Browse by: "2018"

This OECD Learning Framework 2030 offers a vision and some underpinning principles for the future of education systems. It is about orientation, not prescription. The learning framework has been co-created for the OECD Education 2030 project by government representatives and a growing community of partners, including thought leaders, experts, school networks, school leaders, teachers, students and youth groups, parents, universities, local organisations and social partners. This is work in progress and we invite you to join us in developing future-ready education for all. This position paper describes the first results from this work. The initial framework was reviewed, tested and validated in an iterative process involving a range of stakeholders from around the world. They ensured that the framework is relevant across the globe, consistent with wider policies and can be implemented. We will finalise the framework by the end of 2018. In 2019, we will change gears and begin to explore the translation of the framework into pedagogy, assessment and the design of an instructional system.

This article examines how the European Union has addressed the dramatic influx of refugees through programmes funded by the EU budget. This migratory surge has placed significant and unexpected fiscal demands on the EU’s current multi-year budgetary framework. As a result, the EU has been forced to employ a variety of budgetary procedures and new fiscal instruments to give it the fiscal flexibility it needs to fund programmes administered inside and outside the EU. Some of these very new fiscal instruments add an additional layer of complexity to the current funding architecture, and it is too early to determine how well these spending practices stand up to Parliamentarian oversight, monitoring, auditing, and regular reporting.                                                      

This paper reviews the economic case for regulating ride-hailing and dockless bikeshare. Ride-hailing has disrupted heavily regulated taxi markets and is calling much of the rationale for taxi regulation into question. It argues for light-handed regulation to enable fair, nondistorting competition across the sector. A similar approach to bikeshare is needed, though the context differs greatly. These services are creating new mobility options, while their business models are evolving rapidly. Regulators should adopt a cautious approach which minimises the risk of undermining their potential.

We examine the impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on labor productivity in two ways: 1) creating high-paying jobs; and 2) improving employees’ human capital. Our analysis is based on a unique database that matches workers to companies, for the 450 largest companies in Israel, during the years 2005-2010. The main challenge in dentifying the impact of MNEs on labor productivity stems from their tendency to cherry-pick workers. This study offers an innovative solution to this selection bias by constructing a sample of employees who have all worked at MNEs at some point. We find that, on average, current employment at a MNE is associated with a wage premium of 8.3%. Moreover, past work experience at a MNE has a positive 1.6% impact on wages. Although economically significant, the results are relatively modest compared to those reported in the literature. In addition, we differentiate MNEs according to size and brand recognition, and find that the impact on wages is larger for leading MNEs. These results were found to be stable with respect to changes in the sample and in specifications.

Can the container port of Buenos Aires be adapted to the demands of the mega-ship era? Ever-larger ships and the cargo peaks they cause imply new requirements for container ports. This paper examines strategies for Argentina’s largest port, whose three container terminal concessions will expire in 2020.

This paper puts numbers on the investment needs for urban transport infrastructure under different policy scenarios. The cities of the future will be shaped by today’s decisions about physical transport assets, and the urgent need to halt climate change makes it more important than ever to get it right. The analysis shows that a low-carbon transport system is not necessarily more expensive than today’s mobility system, and can even be more cost-efficient.

Providers of development co-operation can benefit from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets and indicators for use in their results frameworks. The paper examines the SDG outcome and performance targets and indicators that fit with the goals of individual providers. It presents a menu of 60 SDG targets and indicators that can strengthen providers’ results frameworks, facilitate data collection and use, and offer improved platforms for dialogues on development co-operation results. The concept of “menu” recognises that individual providers and their partners prioritise different aspects of the 2030 Agenda. They can select and apply SDG targets and indicators to their existing results frameworks in accordance with their respective priorities. Results information is used for accountability and communication and hence tied to political goals for development co-operation. With clearer links to the SDGs, results information can also be used for strategic direction and learning by providers.

In 2016 the Polish government introduced a large new child benefit, called “Family 500+”, with the aim to increase fertility from a low level and reduce child poverty. The benefit is universal for the second and every further child and means-tested for the first child. Increasing out-of-work income significantly, the transfer can reduce incentives to participate in the labour market. We study the impact of the new benefit on female labour supply, using Polish Labour Force Survey data. Based on a difference-in-differences methodology we find that the labour market participation rates of women with children decreased after the introduction of the benefit compared to childless women. The estimates suggest that by mid-2017 the labour force participation rate of mothers dropped by 2- 3 percentage points, depending on the estimation specification, as a result of the “Family 500+” benefit. The effect was higher among women with lower levels of education and living in small towns.

This paper, a collaborative effort between the OECD LEED Trento Centre, the Emilia Romagna Region, and ERVET, aims to identify policy needs and priorities in the Adriatic-Ionian macro-region. Emphasizing locally-tailored approaches over top-down programs, it explores how integrated policies can stimulate growth and address exclusion. Focused on EU Cohesion Policy and the EUSAIR, it evaluates the alignment between the ADRION Programme and the macro-regional strategy. Through gap analyses and comparative studies, the paper offers recommendations to enhance ADRION's performance and strengthen coordination with the EUSAIR, providing valuable insights for policymakers navigating the complexities of regional development in the Adriatic-Ionian region.

The results of the Adult Skills Assessment confirm that there is a strong link between the level of literacy proficiency and the rate of teenage motherhood. Countries where this link is strongest could further encourage the prevention of and support with pregnancies before the age of 20 in the groups at highest risk. These measures are all the more crucial as they are about protecting not just the most vulnerable teenagers but also their prospective children against the long-term consequences of these early births.

The teacher workforce could be better prepared to cater to the learning needs of special needs students. The low percentage of teachers reporting a positive impact from their professional development signals that there is more to be done regarding the quality of the training offered in special needs education. Also, allocating more experienced and trained teachers to high-need classrooms, and providing continuous support to teachers and schools, can improve the quality of learning experiences of special needs students. This is important to ensure equal learning opportunities for all children and to create the conditions necessary for students with special needs to succeed.

This paper analyses the main regulatory obligations imposed on traditional taxis, the justifications behind them and how these have been impacted by the emergence of new players. Its objective is to look at the potential evolution of the current regulatory framework and at the potential challenges National Competition Authorities may experience in their enforcement activities. It was prepared as a background note for a discussion held at the OECD in June 2018 on Taxi, Ride-sourcing and Ride-sharing Services.

Finland raises a large amount of taxes to finance high-quality public services and redistribute income. Public finances are currently relatively solid and taxes and transfers reduce income inequality significantly. However, a rapidly ageing population pushes up public spending, while globalisation creates challenges in raising revenue. Hence, ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability requires both containing spending through efficiency gains in the provision of public services and raising revenue in a way that minimises deadweight costs and distortions weighing on growth and employment. Reducing further the tax wedge on labour income would lift employment. More revenue could be raised through a reduction in the range of goods and services subject to reduced VAT rates, higher taxes on consumption that is harmful to the environment or health and higher property taxes. A competitive corporate taxation, combined with international cooperation to avoid base erosion and profit shifting, is needed to foster local production.

Against a backdrop of the widening income distribution in most countries, OECD governments need to formulate policies that support sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Tax policies play a crucial role in this endeavour. Both tax theory and mounting empirical evidence suggest that many countries could achieve both higher and more broadly shared income growth. Many countries, however, seem hesitant to fundamentally restructure their tax systems to achieve higher and more inclusive growth. This reluctance begs a key question: Why forego tax policy reforms that hold the obvious promise of win-win outcomes of both higher and more inclusive growth? To offer some concrete answers to this question, this paper reports the findings of a synthesis of cross-country empirical work on the ranking (in terms of efficiency and distributional impact) of major tax instruments on the one hand, and, on the other, country-specific tax policy assessments reported in several dozen OECD Economic Surveys since 2008. The paper identifies a wide range of factors, some common to many countries and some country-specific, that prevent governments from adopting tax structures more favourable to inclusive growth. These include political economy forces, legal obstacles, administrative constraints, and intergovernmental fiscal arrangements.