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Uranium is the raw material used to produce fuel for long-lived nuclear power facilities, necessary for the generation of significant amounts of low-carbon electricity and other uses, such as heat and hydrogen production, for decades to come. Although a valuable commodity, major producing countries limited total production in recent years in response to a depressed uranium market. Uranium production cuts have unexpectedly deepened with the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, leading to some questions being raised about future uranium supply.
This 28th edition of the “Red Book”, a recognised world reference on uranium jointly prepared by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), provides analyses and information from 45 producing and consuming countries in order to address these and other questions. The present edition reviews world uranium market fundamentals and presents data on global uranium exploration, resources, production and reactor-related requirements. It offers updated information on established uranium production centres and mine development plans, as well as projections of nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related requirements through 2040.
Today, with the completion of First-of-a-Kind Gen-III nuclear reactors, the nuclear sector is at a critical juncture. These reactors have led in several parts of the world to delays and construction costs overruns that have challenged the competitiveness of nuclear power and are driving the risk perception of future projects. Against this background, a review of historical and recent lessons learnt from nuclear and non-nuclear project offers ample evidence that nuclear new build can be delivered cost and time-effectively.
This study assesses the policy and governance frameworks needed to drive positive learning and continuous industrial performance for nuclear new build. The study also explores the risk allocation and mitigation priorities needed to define adequate financing schemes for these projects. In the longer-term, it identifies cost reduction opportunities associated with the harmonisation of code and standards and licensing regimes and new innovative designs (i.e. small modular reactors and advanced reactors).
The German vocational education and training (VET) system is admired around the world for its ability to prepare young people for skilled employment. In Germany, VET smooths transitions into work and is closely aligned with labour market demand. This report focuses on an unprecedented test of the German VET system: how to respond to the significant increase in migrants who arrived in the country in 2015-16. The study explores both the opportunities and the challenges presented by migration. Germany has already devoted significant attention to VET as a mechanism for enabling integration – and for good reason. Work-based learning assists integration because it demonstrably gives learners skills that employers want in real-world settings. The report assesses the barriers faced by learners in their journeys into and through VET, exploring how such challenges can be addressed. In addition, the study looks at system-wide issues in relation to how VET provision and integration policy is governed. Lastly, it explores opportunities for increased flexibility in the German VET system of relevance to all youth at risk of not succeeding in VET. In responding to migrant needs, German VET can become more inclusive without reducing quality.
This profile provides a concise and policy-relevant overview of health and the health system in the United Kingdom as part of the broader series of the State of Health in the EU country profiles. It provides a short synthesis of: the health status in the country; the determinants of health, focussing on behavioural risk factors; the organisation of the health system; and the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of the health system.
This profile is the joint work of the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in co-operation with the European Commission.
Transforming natural finite assets into human, social and physical capital is a key challenge for natural resource-rich countries. This report distils related lessons from the OECD Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-based Development on natural resource revenue management and spending for sustainable development. This includes a guide on how natural resource-rich countries can ensure budget sustainability to support consistent spending over time. Further analysis focuses on the management of spending versus saving and the effectiveness of different spending mechanisms for sustainable development, making recommendations to address current challenges.
Among the millions of asylum seekers who recently arrived in OECD countries, the majority are young people who may be able to take advantage of vocational education and training (VET) opportunities to help them enter skilled employment. This report provides advice to governments and other stakeholders who are seeking to use VET to promote integration, in particular for young humanitarian migrants. While the study draws particularly on policy and practice observed in Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland, it also highlights other international practices.
The report focuses on the main channels through which migrants succeed in VET. It is essential that migrants are fully informed about the opportunities VET provision offers and that they have access to high quality preparatory programmes enabling access to upper-secondary VET. Once in such provision, targeted support should help them to complete VET programmes successfully. OECD countries are putting in place innovative measures to achieve better outcomes for both migrants and for economies as a whole. Ultimately this report argues that VET systems can become stronger, more flexible and more inclusive, when working better for all students, including those with diverse and vulnerable backgrounds.
As digital transformation has accelerated, the e-commerce landscape has become increasingly dynamic. New players have emerged at the same time that established actors have taken on new roles; some barriers to e-commerce at the firm, individual and country levels have been overcome, while other barriers have emerged. Innovative business models have transformed buyer-seller relationships and pushed out the frontier of what is possible to buy and sell online. This report analyses new and emerging e-commerce business models, examines e-commerce trends along a range of dimensions, and offers new insights on the policies needed to exploit the opportunities and mitigate the challenges of unlocking the potential of e-commerce for all.
Middle-class households feel left behind and have questioned the benefits of economic globalisation. In many OECD countries, middle incomes have grown less than the average and in some they have not grown at all. Technology has automated several middle-skilled jobs that used to be carried out by middle-class workers a few decades ago. The costs of some goods and services such as housing, which are essential for a middle-class lifestyle, have risen faster than earnings and overall inflation. Faced with this, middle classes have reduced their ability to save and in some cases have fallen into debt. This report sheds light on the multiple pressures on the middle class. It analyses the trends of middle-income households through dimensions such as labour occupation, consumption, wealth and debt, as well as perceptions and social attitudes. It also discusses policy initiatives to address the concerns raised by the middle class, by protecting middle-class living standards and financial security in the face of economic challenges.
This report discusses challenges and opportunities in assessing the impacts of science-industry knowledge exchange on innovation. The report provides new evidence on joint industry-science patenting activity and academic start-ups, as well as on the impact of geographical proximity between research institutions and industry on local innovation. The report explores the complex set of knowledge-transfer channels, such as collaborative research, co-patenting, academic spinoffs, and their relative importance across science fields and industry sectors. It also experiments with using labour force survey data to assess the contributions of graduates in social sciences to different industries.
Different policy mixes are used in OECD countries to stimulate science-industry knowledge transfer. This report presents a taxonomy of 21 policy instruments, which include grants for collaborative university-industry research and financial support to university spin-offs, and discusses their possible positive and negative interactions. Based on a number of country case studies, the report also sheds light on new policy approaches to support spin-off creation. The report also explores recent trends on the governance of public research of high relevance to science-industry knowledge transfer using newly developed policy indicators for 35 OECD countries.
Uranium is the raw material used to produce fuel for long-lived nuclear power facilities, necessary for the generation of significant amounts of baseload low-carbon electricity for decades to come. Although a valuable commodity, declining market prices for uranium in recent years, driven by uncertainties concerning the evolution in the use of nuclear power, have led to significant production cutbacks and the postponement of mine development plans in a number of countries and to some questions being raised about future uranium supply.
This 27th edition of the “Red Book”, a recognised world reference on uranium jointly prepared by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), provides analyses and information from 41 producing and consuming countries in order to address these and other questions. The present edition provides the most recent review of world uranium market fundamentals and presents data on global uranium exploration, resources, production and reactor-related requirements. It offers updated information on established uranium production centres and mine development plans, as well as projections of nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related requirements through 2035, in order to address long-term uranium supply and demand issues.
The erosion of public trust challenges government’s capacity to implement policies and carry out reforms. While Korea has achieved and maintained rapid economic growth and development, and performs comparatively well in several existing measures of the quality of public administration, trust in government institutions is relatively low. This pioneering case study presents a measurement and policy framework of the drivers of institutional trust and explores some policy avenues Korea could take to restore trust in public institutions.
Understanding Financial Accounts seeks to show how a range of questions on financial developments can be answered with the framework of financial accounts and balance sheets, by providing non-technical explanations illustrated with practical examples: What are the basic principles, concepts and definitions used for this framework which is part of the system of national accounts? What sources and which methodologies are used for their compilation? How are these used to monitor and analyse economic and financial developments? What can we learn about the 2007-2009 economic and financial crisis when looking at the numbers provided in this framework? What can we learn about financial risks and vulnerabilities? This publication is intended for young statisticians, students, journalists, economists, policy makers and citizens, who want to know more about the statistics that are at the heart of the analysis of financial developments in OECD economies.
Demographic pressure and the youth bulge in the developing world pose a major employment challenge. This situation is exacerbated by insufficient job creation, scarce formal wage employment opportunities and vulnerability in the workplace. For these reasons, fostering youth entrepreneurship has gained importance in the global and national development policy agenda. This report aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the role of youth entrepreneurship in generating employment in developing countries. It is based on the analysis of mixed labour force and enterprise surveys conducted in Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Peru and Viet Nam, as well as evidence on the impact of entrepreneurship programmes. This report’s findings add to the global debate on youth entrepreneurship in three important ways. First, it constitutes an unprecedented effort to capture the real situations and multiple faces of young entrepreneurs in selected developing countries. Second, it provides new empirical evidence on the determinants of youth entrepreneurial performance. Third, it proposes a policy roadmap based on lessons learned from recent meta-analyses of the effectiveness of entrepreneurship programmes.
This report analyses the relationship between urban transport and inclusive development in Korea. First, it looks at how Korea is shifting from car-centered transport towards people-centered mobility. It discusses opportunities and challenges posed by current urban transport arrangements in Korea, and proposes options for improving urban transport governance. Second, the report uses advanced data analysis and space syntax methods to examine how accessibility to public transport shapes inclusiveness in Korean metropolitan areas. Third, it analyses public transport in four selected Korean cities (Seoul, Suwon, Changwon and Sejong), which offer interesting insights into how public transport policies can be tailored to local socio-economic profiles and urban landscapes.
This OECD Emission Scenario Document (ESD) provides information on the sources, use patterns, and potential release pathways of non-volatile chemicals used in textile dyes. The document focuses primarily on the application of dyes to fibers, yarns and fabrics by batch or continuous processes. The document presents standard approaches for estimating the environmental releases of and occupational exposures to non-volatile chemicals used in dye formulations.
Uranium is the raw material used to produce fuel for long-lived nuclear power facilities, necessary for the generation of significant amounts of baseload low-carbon electricity for decades to come. Although a valuable commodity, declining market prices for uranium in recent years, driven by uncertainties concerning evolutions in the use of nuclear power, have led to the postponement of mine development plans in a number of countries and to some questions being raised about future uranium supply. This 26th edition of the “Red Book”, a recognised world reference on uranium jointly prepared by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), provides analyses and information from 49 producing and consuming countries in order to address these and other questions. The present edition provides the most recent review of world uranium market fundamentals and presents data on global uranium exploration, resources, production and reactor-related requirements. It offers updated information on established uranium production centres and mine development plans, as well as projections of nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related requirements through 2035, in order to address long-term uranium supply and demand issues.
The Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia project explores how to promote green growth in cities in Asia, examining policies and governance practices that encourage environmental sustainability and competitiveness in a rapidly expanding economy. This synthesis report presents the results of case studies along with practical policy recommendations, reflecting the local contexts of Southeast Asia. While Southeast Asian cities are affected by a range of economic, infrastructure, environmental and social challenges, ongoing rapid development offers opportunities to shift towards greener growth models. The concept of urban green growth can be a powerful vector of sustainable development, by emphasising the existence and potential of co-benefits between economic and environmental performance.
Since 1950, the number of urban agglomerations in West Africa increased from 152 to almost 2 000, and today towns and cities are home to 41% of the region’s total population. Cities and their inhabitants are increasingly shaping West Africa’s economic, political and social landscape. Yet there is little up-to-date data available for analysis and the formulation of development policy at the local, national and regional levels.
Africapolis, a comprehensive and homogenous dataset on urbanisation, is a significant step towards closing this data gap. The 2015 update covers 17 West African countries spanning the period 1950 to 2010. Its original methodology combines demographic sources, satellite and aerial imagery to provide population estimates and geolocation at the level of individual agglomerations. The morphological approach adopted by Africapolis helps identify territorial transformation processes which are at the core of West Africa’s complex urbanisation dynamics and can be observed at several levels: metropolises, secondary cities, the merging of villages and the formation of conurbations.
The identification of cities with fewer than 100 000 inhabitants is a major contribution of Africapolis – 90% of West Africa’s cities, or a combined population of 45 million people, fall into this category – a figure which underscores the important role of small cities within the urban system. This edition also includes new measurements of urbanisation in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, constituting the most complete dataset on urbanisation dynamics in this country to date.
A combination of rapidly increasing energy demand and fuel imports plus growing concern about economic and environmental consequences is generating growing calls for effective and thorough energy governance in India. Numerous policy reforms over the past 20 years have shifted the country’s energy sector from a state-dominated system towards one that is based on market principles. However, with the reform process left unfinished, India now finds itself trapped halfway along the transition to an open and well-performing energy sector.
India suffered from the largest power outage ever in late July 2012, affecting nearly half of the population. While this incident highlights the importance of modern and smart energy systems, it indicates that the country is increasingly unable to deliver a secure supply of energy to its population, a quarter of which still lacks access to electricity.
Understanding Energy Challenges in India aims to provide an informative and holistic understanding of India’s energy sector to stakeholders in India as well as the broad public.
The publication explores in detail the policies, players and issues of the country’s power, coal, oil and gas, renewables and nuclear sectors. It also highlights the key challenges India faces, challenges that must be resolved for the evolution of the fast-growing country’s energy sector towards a sustainable energy future and eventually critical for the prospects of the Indian and global economies.