Country profiles highlight some key findings from TALIS 2013 for individual countries and economies

Going for Growth 2015: Key findings for Iceland

Labour market conditions in Iceland further improved during the last year. In March 2015 the harmonised unemployment rate stood at 4.2% of the labour force, 1 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

This country note provides an environmental tax and carbon pricing profile for Iceland. It shows environmentally related tax revenues, taxes on energy use and effective carbon rates.

This country note presents student performance in science, reading and mathematics, and measures equity in education in Iceland. The interactive charts allow you to compare results with other countries participating in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Despite a small aid budget, Iceland stands out among donors for its commitment to supporting the poorest countries and using its expertise in areas like renewable energy, land restoration and gender equality for aid programmes that advance global goals, according to a new OECD report.

Iceland is the OECD’s smallest economy and,currently,the fastest growing. A booming financial services and construction led to a deep financial crisis in 2008. However, Iceland has made a remarkable turnaround, helped by spectacular growth of tourism, prudent economic policies and a favourable external environment.

This note presents marginal effective tax rates (METRs) that summarise the tax system’s impact on the incentives to make an additional investment in a particular type of savings. By comparing METRs on different types of household savings, we can gain insights into which assets or savings types receive the most favourable treatment from the tax system.

The family-friendly policies introduced by Nordic countries over the past 50 years and associated increases in female employment have boosted growth in GDP per capita by between 10% and 20%, according to a new OECD report.

This country note for Iceland provides detail on the proportion of CO2 emissions from energy use subject to different effective carbon rates (ECR), as well as on the level and components of average ECRs in each of the six economic sectors (road transport, off-road transport, industry, agriculture and fishing, residential & commercial, and electricity).

The digital revolution, globalisation and demographic changes are transforming labour markets at a time when policy makers are also struggling with slow productivity and wage growth and high levels of income inequality. The new OECD Jobs Strategy provides a comprehensive framework and policy recommendations to help countries address these challenges.

The Icelandic standard VAT rate is 24.0%, which is above the OECD average. The average VAT/GST¹ standard rate in the OECD was 19.3% as of 1 January 2019. The previous standard VAT rate in Iceland was 25.5% in 2014. It changed to the current level in 2015. Iceland applies reduced VAT rates of 0% and 11% to a number of goods and services.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Reykjavik on 15-16 September 2019 to present the 2019 OECD Economic Survey of Iceland, alongside Mr. Bjarni Benediktsson, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, and Ms. Lilja Alfredsdottir, Minister of Education, Science and Culture of Iceland.

This country note explains how Iceland taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

The tax-to-GDP ratio in Iceland decreased by 0.8 percentage points from 37.5% in 2017 to 36.7% in 2018. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Iceland decreased by 0.3 percentage points from 33.4 in 2018 to 33.1 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Iceland had the 25th lowest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, compared with the 24th in 2018.

This country note explains how Greece taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

The tax-to-GDP ratio in Greece decreased by 0.2 percentage points from 38.9% in 2017 to 38.7% in 2018. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Greece decreased by 0.2 percentage points from 41.0 in 2018 to 40.8 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Greece had the 14th highest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, compared with the 13th in 2018.

While the prevalence of obesity in Italy is lower than in most other countries, it still has significant consequences. Italians live on average 2.7 years less due to overweight. Overweight accounts for 9.0% of health expenditure, above the average for other countries. Labour market outputs are lower due to overweight by the equivalent of 571 thousand full time workers per year.

Sebbene in Italia la prevalenza dell’obesità sia inferiore a quella della maggior parte degli altri paesi, essa ha comunque conseguenze significative. Gli italiani vivono in media 2,7 anni in meno a causa del sovrappeso. Il sovrappeso rappresenta il 9% della spesa sanitaria, superiore alla media degli altri paesi.

This country note explains how Italy taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

Despite lower than average health spending, Italy has the fourth highest life expectancy across the OECD, at 83 years at birth. Italians generally have healthy lifestyles. Alcohol consumption is low. The share of adults overweight or obese is also relatively low (46% of adults, as compared with the OECD average of 56%). However, the share of children overweight is the second highest across OECD countries.

Key findings for Italy from the report "Pensions at a Glance 2019"

The tax-to-GDP ratio in Italy did not change between 2017 and 2018. The tax-to-GDP ratio remained at 42.1%. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Italy increased by 0.2 percentage points from 47.8 in 2018 to 48.0 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Italy had the 3rd highest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, occupying the same position in 2018.

This report takes an initial look at methodologies to measure and estimate the monetary value of personal data, which is creating economic and social value at an increasing pace. But measuring and estimating its value is difficult. This is because not only a huge amount of personal data is being generated, but also as it is used in many different situations and for numerous purposes.

In OECD countries, networks look like a mesh with multiple paths that can act as each other’s backup. In developing countries, however, communication networks often resemble rivers, with small branches of regional networks delivering their traffic to a central national backbone that ends at one submarine fibre, making cable cuts a greater risk to the functioning of the economy.

Do you remember the “not-so-good old days”? When you were delayed while travelling abroad and it was too expensive to use your smartphone to check for alternatives online and inform the people you had to meet?

This report provides an assessment of G20 economies’ performance with respect to digitalisation and examines some of the most pressing policy challenges in areas spanning from access to digital infrastructures to digital security to legal frameworks. It includes a set of 11 core policy recommendations that could underpin a comprehensive G20 digital agenda.

In order to better understand the role and drivers of consumer trust in peer platform markets, the OECD’s Committee on Consumer Policy conducted an online survey of 10,000 consumers across 10 OECD member countries. This report discusses the findings of that survey.

The country profile: pension eligibility ages and other qualifying conditions; the rules for calculating benefit entitlements; the treatment of early and late retirees; personal income tax and social security contributions.

Asia’s pension systems need modernising urgently to deliver secure, sustainable and adequate retirement incomes for today’s workers in the context of the rapid population ageing that will occur over the next two decades, according to a new OECD report.

2014 OECD/Euromoney Roundtable on Long-term Investment Policy: The roundtable provided a unique opportunity for participants to discuss the OECD’s work on institutional investors and long-term financing with senior policymakers and regulators, and to facilitate investment by institutional investors, addressing both potential regulatory obstacles and market failures.

Paris, 19-20 November 2015: Bringing together senior executives representing the world’s largest institutional investors, senior policy makers and regulators, debates focused on issues affecting long-term investment, including: asset allocation concepts; regulation; governance; energy and natural resources; and, brownfield and greenfield infrastructure.

12/10/2016 – Adults in many countries around the world display low levels of financial knowledge, fail to engage in financial behaviours that could improve their financial security and have financial attitudes oriented towards the short-term, as shown in the OECD/INFE International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy Competencies released today.

This report contains the results of an international data collection survey that measured the financial literacy and financial inclusion of adults. A total of 51,650 adults aged 18 to 79 from 30 countries and economies participated in the survey.

Promoting responsible business conduct in the financial sector is vital to building a sustainable global economy. This paper will help institutional investors implement the due diligence recommendations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in order to prevent or address adverse impacts related to human and labour rights, the environment, and corruption in their investment portfolios.

Providing American seniors with better work incentives and opportunities will be crucial for the United States to meet the challenges of its rapidly ageing population. By 2028, more than one in five Americans will be aged 65 and over, up from fewer than one in six today, according to a new OECD report.

This paper studies the case of Turkey and suggests several tools to promote retirement planning. Section I provides a review of the traditional and behavioural policy instruments designed to promote retirement savings, along with a discussion on their effectiveness.

Each year, the OECD publishes a survey of the investment regulation of pension funds which describes the main quantitative investment regulations applied to pension funds in 77 economies. The survey questionnaire covers all types of pension plans financed via pension funds.

This annual survey monitors and compares the investment behaviour, asset levels, and performances of the largest institutional investors in each region or country covered and analyses in greater depth the general trends observed at a national level.

Korea's tax-to-GDP ratio was 26.9% in 2017, below the OECD average (34.2%) by 7.3 percentage points, and above the LAC and Africa (21)* averages (22.8% and 18.2%, respectively).

The tax-to-GDP ratio in Korea increased by 1.5 percentage points from 26.9% in 2017 to 28.4% in 2018. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Korea increased by 0.3 percentage points from 23.0 in 2018 to 23.3 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Korea had the 31st lowest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, occupying the same position in 2018.

This country note explains how Estonia taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

The tax-to-GDP ratio in Estonia increased by 0.4 percentage points from 32.8% in 2017 to 33.2% in 2018. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in Estonia increased by 1.0 percentage point from 36.2 in 2018 to 37.2 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 Estonia had the 19th highest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, compared with the 20th in 2018.

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OECD-Survey: Labour Migration rarely used by German employers