largely justified until now, although there are some vulnerabilities in the system which could be addressed, especially in monitoring workplaces not covered by collective bargaining, and marginal businesses. The particularities of the relatively highly regulated labour market in Sweden may mean that this model is not easily transferable to other countries, but lessons can be drawn for other countries.

Despite public calls in many countries for reducing reliance on coal as a primary but high-carbon energy source, global demand continues to escalate. Coal has traditionally been seen as a low-cost and price-stable source of energy, but recently coal prices have increased and become much more volatile. Moreover, while coal is viewed as a very secure energy source, infrastructure bottlenecks and weather-related events can dramatically tighten the market.

This new annual IEA publication, Medium-Term Coal Market Report 2011 , presents a comprehensive analysis of recent trends in coal demand, supply and trade, as well as an IEA outlook for coal market fundamentals for the coming five years.  The report places a special focus on trade and infrastructure development in the key exporting countries. Given the existing uncertainties on the production capacity of China to meet its challenging coal demand growth, the book presents two scenarios for coal trade: a high and a low Chinese production outlook. This comparison highlights the massive influence of Chinese behaviour on the international coal trade.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) can bring a wide range of benefits – for children, parents and society at large. However, these benefits are conditional on “quality”. Expanding access to services without attention to quality will not deliver good outcomes for children or long-term productivity benefits for society.

This new publication focuses on quality issues: it aims to define quality and outlines five policy levers that can enhance it in ECEC. In addition, it provides busy policy makers with practical tools such as research briefs, international comparisons, country examples, self-reflection sheets, etc. in order to successfully implement these policy levers.

The future of Greece’s well-being will depend on improving educational performance to boost productivity and improve social outcomes. In the current economic context, with the need to get best value for spending, Greece must and can address inefficiencies in its education system.

The challenges are significant. For example, Greece lags behind many OECD countries in performance on PISA, including countries with the same or lower levels of expenditure per student as well as countries with the same and lower levels of economic development. Salary costs per student are above the OECD average, mostly because Greek teachers have less teaching time and Greece has smaller classes. A smaller percentage of students who enter tertiary education complete a first degree within the statutory study time than in any other country in Europe.

To address the challenges, the Greek government has established a bold agenda and sought advice from a task force on the development and implementation of reform proposals that reflect best practices in OECD countries. This report provides the outcomes of the work of the task force. It presents a roadmap for how the reforms can be successfully implemented, with pointers to relevant experience in other countries. As a contribution to the on-going policy discussions in Greece, it recommends specific short-, medium- and long-term actions that can improve efficiency in the country’s education system.

The global financial crisis interrupted a protracted period of strong economic growth in the Russian Federation. Despite a large decline in output, job losses and hikes in unemployment remained rather modest, and much of the labour market adjustment took place through reduced working hours and, in particular, real wages. Notwithstanding the recent recovery, the Russian labour market remains characterised by significant structural imbalances resulting in widespread segmentation and large earnings inequalities.

To improve the balance between labour market flexibility and the protection of workers, the Russian Federation needs to reinforce its labour market institutions.
Poverty and income inequalities remain well above the OECD average. Family policy is focused on increasing birth rates, but is ineffective in reducing poverty as working adults and children make up 60% of the poor. Instead, social policy is focused on the elderly and disabled, and in recent years there has been significant increases in transfer payments to pensioners.

Recent reform is likely to “eradicate” poverty among pensioners, as measured by official benchmarks, but raises questions about the long-term financial sustainability of the private pensions system. Rapid population ageing further contributes to the need to raise the low standard pensionable ages in Russia and limit access to early pensions. The challenge for Russia will be to rebalance its social policy towards more effective support for parents to combine work and family life.