Browse by: "L"

This article examines the role and usefulness of league tables that are increasingly used to measure and compare the performance of tertiary education institutions. The article begins with a general overview and a typology of league tables. It continues with a discussion of the controversies they have generated, including the basis and the range of criticism they have invited, the merit of indicators they use as measures of quality, and the potential conditions that place universities at an advantage or a disadvantage in ranking exercises. The paper ends with a discussion of implications of league tables for national policies and institutional practices both in the developing world and in industrial countries.

This paper examines how uncertainty regarding future mortality and life expectancy outcomes, i.e. longevity risk, affects employer-provided defined benefit (DB) private pension plans liabilities. For this purpose, it examines the different approaches that private pension plans follow in practice when incorporating longevity risk in their actuarial calculations. Unfortunately, most pension funds do not fully account for future improvements in mortality and life expectancy. The paper then presents estimations of the range of increase in the net present value of annuity payments for a theoretical DB pension fund. Finally, the paper discusses several policy issues on how to deal with longevity risk emphasising the need for a common approach. In this regard, it argues, following Antolin (2007), that to assess uncertainty and associated risks adequately, a stochastic approach to model mortality and life expectancy is preferable because it permits to attach probabilities to different forecasts.

State and local governments in OECD countries have access to various fiscal resources. Discretion over them varies considerably, and so does sub-central governments’ power to shape their budget and to determine outcomes like public sector efficiency, equity in access to public services or the long term fiscal stance. Data on the revenue structure of sub-central governments (SCG) would therefore be helpful. But indicators have long insufficiently reflected the way state and local budgets are funded. The most frequently used indicator is the ratio of SCG to total tax revenue, which is a poor measure for assessing the true autonomy SCGs enjoy. Since the power over fiscal revenue is a critical determinant for government finance, a set of more refined indicators for assessing fiscal autonomy should be established.

This report summarises the major lessons learnt from the experience with debt-for-environment swaps (DFES) in selected transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. It presents the key steps in designing, negotiating and implementing DFES in low-income countries that have accumulated significant external debt and face challenges with servicing this debt. The report draws primarily on the experience of Poland, Bulgaria, Georgia and the Kyrgyz Republic but relevant cases and lessons from other countries in the world are included, as appropriate.

The publication sketches a realist portrait of the municipal waste management sector in EECCA based on field work, presents lessons learnt from the financing strategy case studies, as well as on the methodology (see Annex 1), and proposes recommendations on policies which could be implemented in EECCA countries to promote the financial sustainability of the municipal waste sector. The recommendations also build on lessons learnt in EU accession and candidate countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Turkey), and on the experience of the OECD.

This document provides an unofficial translation of legislation on lobbying in Poland, Hungary and Lithuania.