Browse by: "2008"

This publication presents information about VAT/GST and excise duty rates in OECD member countries as well as information about indirect tax topics such as international aspects of VAT development and application of VAT to small and medium-size enterprises. It also describes a range of taxation provisions in OECD member countries, such as the taxation of motor vehicles, tobacco and alcoholic beverages. This edition’s special feature describes the way VAT is implemented in three significant non-OECD economies: China, Russia and India.

Encouraging Student Interest in Science and Technology Studies examines overall trends in higher education enrolments and the evolution of S&T compared with other disciplines. The results suggest that although absolute numbers of S&T students have been rising as access to higher levels of education expands in OECD economies, the relative share of S&T students among the overall student population has been falling, The report shows that encouraging interest in S&T studies requires action to tackle a host of issues inside and outside the education system, ranging from teacher training and curriculum design to improving the image of S&T careers. Numerous examples of national initiatives are used to complement the analyses to derive a set of practical recommendations.

L'édition 2007 de l'Étude économique de l’OCDE de la Corée examine les principaux défis économiques du pays dont les dépenses sociales publiques dans le contexte d’un vieillissement démographique, la réforme du marché du logement et des politiques régionales, ainsi que la politique monétaire.

The transport sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in most countries, representing 23% (worldwide) and 30% (OECD) of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in 2005. Because of this, it is likely that most countries will have to include the transport sector in achieving future greenhouse gas emissions reductions. A defining milestone in these discussions, the International Transport Forum 2008, gathered more than 800 policy makers, industry stakeholders and researchers in Leipzig for a cycle of roundtables on cost-effective technology and policy instruments required to improve energy efficiency and curb carbon emissions across transport modes. This publication condenses the main findings of these roundtables and provides insight into the research carried out by the Forum in such areas as biofuels, ecodriving, the impact of high energy prices and the effectiveness of fuel efficiency policies.

The OECD has collectively underlined the importance of a high quality regulatory environment since the mid 1990s when the Council adopted the 1995 Recommendation on Improving the Quality of Government Regulation and its checklist as the first international standard on regulatory quality, and the 1997 Report on Regulatory Reform and its Principles of good regulation.
Since 1997, the OECD has carried out a series of country reviews based on the Principles, which have documented progress in the reviewed countries. Twenty OECD countries have been reviewed. The reviews have been multidisciplinary, covering the broader economic context, competition policy, market openness, sectoral reforms and not least, the development of regulatory policies, institutions and tools to build up capacities for a high quality rule-making environment supportive of economic growth and specific policy goals. This work has been complemented by the specific research of the OECD secretariat and others on issues such as the link between product market reforms and economic performance. Ample material is now available to take stock of the progress made in OECD countries and to reflect on the continued relevance of the 1997 Principles.
This report integrates more detailed papers prepared for the committees and working parties responsible for regulatory management, competition policy and trade, as well as relevant papers prepared for the Economic Policy Committee.

Le secteur des transports contribue de manière significative aux émissions de gaz à effet de serre dans la plupart des pays, et représente 23 % (au niveau mondial) et 30 % (au niveau de l’OCDE) des émissions de CO2 issues de la combustion des énergies fossiles en 2005. De ce fait, il est fort probable que la plupart des pays devront prendre en compte le secteur des transports dans leurs efforts pour diminuer les émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Le Forum International des Transports 2008, qui a rassemblé à Leipzig plus de 800 décideurs politiques, représentants de l’industrie et chercheurs, a constitué une étape clé de ce processus. De nombreuses tables rondes ont été organisées à cette occasion et ont notamment porté sur les technologies de transport efficaces, les instruments politiques nécessaires pour améliorer l’efficience énergétique et les moyens d’infléchir les émissions de gaz carbonique dans les différents modes de transport. Cette publication reprend de manière condensée les principaux apports des discussions et des travaux de recherche du Forum portant sur les biocarburants, l’éco-conduite, l’impact des prix élevés de l’énergie et l’efficacité des politiques d’économie de carburant.

Belgian citizens want the look and feel of a single public sector entity and the provision of integrated e-government services customised to their needs rather than to have to understand the complex division of governmental responsibilities. Belgium already has internationally recognised examples to show: most importantly the transformation of the social sector administration through e-governance tools, and more recently the link of e-government services to administrative-burden reduction. Future transformation will be enabled by the common electronic identity card (eID) that has been adopted by all governments. This report shows that the development and provision of the next generation of user-focused services will require the maximisation of synergies between the federal, regional and community governments and local authorities in Belgium.

OECD economies have experienced the transformation from their traditional industrial base to the knowledge era, in which learning and innovation are central. Yet, many of today’s schools have not caught up: they continue to operate as they did in the earlier decades of the 20 century. This book summarises and discusses key findings from the learning sciences, shedding light on the cognitive and social processes that can be used to redesign classrooms to make them highly effective learning environments. It explores concrete examples in OECD countries, from alternative schools to specific cases in Mexico, in which the actors are seeking to break the mould and realise the principles emerging from learning science research. The book also asks how these insights can inspire educational reform for the knowledge era, in which optimising learning is the driving aim and in which innovation is both the widespread catalyst of change and the defining result.

When immigrants arrive in a new country, they are confronted with new labour market requirements such as language proficiency, familiarity with job search procedures and work practices which they are not always able to satisfy. These obstacles affect not only new immigrants, but, surprisingly, their children too, even if the children are born and educated in the receiving country. This publication presents reviews of the labour market integration of immigrants and their children in four OECD countries (Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Portugal), and provides country-specific recommendations. Governments have a role to play in promoting language and vocational training, and encouraging diversity in the workplace. Immigrants themselves must accept the requirements of the host country employers. The viability of future migration policies, in particular greater recourse to immigration, will depend to a large extent on how successful OECD countries and immigrants are in achieving these objectives.

Les tendances de la rentabilité des banques et les facteurs agissant sur elle sont des indicateurs importants de l’état de santé des systèmes bancaires nationaux. Cette publication fournit des informations sur les comptes des banques des pays membres de l'OCDE. La couverture des banques n'est pas la même dans chaque pays ; cependant l'objectif est d'inclure toutes les institutions qui ont des activités bancaires, notamment celles qui prennent des dépôts de personnes privées et qui financent un large éventail de projets. Sont également incluses des informations sur le nombre de banques, leurs filiales et leur personnel, ainsi que des informations structurelles relatives à l’ensemble du secteur financier.  En outre, des ratios, calculés à partir de différents postes des comptes des banques en pourcentage d’agrégats spécifiques, sont proposés pour faciliter l'analyse des tendances de la rentabilité des banques des pays de l'OCDE.

La primera ley de competencia de El Salvador entró en vigor el 1 de enero de 2006. La ley, con algunas enmiendas importantes de 2007, es sólida en la mayoría de los aspectos. Emplea estándares de aplicación que son coherentes con las mejores prácticas en la comunidad de competencia mundial. Provee la nueva agencia de competencia, la Superintendencia de Competencia, con las facultades que necesita para aplicar la ley de forma efectiva. En menos de tres años El Salvador ha tenido un buen, mejor dicho, excelente comienzo. Su experiencia puede servir, de alguna forma al menos, como ejemplo de una manera efectiva de comenzar a implementar una política de competencia...

El estado mexicano de Yucatán, con su ubicación de importancia estratégica cerca de Estados Unidos de América, América Central y el Caribe, es una de las regiones más dinámicas de la OCDE. Yucatán es también una tierra de contrastes. Es una región rezagada pero en crecimiento, que ofrece una alta calidad de vida y vastos recursos naturales, pero que a la vez padece problemas de sustentabilidad. Sus atracciones turísticas se localizan en zonas rurales que no se benefician de ellas. Cuenta con servicios médicos estatales y peninsulares, pero su cobertura de servicios de salud es desequilibrada. Yucatán es un centro de educación superior en la península y, sin embargo, sus graduados no consiguen empleo. Tienen varias comunidades marginadas en organismos administrativos fragmentados y, si bien los estados que pertenecen a la península comparten un legado y un atractivo culturales comunes, sus instituciones no cooperan entre sí.
Resulta claro que Yucatán no aprovecha por completo sus múltiples recursos y, de hecho, los desafíos que prevalecen en la región amenazan con debilitar los bienes locales. Entre estos desafíos se encuentra la necesidad de convertir determinadas actividades en procesos de innovación y diseño de un valor agregado más alto, así como fomentar el que las actividades primarias lleguen a los mercados internacionales. Pese a que el gobierno estatal ha propuesto programas para estimular la formalización de la economía informal, medidas como una mejor reglamentación, la reducción de la burocracia y la oferta de oportunidades de empleo y el acceso al crédito formal podrían causar un mayor impacto. La falta de una visión a largo plazo compartida y coherente es un reto fundamental para mejorar la competitividad regional y la cohesión social en Yucatán. Las recomendaciones de la OCDE sólo pueden ser parte de una estrategia de mayor envergadura para desarrollar una visión colectiva del futuro del estado.

El Salvador’s first competition law took effect on 1 January 2006. The law, following some important amendments in 2007, is sound in most respects. It employs enforcement standards that are consistent with best practices in the worldwide competition community. It provides the new competition agency, La Superintendencia de Competencia (Superintendency) with the powers that it needs to enforce the law effectively. In less than three years El Salvador is off to a good – one might say excellent – start. Its experience can serve, in some ways at least, as an example of an effective way to begin to implement a competition policy...

Étude périodique de l’OCDE consacrée à l’économie islandaise. L’édition 2008 analyse les grands défis économiques, et notamment, une efficacité accrue de la politique monétaire, comment renforcer le cadre budgétaire et l’amélioration du rapport coût-efficacité dans les soins de santé.