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framework, this Round Table stands out from other overly conventional approaches.
Effective systems for allocating, managing and controlling public sector resources are fundamental elements of good governance. The need for continuing fiscal restraint and demands for more and better public services are changing budgetary practices in OECD countries. Budgets are being used increasingly as instruments for promoting managerial improvement and programme effectiveness, in addition to their control and allocation functions. This report analyses budget practices and innovations in twenty-two OECD countries. It describes how the practice of budgeting is contributing to a greater performance orientation in the public sector. It also provides standard summaries of the institutional framework and procedures governing budgeting in each of these countries.
Unemployment and related welfare benefits help prevent those without work from falling into poverty but at the same time reduce the incentive to work; this is one of the main dilemmas of social policy. For the first time, this publication analyses the complicated interactions of tax and benefit systems for many different family types and labour market situations. This volume enables the reader to discover exactly what features of the tax and benefit system cause disincentives to work; it compares all the different benefits made available to those without work and the taxes they pay with potential in-work incomes. In-work incomes in some countries are little higher than benefits made available to those without work. Furthermore, some benefits are withdrawn as earnings rise, reducing the attraction of moving up the job ladder. Unemployed families who face these disincentives may become locked in unemployment and are at risk of exclusion from the labour market.
Industrial biotechnology has come of age: after decades spent in the shadow of two better-known fields, health and agro-food biotechnology, it has emerged into a world where environmental sustainability has become a global concern. However, sustainability and "clean" industrial processes will not be achieved without a stream of innovations based on science and technology, among which biotechnology will play an important role.
This report illustrates how modern process biotechnology is penetrating industrial operations, and highlights its environmental and economic advantages over other technologies. It identifies technical and other bottlenecks, but also emphasizes that industry and governments must act together to address the challenges of industrial sustainability.
Trends in bank profitability and factors affecting it are major indicators of changes in the state of health of national banking systems. These OECD statistics, based on financial statements of banks, provide a unique tool for analysing developments in aggregate bank profitability. For each category of bank (all banks, large commercial banks, other commercial banks, foreign commercial banks, cooperaive banks, savings banks, etc) in each reporting country, an aggregate income statement and balance sheet is provided. In addition, supplementary information on number of institutions, branches, and staff covered by the data is included. Statistics on Ireland are included for the first time.
The optimisation of the nuclear fuel cycle is a key issue for the sustainability of nuclear energy. This book presents the papers from a workshop which investigated alternative nuclear energy futures, with emphasis on back-end of the fuel cycle options that could enhance the sustainability of nuclear energy in the long term, to 2050 and beyond. The papers lay out the conditions that need to be fulfilled for nuclear energy to remain a viable option and highlight the technological and strategic developments underway to address those issues. Subjects covered include natural resource management, radioactive waste minimisation, cost reduction and proliferation resistance aspects of alternative reactor and fuel cycle technologies.
In many countries of the OECD business incubators have become an increasingly popular policy instrument for local economic and employment development. Business incubators aim to assist entrepreneurs with enterprise start-ups. Incubators are also being widely used to pursue related objectives such as the commercialisation of university research, providing infrastructure, upgrading the technological capabilities of local firms, and even affording a safe haven for legitimate entrepreneurship where crime is a constraint on business. As this publication makes clear, there is no unique business incubation model. Rather, there is considerable diversity in the types of business incubator, their modes of operation and the objectives they pursue.
Interest in business incubation comes from a variety of sources. Local and regional governments, universities, chambers of commerce, science parks, private real-estate developers and non-profit organisations have all participated in establishing and running incubation programmes. However, this is still a young industry in many countries, and evaluation material is scarce. This publication reviews current experience in business incubation in Australia, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Indeed, this volume is one of the first to treat the international experience of business incubation.
Trends in bank profitability and factors affecting it are major indicators of changes in the state of health of national banking systems. These OECD statistics, based on financial statements of banks, provide a unique tool for analysing developments in aggregate bank profitability in the period 1987-1996. For each category of bank (all banks, large commercial banks, other commercial banks, foreign commercial banks, cooperaive banks, savings banks, etc) in each reporting country, an aggregate income statement and balance sheet is provided. In addition, supplementary information on number of institutions, branches, and staff covered by the data is included. Statistics on Ireland are included for the first time.
Both firms, keen to improve their competitiveness, and governments, keen to exploit new sources of economic and social progress, need to understand how innovation works in order to better stimulate it. The paradox of innovation is that it uses co-operation to enhance competition and to link many different actors in innovative clusters. In a knowledge-based economy, these clusters of innovative firms form around sources of knowledge. They are based on a sophisticated infrastructure in which knowledge is developed, shared and exchanged, and are characterised by highly concentrated and effective links between entrepreneurs, investors and researchers. Clusters can take a variety of forms, depending on their main technological and commercial areas of specialisation. In most cases they operate within localised geographical areas and interact within larger innovation systems at the regional, national and international level. With globalisation, dynamic clusters are becoming key factors in a country’s capacity to attract the international investment that generates new technological expertise, to interest investors in innovation (venture capital, etc.) and to benefit from the international mobility of skilled personnel. This book reviews the latest economic research on these issues, shows how technology policy makers in OECD countries are making practical use of the concept of clusters and suggests how government policies to foster innovation might best be refocused.
Radioactive and stable isotopes are used throughout the world and in many sectors, including medicine, industry, agriculture and research. In many applications isotopes have no substitute, and in most others they are more effective and cheaper than alternative techniques or processes.
This publication is the first international survey on the beneficial uses and production of isotopes. It provides an overview of their main uses, and detailed information on the facilities that produce them world-wide. Trends in isotope supply and demand are analysed, and the conclusions and recommendations presented point to key issues to be considered by governments.
Unemployment and related benefits help prevent those without work from falling into poverty but at the same time reduce the incentive to work; this is one of the main dilemmas of social policy. The Benefit Systems and Work Incentives series, started in 1998, addresses all the complicated interactions of tax and benefit systems for many different family types and labour market situations. This year's edition includes a section that describes the changes that occurred over the two-year period 1995-1997 affecting benefit systems and work incentives in OECD countries. We have also included some detailed calculations which illustrate the uses of net income calculations and the resulting marginal effective tax rates. Furthermore, Greece has now been included amongst the countries in our study. The series is a valuable tool used to compare the different benefits made available to those without work (net of taxes) with potential in-work incomes. This differential, in some countries, is very small. Furthermore, the reduction of certain benefits, as earnings rise, sometimes reduces the attraction of moving up the job ladder. Consequently unemployed families, who face these disincentives, may become locked in unemployment and are at risk of exclusion from the labour market.
Die vier Kapitel beschäftigen sich mit folgenden Themen:
- Projektionen des Anstiegs der Beteiligungszahlen in der formellen allgemeinen und beruflichen Bildung zur Erreichung der Ziele des lebenslangen Lernens
- Bildungspolitische Möglichkeiten zur Gewährung der Vorteile einer Erziehung und Betreuung im Vorschulalter
- Der Einsatz von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien im Bildungswesen - Gleiche Chancen im Tertiärbereich.
Energy and nuclear policy makers face many challenges as they evaluate options to ensure an adequate supply of electricity while pursuing environmental, economic and energy security goals. Many analysts suggest that nuclear’s share of global energy supply could decrease in coming decades. If energy markets and national energy policies continue along "business as usual" lines, what are the issues that arise? What are the consequences for the long-term availability of nuclear technology and expertise? This book identifies the issues in a series of papers presented at a recent meeting jointly organised by the International Energy Agency and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. Senior energy policy makers and industry executives from OECD Member countries contributed these analyses. They offer a realistic assessment of nuclear’s potential contribution, and the major challenges awaiting nuclear energy and energy supply in general. For those seeking a review of the current issues facing nuclear power within the broad context of energy policy, this is an essential report.
Die Ausgabe „Bildung auf einen Blick – OECD-Indikatoren“ für das Jahr 2000 präsentiert eine umfassende Auswahl aktueller und vergleichbarer Bildungsindikatoren. Die Indikatoren spiegeln den Konsens der Fachwelt wider, wie sich der derzeitige Stand der Bildung international am besten messen lässt. Sie stellen Informationen über die Human- und Finanzressourcen für Bildung, über die Arbeitsweise und Weiterentwicklung von Bildungssystemen und über die Erträge von Bildungsinvestitionen zur Verfügung.
Die diesjährige Ausgabe von „Bildung auf einen Blick“ bringt weitere Fortschritte bei der Berichterstattung international vergleichbarer Daten im Bereich des lebenslangen Lernens und seiner Auswirkungen auf die Gesellschaft und die Wirtschaft. Sie gibt außerdem neue Einblicke in die Finanzierung tertiärer Bildung, mit einem Schwerpunkt auf öffentliche Zuschüsse und Beihilfen zum Studium und deren Nutznießer. Neue Indikatoren bieten zudem Informationen zu der internationalen Mobilität von Studierenden, zur Teilnahme von Beschäftigten an Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen und zu Schülern mit speziellen Bildungsbedürfnissen aufgrund von Behinderungen, Lernschwierigkeiten und sozialen Benachteiligungen.
Eine deutlich größere Anzahl von Ländern liefert mittlerweile Daten. In diesem Jahr haben zudem eine Reihe von Nichtmitgliedstaaten im Rahmen des “World Education Indicators“- Programms Daten beigesteuert, so dass einige Indikatoren fast zwei Drittel der Weltbevölkerung umfassen.
The Black Sea region lies at the crossroads of major oil and gas export streams to the Mediterranean and Western Europe. Energy projects in the Caspian states depend vitally on the possibility of moving oil and gas out of the region. The Black Sea and its riparian states form a vital transit route. This is the first study of the Black Sea region as a whole, its energy needs and how future oil and gas transport in the region could develop. The Black Sea Energy Survey complements the previous IEA study on Caspian Oil and Gas. It reviews the energy policies and sectors of seven countries with diverse energy situations. Azerbaijan is a major oil producer and exporter, Armenia and Georgia are energy-poor, Bulgaria and Romania are EU accession candidates which must restructure their domestic oil and coal industries, while Greece and Turkey are IEA Member states. This study covers energy strategies, institutions and restructuring, as well as recent and projected energy trends in these countries. The book analyses the reforms that are still needed to attract significant investment, both into domestic energy projects and regional energy trade.
Trends in bank profitability and factors affecting it are major indicators of changes in the state of health of national banking systems. OECD statistics published annually under the title Bank Profitability -- Financial Statements of Banks, provide a unique tool for analysing developments in bank profitability in twenty-nine Member countries. Methodological country notes included in this volume were prepared to facilitate the comprehension and the interpretation of the statistics and to provide a brief description of the activities of banks in each country.
This brochure is published within the framework of the activities of the Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables set up by the OECD in 1962. It comprises comments and illustrations to facilitate the common interpretation of the standard in force and is therefore a valuable tool for both the Inspection Authorities and professional bodies responsible for the application of standards or interested in the international trade in this product.
Isotopes, radioactive and stable, are used worldwide in various applications related to medical diagnosis or care, industry and scientific research. More than fifty countries have isotope production or separation facilities operated for domestic supply, and sometimes for international markets.
This publication provides up-to-date information on the current status of, and trends in, isotope uses and production. It also presents key issues, conclusions and recommendations, which will be of interest to policy makers in governmental bodies, scientists and industrial actors in the field.
Trends in bank profitability and factors affecting it are major indicators of changes in the state of health of national banking systems. These OECD statistics, based on financial statements of banks, provide a unique tool for analysing developments in aggregate bank profitability. For each category of bank (all banks, large commercial banks, other commercial banks, foreign commercial banks, cooperaive banks, savings banks, etc) in each reporting country, an aggregate income statement and balance sheet is provided. In addition, supplementary information on number of institutions, branches, and staff covered by the data is included.
The development of liquid, sound and deep bond markets has become one of the most important policy issues in the financial sector in Asian countries. In fact, though this issue has been discussed for a while now, the Asian financial crisis re-emphasised its importance, and it is worth discussing this issue in the framework of the post-crisis landscape.
The second "Round Table on Capital Market Reforms in Asia" held in Tokyo in April 2000, which was organised by the OECD and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), focused on bond market development in Asia. Bond market development involves a number of inter-related issues and it is not an easy task, especially for emerging economies. Though there have been a number of positive developments in Asia in this field, it is also true that it takes time for a bond market to become well-developed in Asia. This publication is based on a summary of the proceedings of the second Round Table, together with papers on the experience of both Asian and OECD countries presented at the meeting and on the discussions by the participants. This volume will surely serve as an indispensable source of information on capital market reform, and in particular on bond market development in Asia; it will constitute a reference book on those topics for policy-makers and experts in both the public and private sectors.