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United States
Legislation approving the U.S.-India 123 Agreement (2008)

International Atomic Energy Agency
Approval of India safeguards agreement by IAEA Board of Governors (2008)

Nuclear Suppliers Group
Statement on civil nuclear co-operation with India (2008)

This paper presents a database on indicators of product market regulations and employment protection legislation for most of the OECD countries and illustrates a methodology for aggregating these detailed indicators into summary indicators of the strictness of regulations. The summary indicators are obtained by means of factor analysis, in which each component of the regulatory framework is weighted according to its contribution to the overall variance in the data. These indicators are used to assess the regulatory approaches across countries as well as the interrelations between various sets of regulatory provisions. While regulatory provisions can be classified and assessed from a variety of standpoints, this paper focuses exclusively on the relative friendliness of regulations to market mechanisms: there is no attempt to assess the overall quality of regulations or their aptness in achieving their stated public policy goals. The guiding principle inspiring the conception of the ...

There are four sets of questions that fiscal indicators can help answer: (1) Of the changes in the fiscal position, what part is due to changes in the economic environment and what part is due to policy? (2) Can the current course of fiscal policy be sustained, or will the government have to adjust taxes or spending? (3) What is the effect of fiscal policy on activity, through its effects on relative prices, be it the price of labour or the price of capital? (4) What is the macroeconomic impact of fiscal policy, through deficit and debt finance?

This paper is one of three in this Working Paper Series, along with those by Chouraqui et al. and Gramlich, in which the assessment of fiscal policy is reconsidered. It argues that no single indicator can give even rough answers to all those questions. It then develops four (sets of) indicators, aimed at answering each of the questions ...

This report is part of the OECD-Mexico initiative “Strengthening of Economic Competition and Regulatory Improvement for Competitiveness”. It summarises the findings of several case studies on best practices to promote regulatory reform and entrepreneurship at the sub-national level. It has benefited from the participation of three Mexican states (Baja California, Jalisco, and Puebla), as well as of three provinces from other countries, British Columbia (Canada), Catalonia (Spain), and Piemonte (Italy). By including both, Mexican and international experiences, this report derives practical lessons for sub-national governments to improve their regulatory quality and create dynamic business environments.

Risk-based public debt management and liquid domestic bond markets are important mutually reinforcing strategies for emerging financial markets and developing countries in general.

Governments have influenced the development of bioenergy, particularly liquid biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel and pure plant oil used as a fuel), for several decades. This paper discusses the economics of biofuels and provides an overview of current policy measures to support their production and consumption. It discusses also how the different policies supportive of biofuels interact with broader agricultural, energy, environmental and transport policies, and the relative effectiveness of biofuels in achieving objectives in these areas. The paper concludes with several recommendations on further research.

This report analyses subsidies provided to steel producers by examining firm-level data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and conducting desk research. It reveals that subsidy trends persist even in the face of existing overcapacity. Between 2008 and 2020, steel companies in partner economies obtained an average of 10.7 times more subsidies per crude steel production capacity unit than their counterparts in OECD countries. These subsidies took the form of cash grants, cash awards, and cost reimbursements. The report also finds that the national context significantly influences a jurisdiction's inclination to support its steel sector and the transparency of such subsidies. Some jurisdictions have prioritised the growth of their domestic steel industry by establishing firm goals for crude steel production, export, or concentration. Meanwhile, others have engaged in international collaboration to address global challenges related to the decarbonisation of the steel industry.

This paper provides an overview of the available information concerning selected policy instruments intended to promote employer-provided training, including the stated rationale and objectives, the target groups and operational design as well as a at a summary of the evaluative evidence regarding their operation. The analysis focuses on policy instruments providing financial assistance or incentives, specifically, subsidies (including tax incentives and grants) and levy schemes that devote a least some share of their resources to continuing training. Training leave regulations are considered only to the extent that they can be treated as a form of subsidy or a levy scheme, depending on the main financing mechanism involved. Instruments that focus solely on improving the quality of training or enhancing transparency in the training market are not addressed. In addition to offering a description of different instruments, the paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses (or risks and opportunities, respectively) of different types of instrument or particular elements of instrument design. It also specifies principles of successful instrument design that have been put forth in the literature and concludes with some remarks regarding the choice of policies.

Levels of educational attainment do not only vary among countries, but also within them. In many countries, people with tertiary education – usually the most skilled people – are more highly represented in the capital region. Regional employment rates in many countries vary more widely among adults without upper secondary education than among those with upper secondary education or higher. In many countries, the percentage of young people neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) is twice as high in some regions as in others.

Subnational governments play a significant role in ensuring good public governance. The way that they are organised and function has a direct impact on the economic and social well-being of citizens and public trust in government. This report presents the system of multi-level government in the six Western Balkan economies, comparing them both with one another and in the context of broader international trends in multi-level governance. The report covers territorial and institutional organisation, competences of local governments, human resources and accountability, public financial management and vertical and horizontal co-ordination, in each case identifying key characteristics and recent trends.

Monitoring progress towards meeting the Paris Agreement requires improving the tracking and measurement of public climate expenditure, investment, and revenues. This OECD working paper was prepared as part of the joint OECD-European Commission project on “Financing Climate Action in Regions and Cities”. It presents a pilot methodology for tracking, measuring, and comparing subnational government climate-significant expenditure and investment in OECD and EU countries based on National Accounts data. It also includes an analysis of the data collected, which is available in the new OECD Subnational Government Climate Finance database, and a stocktake of existing climate finance tracking initiatives. On the revenue side, the paper presents an analysis of climate-related public revenue sources available to subnational governments in OECD and EU countries, the results of which are available in the new online Compendium of Financial Instruments that Support Subnational Climate Action.

1. OECD countries as a whole have experienced modest annual output growth of some 2 1/2 per cent over the past four years. But unemployment remains unacceptably high -- having fallen only slightly from its peak of 38 million in 1993 to the current 35 million or 7 per cent of the workforce -- and wage and income disparities have widened in many countries, posing potential risks to social cohesion. These trends have prompted much debate on their causes, consequences and remedies.
2. These are among the issues that the OECD has analyzed and discussed with Member countries since 1992 in the context of its Jobs Strategy work. OECD Ministers have endorsed the Jobs Strategy recommendations and called last May for greater reform efforts. More recently the meeting of OECD Labour Ministers last October emphasised the need for policies for low-paid and unskilled job seekers, enhancing the effectiveness of active labour market policies and lifelong learning to maintain employability, issues which were ...

Recent crises and national consolidation packages affected sub-national finances. In many OECD countries, central governments introduced reductions in transfers to sub-national governments, and established expenditure and/or deficit objectives to be met by local or regional authorities. Such measures have reduced the financial room of sub-national governments for implementing key public services or investments.

In parallel, borrowing conditions deteriorated for many sub-national governments, as banks and financial markets became increasingly reluctant to lend. Since late 2008, financial markets started discriminating between high- and low-quality SNG bonds, and yields reached record-high levels for sub-national governments perceived as less creditworthy.

Facing degraded finances, upward pressure on expenditures and deteriorated borrowing conditions, many sub-national governments have used public investment as an adjustment variable to reduce their budget deficits and preserve their spending on welfare, health or education. However, such policies may hinder long-term growth perspectives.