Browse by: "S"

Social science research should lead to a better understanding of current societal developments and enable policy makers to propose solutions to problems and design policies that can serve the public more effectively. Governments are increasingly aware of the need and opportunities to improve the contribution of social science knowledge to policy making and are keen to realise this potential. Can the social sciences act as an agent of societal change? How can they contribute to social practice? How can their policy relevance be increased? Can best practice in other research fields and economic sectors be a source of inspiration on new approaches to sharing knowledge? And how can the divide between the two communities - social scientists and decision makers - be narrowed? These are some of the enduring questions tackled by academics and policy makers at the Workshop on the Contribution of Social Sciences to Knowledge and Decision Making, Bruges, 26-28 June 2000.

For some years now, short sea shipping (SSS) has benefited from a number of government initiatives aimed at promoting its development. The aim has been to promote a more balanced modal split in transport in Europe while also reducing the impact of transport on the environment, ensuring greater European cohesion and promoting a sustainable transport system. Up to now, SSS has aroused interest at policy level mainly as an alternative to road transport, the predominant mode in Europe. Yet, is SSS only an alternative to road transport? Can it be seen as a separate component of an integrated transport network in its own right? This book shows what role SSS can play in the context of modal complementarity and what challenges European policy makers will be presented with.

Part I of this two-part study sets out a framework for the analysis of State trading enterprises (STEs). It emphasises their diverse nature and the imperfectly competitive markets in which many of them operate. Although State trading enterprises may be granted monopoly powers, their objectives and therefore their behaviour may differ from that of private sector monopolies. All these factors should be considered in trying to assess the potential impact of STEs on market access or on world export markets.
Part II assembles and classifies a large amount of information and data concerning agricultural state trading enterprises in OECD countries. The criteria used relate to the potential of these enterprises to distort markets and trade.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE STATISTICS, VOLUME 1: Core Data, VOLUME 2: Energy Consumption In this seventeenth edition, Volume 1, Core Data, provides official annual data for detailed industrial sectors (mining and quarrying, manufacturing, utilities, and construction) as well as for detailed service sectors, covering such variables as production, value added, employment, investment, exports, imports, wages and salaries, number of establishments, number of enterprises and hours worked. Eight years' data are shown up to 1998. The series are derived from structural business surveys and foreign trade statistics. Data are classified according to both versions of ISIC and are shown in two parts: 18 tables in ISIC Revision 2 and 324 tables (industry and services) in ISIC Revision 3. An annex presents qualitative information on national sources and definitions. Volume 2, Energy Consumption, presents annual energy consumption data in manufacturing sectors. Over the last 25 years, energy consumption has become just as important as energy supply for policy makers. There is a need for energy efficiency indicators and data to monitor developments in energy consumption and energy efficiency trends as they affect the environment. In order to analyse energy use and energy efficiency, it is essential to have disaggregated industry level consumption data. The Structural Statistics for Industry and Services (SSIS) Energy Data Programme provides such data. Time series of annual energy consumption are provided at the disaggregated manufacturing industry level for most of the OECD countries from 1990 to 1999 where available. Volume 2 is available in English only.

What is the contribution of the social sciences to improving our understanding of social and technological innovation processes? How can they help to overcome some of the barriers to technological and social innovation and improve the management of innovation by limiting the negative side-effects of new technologies and social change? And how can social and technological innovations contribute to the better functioning of social science?
These were some of the questions tackled at the Tokyo Workshop on Social Sciences and Innovation which brought together high-level experts and policy makers from the OECD countries as well as from Asia, Africa and South America to discuss the role of the social sciences in fostering innovation.

Over the last 50 years particle accelerators have evolved from simple devices to powerful machines, and will continue to have an important impact on research, technology and lifestyle. Today, they cover a wide range of applications, from television and computer displays in households to investigating the origin and structure of matter. It has become common practice to use particle accelerators for material science and medical applications. In recent years, requirements from new technological and research applications have emerged, giving rise to new radiation shielding aspects and problems. These workshop proceedings review recent progress in radiation shielding of accelerator facilities, evaluating advancements and discussing further developments needed with respect to international co-operation in this field.

How can we meet the needs of today without diminishing the capacity of future generations to meet theirs? This is the central question posed by "sustainable development". OECD countries committed themselves to sustainable development at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, yet - almost ten years later - progress accomplished remains partial and uneven. Drawing on analysis carried forward in response to a mandate from OECD Ministers in 1998, this report stresses the urgency to address some of the most pressing challenges for sustainable development. It reviews the conceptual foundations of sustainable development, its measurement, and the institutional reforms needed to make it operational. It then discusses how international trade and investment, as well as development co-operation, can contribute to sustainable development on a global basis, and reviews the experience of OECD countries in using market-based, regulatory and technology policies to reach sustainability goals in a cost-effective way. The report also provides an in-depth analysis of policies designed to address key threats to sustainability in the areas of climate change and natural resource management, as well as of those that respond to sustainability concerns at the sectoral and sub-national level. The common thrust of the report is that substantial opportunities exist to make economic growth, environmental protection, and social development mutually reinforcing.

Analysis of the long-term safety of radioactive waste repositories, using performance assessment and other tools, is required prior to implementation. The initial stage in developing a repository safety assessment is the identification of all factors that may be relevant to the long-term safety of the repository and their combination to form scenarios. This must be done in a systematic and transparent way in order to assure the regulatory authorities that nothing important has been forgotten. This report is a review of developments in scenario methodologies based on a large body of practical experience in safety assessments. It will be of interest to radioactive waste management experts as well as to other specialists involved in the development of scenario methodologies.

The papers in this volume attempt to bring the facts about spin-offs from public research to light. Universities and research institutions are more entrepreneurial than ever before, and spin-offs represent the success of their new commercial orientation. But hopes about the importance of new firm generation from cutting-edge research, should be informed by better data on new firm creation and their economic impacts. The papers in this volume explore the steady rise of research-based spin-offs across the OECD, and rely on recent data to explain the factors of success, and to formulate better institutional practices and national policies.

School libraries and resource centres are constantly changing in response to the emergence of new technologies and new ways of learning. How should the library of the future be designed? What role will it play as a school facility, within the educational system and in society as a whole? This book addresses these questions through examples from diverse OECD countries.

The impact of information technology, innovation and entrepreneurship on economic performance is the subject of heated debate. Despite the current economic downturn, changes in these factors have brought about crucial, lasting changes to the growth dynamics of OECD countries.

This special edition of the Science, Technology and Industry Outlook takes a closer look at the ways in which these factors are evolving and how they relate to each other. It examines the main problem areas and recommends a number of policy responses. The areas which receive in-depth consideration include policies to increase returns from ICT investment, software, telecom reform, raising returns from R&D, industry science relations, and policies to facilitate the entry of new firms as well as the exit of existing uncompetitive ones. A key message is that an improved performance requires coherent and comprehensive policy responses. While domestic policy must take the lead in many areas, some of the obstacles to communication, scientific development, innovation and entrepreneurship cannot be removed through national measures alone. The report highlights a number of issues which require international solutions that can only be implemented through improved international co-operation.

A serious incident involving dangerous goods in a tunnel can be extremely costly in terms of loss of human lives, environmental degradation, tunnel damage and transport disruption. On the other hand, needlessly banning dangerous goods from tunnels may create unjustified economic costs. Moreover, such a ban might force operators to use more dangerous routes, such as densely populated areas, and thus increase the overall risk. This report proposes regulations and procedures to increase the safety and efficiency of transporting dangerous goods through road tunnels. It introduces two models, developed as part of the study: the first quantifies the risks involved in transporting dangerous goods through tunnels and by road; the second, a decision-support model, assists in the determination of the restrictions which need to be applied to the transport of dangerous goods through tunnels. Finally, measures to reduce both the risks and the consequences of incidents in tunnels are examined in detail.

Developing countries want to join in the globalisation process. However, the increasing complexity of global markets, the new challenges of the multilateral trading system and the competing demands of regional, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements confront developing countries with an expanding array of competitiveness and policy challenges. And, in many cases, they lack the institutional and human resource capacity to meet these challenges.

The DAC Guidelines on Strengthening Trade Capacity for Development have been prepared on the basis of an emerging international consensus and understanding of how the international community can work together more effectively. They intend to help developing countries enhance their capacity to trade and participate more effectively in the international rule-making and institutional mechanisms that shape the global trading system. They also provide a common reference point for the trade, aid and finance communities, putting trade capacity building in the context of comprehensive approaches to development and poverty reduction.

This publication provides policy guidance on good practice in developing and implementing strategies for sustainable development. While it focuses on the experience of developing countries, many of the issues covered and lessons drawn are of equal relevance to developed countries. It draws from international experience over the past two decades in both developed and developing countries as well as from a process of multi-stakeholders dialogue in Bolivia, Burkina-Faso, Ghana, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tanzania and Thailand, to assess their experience of country-level strategies for sustainable development.

The DAC Guidelines on Strategies for Sustainable Development aim to provide guidance for development co-operation agencies in their efforts to assist developing countries towards sustainable development. They should also be of value to policy-makers, planners and development practitioners, as well as to academics, students and development analysts in all countries.

OECD's journal on science, technology and industry issues.  This issue includes articles on science and technology indicators.