Browse by: "2014"

This is an updated edition which includes new supplements on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten and on Gold.

Trade and investment in natural mineral resources hold great potential for generating income, growth and prosperity, sustaining livelihoods and fostering local development. However, a large share of these resources is located in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. In these areas, exploitation of natural mineral resources is significant and may contribute, directly or indirectly, to armed conflict, gross human rights violations and hinder economic and social development. The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas provides step-by-step management recommendations endorsed by governments for global responsible supply chains of minerals in order for companies to respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral or metal purchasing decisions and practices. The Due Diligence Guidance may be used by any company potentially sourcing minerals or metals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas, and is intended to cultivate transparent, conflict-free supply chains and sustainable corporate engagement in the minerals sector.

Après une première publication de référence, Comment apprend-on ? : La recherche au service de la pratique, ce second volume vient désormais compléter cet ensemble, autour de 40 études de cas approfondies d’environnements pédagogiques du XXIe siècle qui ont fait le pari de l’innovation. Fort d’un riche corpus de données internationales, cet ouvrage présente un nouveau cadre conceptuel, organisé autour de huit chapitres, pour comprendre ces environnements pédagogiques. Abondamment illustré par une multitude d’exemples locaux, il fait valoir qu’un environnement pédagogique contemporain se doit de :

• favoriser l’innovation des éléments et des dynamiques de son « noyau pédagogique » ;
• devenir une « organisation formative » grâce à des stratégies solides de conception accompagnées de pratiques correspondantes de leadership pédagogique, d’évaluation et de feedback ;
• s’ouvrir aux partenariats pour développer son capital social et professionnel, et pérenniser son renouveau et son dynamisme ; et
• promouvoir l’efficacité du XXIe siècle grâce à la mise en œuvre des principes pédagogiques ILE.

En conclusion, cet ouvrage donne des indications sur les moyens d’y parvenir, notamment sur le rôle de la technologie, des réseaux et du changement des cultures organisationnelles.

The evidence is clear: energy efficiency has played, and continues to play, a large and valuable role in the sustainable development of the global economy. The energy demand that is avoided as a result of steady improvements in the efficiency of energy-using stock such as buildings, cars and appliances is larger than the total final consumption from coal, oil or gas in IEA member countries.

The market for energy efficiency investments is very large – estimated between USD 310 billion and USD 360 billion in 2011 – and this market is producing results: total final consumption in IEA countries is estimated to be 60% lower today because of energy efficiency improvements over the last four decades. Since 2001, investments in energy efficiency in 18 IEA countries have helped to avoid over 1 700 million tonnes of oil-equivalent from being consumed.

This year’s report includes an in-depth look at energy efficiency developments in the transport sector and in finance. Huge new waves of demand for mobility are emerging in OECD non‑member economies, bringing with them the challenges of pollution and congestion already faced in OECD countries. Fuel-economy standards and other policies are expected to help shape the market for more energy-efficient vehicles in the years to come. In financial markets, energy efficiency is becoming an important segment in its own right, aided by a growing range of financial products. We document the growing scale and diversity of energy efficiency products and actors.

Finally, this report reviews national energy efficiency market developments in various jurisdictions around the world, including Canada, China, the European Union, India and Italy. These case studies provide snapshots of specific energy efficiency sub-markets, and insights into how these markets may evolve in the coming years.

The Development Co-operation Report (DCR) is a yearly report by the Chair of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) that addresses important challenges for the international development community and provides practical guidance and recommendations on how to tackle them. Moreover, it reports the profiles and performance of DAC development co-operation providers and presents DAC statistics on official development assistance (ODA) and private resource flows.

The Development Co-operation Report 2014: Mobilising resources for sustainable development is the second in a trilogy (2013-15) focusing on “Global Development Co-operation Post-2015: Managing Interdependence”. The report provides an overview of the sources of finance available to developing countries and proposes recommendations on how to mobilise further resources. It also explores how to mobilise resources to finance the provision of global public goods: for example, to combat climate change, promote peace and security, and create a fair and equal trading system.

How’s life? The answer can depend on the region in which you live. Many factors that influence people’s well-being are local issues, such as employment, access to health services, pollution and security. Policies that take into account regional differences beyond national averages can therefore have a greater impact on improving well-being for the country as a whole.

This report presents the OECD analytical framework for measuring well-being at the regional level, as well as internationally comparable indicators on 9 well-being dimensions for 362 regions across 34 OECD countries. It also sets out guidance for all levels of government in using well-being measures to better target policies at the specific needs of different communities. Drawing on a variety of practical experiences from OECD regions and cities, the report discusses methodological and political solutions for selecting regional well-being outcome indicators, monitoring the progress of regional well-being performance over time, and implementing a process of multi-stakeholder engagement to promote social change.

An integral component of any green growth strategy is a highly-reliable set of measurement tools and indicators that would enable policy makers to evaluate how effective policies are, and to gauge the progress being achieved in shifting economic activity onto a greener path. These tools and indicators, which will need to be based on internationally comparable data, must also be embedded in a conceptual framework and selected according to a clearly-specified set of criteria.

This report is a first step towards developing a framework to monitor progress on green growth in the agricultural sector in OECD countries. The goal is to identify relevant, succinct and measurable statistics to implement the OECD Green Growth Strategy Measurement Framework which provides a common basis for further developing green growth indicators in the agricultural sector in OECD countries.

Esta edición, la vigésima de la OCDE de Perspectivas Agrícolas, y la décima elaborada en conjunto con la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO), proporciona proyecciones hacia 2023 para los principales productos básicos agrícolas, los biocombustibles y el pescado. Se destaca en esta edición de 2014, la inclusión de un capítulo especial dedicado a India.

Se espera que la demanda se conserve fuerte para mantener los precios de los productos básicos estables, pero por debajo de los máximos recientes, con una recuperación de las existencias que conduce a una reducción del riesgo de volatilidad de los precios. India, hogar de la segunda mayor población del mundo, y el país más grande en términos del número de agricultores y población rural, se proyecta para mantener el crecimiento de la producción y el consumo de los últimos años, ofreciendo el potencial para reducir considerablemente el número de personas con inseguridad alimentaria.

How was life in 1820, and how has it improved since then? What are the long-term trends in global well-being? Views on social progress since the Industrial Revolution are largely based on historical national accounting in the tradition of Kuznets and Maddison. But trends in real GDP per capita may not fully re­flect changes in other dimensions of well-being such as life expectancy, education, personal security or gender inequality. Looking at these indicators usually reveals a more equal world than the picture given by incomes alone, but has this always been the case? The new report How Was Life? aims to fill this gap. It presents the first systematic evidence on long-term trends in global well-being since 1820 for 25 major countries and 8 regions in the world covering more than 80% of the world’s population. It not only shows the data but also discusses the underlying sources and their limitations, pays attention to country averages and inequality, and pinpoints avenues for further research.

The How Was Life? report is the product of collaboration between the OECD, the OECD Development Centre and the CLIO-INFRA project. It represents the culmination of work by a group of economic historians to systematically chart long-term changes in the dimensions of global well-being and inequality, making use of the most recent research carried out within the discipline. The historical evidence reviewed in the report is organised around 10 different dimensions of well-being that mirror those used by the OECD in its well-being report How’s Life?, and draw on the best sources and expertise currently available for historical perspectives in this field. These dimensions are:per capita GDP, real wages, educational attainment, life expectancy, height, personal security, political institutions, environmental quality, income inequality and gender inequality.

The mammalian in vivo chromosome aberration test is used for the detection of structural chromosome aberrations induced by test compounds in bone marrow cells of animals, usually rodents (rats, mice and Chinese hamsters). Structural chromosome aberrations may be of two types: chromosome or chromatid.

Animals are exposed to the test substance (liquid or solid) by an appropriate route of exposure (usually by gavage using a stomach tube or a suitable intubation cannula, or by intraperitoneal injection) and are sacrificed at appropriate times after treatment. Prior to sacrifice, animals are treated with a metaphase-arresting agent. Chromosome preparations are then made from the bone marrow cells and stained, and metaphase cells are analysed for chromosome aberrations. Each treated and control group must include at least 5 analysable animals per sex. The limit dose is 2000 mg/kg/body weight/day for treatment up to 14 days, and 1000 mg/kg/body weight/day for treatment longer than 14 days.

The mammalian in vivo micronucleus test is used for the detection of damage induced by the test substance to the chromosomes or the mitotic apparatus of erythroblasts, by analysis of erythrocytes as sampled in bone marrow and/or peripheral blood cells of animals, usually rodents (mice or rats).

The purpose of the micronucleus test is to identify substances (liquid or solid) that cause cytogenetic damage which results in the formation of micronuclei containing lagging chromosome fragments or whole chromosomes. An increase in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes in treated animals is an indication of induced chromosome damage. Animals are exposed to the test substance by an appropriate route (usually by gavage using a stomach tube or a suitable intubation cannula, or by intraperitoneal injection). Bone marrow and/or blood cells are collected, prepared and stained. Preparations are analyzed for the presence of micronuclei. Each treated and control group must include at least 5 analysable animals per sex. Administration of the treatments consists of a single dose of test substance or two daily doses (or more). The limit dose is 2000 mg/kg/body weight/day for treatment up to 14 days, and 1000 mg/kg/body weight/day for treatment longer than 14 days.