Browse by: "PRE-2015"

This Round Table examines the basic case for liberalisation of the taxi industry, and reviews experiences with taxi (de-)regulation in OECD and ECMT member countries. There are a number of aspects to regulation of the taxi industry including entry, price and service quality regulation. The discussions of these aspects concluded that little empirical evidence supported the argument that entry restrictions improved capacity utilisation. On the contrary, the case could be made that increased entry and associated economies of density, as well as shorter passenger waiting times, warranted subsidies for entry.

Will the next century see the private sector become more involved in decisions regarding the construction and funding of infrastructure? Which technologies will dominate the transport market? Where will new markets emerge? Will transport still have a social role to play? What safeguards will there be for the environment? Will there still be a role even for the authorities?
The list of the questions that transport will pose in the next century is certainly both long and diverse, reflecting as it does the problems now confronting the sector. The aim of the 14th Symposium was to take an initial look at what the future might hold by means of 13 introductory reports -- drafted by rapporteurs from 11 different countries -- and a debate between leading experts in the transport field.
This publication goes over the introductory reports and faithfully reflects the substance of the Symposium discussions. By considering the shape of things to come, this review defines the challenges awaiting all those concerned with transport and the solutions open to them.

This publication includes three recent reports of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs that resulted in changes to the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital (those changes were included in the update adopted by the Council of the OECD on 28 January 2003): "Restricting the Entitlement to Treaty Benefits", "Treaty Characterisation Issues Arising From E-Commerce: Report Adopted by the Committee on Fiscal Affairs", and "Issues Arising Under Article 5 (Permanent Establishment) of the Model Tax Convention".

Multilateral aid accounts for over a third of total official development aid. The scale at which the multilateral system is used reflects donors’ views of it as an important aid channel. However, a clearer picture of the multilateral system is needed to analyse this channel, and the first ever OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) report on multilateral aid aims to address this gap. The report provides a snapshot of the multilateral aid architecture, from the funding of multilateral organisations by DAC members to their own multilateral aid strategies and policies. The report also highlights issues such as fragmentation, multilateral effectiveness, reform processes and partner country views.

This survey report which presents the results from the second, follow-up survey on monitoring the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, assesses progress in 55 developing countries and helps us understand the challenges in making aid more effective in advancing development. The findings are clear: progress is being made, but not fast enough. Unless they seriously gear up their efforts, developing countries and their external partners will not meet their international commitments and targets for effective aid by 2010. Action is needed now. This report makes three high-level policy recommendations that will help accelerate progress and transform the aid relationship into a full partnership.

Drawing on material presented at the OECD Programme on Educational Building's conference in London on "Creating 21st Century Learning Environments," this richly illustrated book presents the latest in innovative design for schools and analyses needs for the future.  It does this through a series of thematic analyses, presentations, and school visits. The conclusions summarize planning and construction issues and make suggestions for the construction industry.

These proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Theory and Practice in Transport Economics sketch a broad overview of transport economics research since the inception of the ECMT in 1953 and map out the directions for future work.  The 22 papers presented cover such topics as transport infrastructure's contribution to economic growth, modal split, competition in the transport sector, the need for a supra-national regulatory authority, charging systems, and environmental sustainability. 

In a first-ever joint report by the UN, the OECD, the World Bank and the IMF, the world’s four principal development institutions assess progress towards poverty reduction goals and agree on a common vision for the way forward. The goals for international development address that most compelling of human desires-a world free of poverty and free of the misery that poverty breeds. This report focuses on seven goals, which, if achieved in the next 15 years, will improve the lives of millions of people. In words and pictures, with numbers and charts, it describes progress towards the goals, what has been achieved and the effort required to reach them.

A new vision of the purpose of social policy is needed. Scaremongers present decision-makers as facing an overwhelming number of complex problems with more and more limited budgets. Society is indeed undergoing profound upheaval. Ageing populations are increasing pressure on the workforce. Changes in the labour market have hit low-skilled workers hard; the term "social exclusion" has entered the political lexicon, and policies can no longer be based on "traditional" family life. But social policy should not be presented as "papering over the cracks" in society caused by economic and demographic change. As knowledge plays an increasing role in generating wealth, empowering individuals to develop their potential is a central and essential part of economic policy. Indeed, economic and social policies are more intertwined than ever.
This book paints a complete and accessible picture of the current situation and pinpoints how policies can be reformed. Social policy should aim to promote employment and healthy living, rather than just coping with joblessness and ill-health. Investing in children and families helps ensure that all can contribute fully to society. Innovations and experiments in new social policies to better equip individuals and families with the support they need in responding to change abound in OECD countries. Ministers from OECD countries have committed themselves to the ambitious task of creating just such a caring world.

This DAC Reference Document draws on donor responses to international terrorism. It is intended to guide the international community and governments in their efforts to address linkages between terrorism and development, and suggests how donor programmes might be designed or adjusted.

What approach to treating certain ageing-related diseases works best and at what cost? That is, what combination of health care system characteristics, prevention, detection, technology and treatment, is the most cost-effective? The OECD Ageing-Related Diseases study investigated how health systems treat three diseases: ischemic heart disease, stroke and breast cancer. This book includes papers discussing the results of the OECD study with essays by leading experts, and uses a disease-based approach to comparing health-systems.

Drawing on the OECD’s expertise in comparing country experiences and identifying best practices, the Better Policies series tailors the OECD’s policy advice to the specific and timely priorities of member and partner countries, focusing on how governments can make reform happen.

As ageing societies are pushing a growing number of frail old people into needing care, delivering quality long-term care services – care that is safe, effective, and responsive to needs – has become a priority for governments. Yet much still remains to be done to enhance evidence-based measurement and improvement of quality of long-term care services across EU and OECD countries. This book offers evidence and examples of useful experiences to help policy makers, providers and experts measure and improve the quality of long-term care services.

La Muette, home of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, has a long and rich history. This book tells its story from its inception as a royal hunting lodge to its present-day use as the headquarters of the OECD.  The reader may find it amusing, and sometimes instructive, to meet some of the colourful characters who once roamed its galleries. The place itself has played a significant role in French history; the Château and its extensive park were once the theatre of many a strong sentiment and the locale is impregnated with memories, comic, tragic, venal, lofty, solemn and ludic. These traces of the past are the real substance of La Muette’s charm; they are also the voices that echo through this text and linger in the halls of the Château.