Browse by: "2015"

This report focuses on the urban water management challenges facing cities across OECD countries, and explores both national and local policy responses with respect to water-risk exposure, the state of urban infrastructures and dynamics, and institutional and governance architectures. The analyses focus on four mutually dependent dimensions – finance, innovation, urban-rural co-operation and governance – and proposes a solutions-oriented typology based on urban characteristics. The report underlines that sustainable urban water management will depend on collaboration across different tiers of government working together with local initiatives and stakeholders.

Water is abundant in Brazil, but unevenly distributed across regions and users. Remarkable progress to reform the sector has been achieved since the 1997 National Water Law, but economic, climate and urbanisation trends generate threats that may jeopardize national growth and development. The consequences are particularly acute in regions where tensions across water users already exist or are likely to grow. The report is the result of a policy dialogue with more than 100 stakeholders at different levels in Brazil. It assesses the performance of Brazil’s water governance and suggests policy recommendations for strengthening the co-ordination between federal and state water policies and for setting up more robust water allocation regimes that can better cope with future risks. The report concludes with an action plan, which suggests concrete milestones and champion institutions to implement those recommendations.

This OECD Emission Scenario Document (ESD) provides information on the sources, use patterns, and potential release pathways of chemicals used in adhesive products, specifically during the use of adhesives in various industries. The document presents standard approaches for estimating the environmental releases of and occupational exposures to additives and components used in adhesive formulations.

While access to schooling has expanded around the world, many countries have not realised the hoped-for improvements in economic and social well-being. Access to education by itself is an incomplete goal for development; many students leave the education system without basic proficiency in literacy and numeracy. As the world coalesces around new sustainable development targets towards 2030, the focus in education is shifting towards access and quality. Using projections based on data from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and other international student assessments, this report offers a glimpse of the stunning economic and social benefits that all countries, regardless of their national wealth, stand to gain if they ensure that every child not only has access to education but, through that education, acquires at least the baseline level of skills needed to participate fully in society.

This report contains revised standards for transfer pricing documentation incorporating a master file, local file, and a template for country-by-country reporting of revenues, profits, taxes paid and certain measures of economic activity. The revised standardised approach  will require taxpayers to articulate consistent transfer pricing positions and will provide tax administrations with useful information to assess transfer pricing and other BEPS risks, make determinations about where audit resources can most effectively be deployed, and, in the event audits are called for, provide information to commence and target audit enquiries. Country-by-country reports will be disseminated through an automatic government-to-government exchange mechanism. The implementation package included in this report sets out guidance to ensure that the reports are provided in a timely manner, that confidentiality is preserved and that the information is used appropriately, by incorporating model legislation and model Competent Authority Agreements forming the basis for government-to-government exchanges of the reports.

The 2011 Green Growth Strategy provided initial guidance to governments on how to achieve economic growth and development, while preventing costly environmental damage and inefficient resource use. What progress have countries made in aligning economic and environmental priorities since 2011? This report attempts to evaluate this progress and highlight where there is broad scope to heighten the ambition and effectiveness of green growth policy. It draws lessons from green growth mainstreaming across the OECD’s work programme, notably in terms of how governments can maximise institutional settings to seize economic opportunities surrounding the transition to a green economy, and considers ways to enrich the Green Growth Strategy based on work undertaken since its launch.

For most countries in the OECD, 2015 is the seventh or eighth year of dealing with the budgetary consequences of the economic and financial crisis. These years have been marked by challenges of fiscal retrenchment of a scale and nature unprecedented in modern times. Previous OECD publications have tracked the fiscal policy responses adopted by OECD governments during the early years of the crisis (2007-2012). This book takes stock of how these responses have evolved and in recent years, up to 2014/15. Two points are apparent from the outset: the response to the crisis has had repercussions for virtually every aspect of budgetary governance; and there are clear lessons for governments about the conduct of fiscal policy – including in its institutional aspects – that should inform future decisions and the agenda of budgetary reform.

Decommissioning of both commercial and R&D nuclear facilities is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, and the largest of such industrial decommissioning projects could command considerable budgets. Several approaches are currently being used for decommissioning cost estimations, with an international culture developing in the field. The present cost estimation practice guide was prepared in order to offer international actors specific guidance in preparing quality cost and schedule estimates to support detailed budgeting for the preparation of decommissioning plans, for the securing of funds and for decommissioning implementation. This guide is based on current practices and standards in a number of NEA member countries and aims to help consolidate the practice and process of decommissioning cost estimation so as to make it more widely understood. It offers a useful reference for the practitioner and for training programmes.

In order to maintain the strong progress achieved since 2000 and meet Africa's longer-term challenges, it is important for both African governments and their international partners to meet their development commitments and to monitor and evaluate their results. This is the purpose of this eighth Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in Africa, a unique exercise in mutual accountability jointly undertaken by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, under a mandate from the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government. As we move on to the 2030 Agenda and the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals, this 2015 edition covers four broad policy areas: sustainable economic growth, investing in people’s well being, good governance and financing for sustainable development. It provides an in-depth review of the implementation of commitments in 19 individual topics and considers future policy priorities. It aims to provide a practical tool for political leaders and policy makers, looking at Africa as a whole, while recognising the remarkable degree of diversity across the continent.

The Missing Entrepreneurs 2015 is the third edition in a series of annual reports that provide data and policy analysis on inclusive entrepreneurship. Inclusive entrepreneurship involves business start-up and self-employment activities that contribute to social inclusion as well as to economic growth, covering entrepreneurship activities by social groups such as youth, women, seniors, immigrants and the unemployed. The report contains data on the scale and scope of entrepreneurship and self-employment activities across EU Member States by social target groups, as well as the barriers they face. The report also contains special thematic chapters on supporting growth for entrepreneurs from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, effective coaching and mentoring, and the role of public procurement in supporting inclusive entrepreneurship. Each thematic chapter discusses current policy issues and challenges, and makes recommendations for EU policy makers. The report also provides inspiring policy-practice examples from each of the 28 EU Members.

The report provides an outline of recent and likely future urbanisation trends and discusses the consequences. The world is in the middle of an urbanisation process that will cause urbanisation rates to rise from low double digit rates to more than 80% by the end of the century. It argues that this is both a great opportunity and a great challenge, as decisions taken today will affect the lifes of people for a long time to come. The report aims at explaining why cities exist, and what can make them prosperous and function well. It also discusses whether cities are good for residents, for the countries they are located in and for the global environment. The report argues that cities exist and grow because they are a source of economic prosperity and offer amenities that benefit their residents. It concludes that urbanisation is a process that needs to be shaped by policy makers to ensure that all benefit from it.

The public sector has to become more innovative if it is to tackle today’s complex challenges and meet society’s changing expectations. But becoming truly innovative requires deep and broad changes to organisational culture and operations. Drawing on evidence emerging from the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation’s collection of innovative practices from around the world, this report looks at how to create a government where innovation is encouraged and nurtured.