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OECD's Gurria congratulates President Obama on taking action to address the unsustainable situation of undocumented immigrants

On the occasion of the OECD High Level Policy Forum on Migration taking place on December 1 and 2 2014, Secretary General Angel Gurria congratulates President Obama on taking action to address the unsustainable situation of undocumented immigrants.




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G20: Remarks for Session 2 - Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth

We therefore need a “copernician” change in our approach to the growth – inequality nexus: let’s not think growth first, and inequality thereafter but let’s consider both of them, together, in their circularity. In other words, let’s think “Inclusive Growth”, right from the start, and let’s make it another touchstone of our efforts and complement the Pittsburgh tryptic of strong, sustainable and balanced growth!




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The UK economy is doing well, but the job is not yet finished. Unleashing productivity is key to sustaining strong growth, says OECD

The United Kingdom’s economy is projected to expand this year and next, but challenges remain to boost productivity and make future growth more inclusive, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey.




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Youth employment and regional development must rank as top priorities in Tunisia to secure stability and prosperity

Tunisia has made great strides since 2011 towards greater inclusivity and fairness in its political system, based on the rule of law, transparency and good governance.




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Business brief: We must teach tomorrow’s skills today

The New Industrial Revolution affects the workforce in several ways. Ongoing innovation in renewable energy, nanotech, biotechnology, and most of all in information and communication technology will change labour markets worldwide. Especially medium-skilled workers run the risk of being replaced by computers doing their job more efficiently.




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Korea's work-life balance policies for sustainable growth

Of the abundant resources given to mankind, what is the most underused resource of our time? Without a doubt, women!




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Austria should do more to help people with frequent mental health problems

Austria needs to do more to help people with mental health problems find a job or stay in the workplace, according to a new OECD report. A more comprehensive approach would help employees and firms alike: mental health issues are estimated to cost the Austrian economy around 3.6% of GDP every year in lost productivity, health care and out-of-work benefits.




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Australia should build on the mental health reform to strengthen employment outcomes of people with mental health issues

The recent mental health reform is an important step towards better services for people with mental ill-health, but Australia needs to do more to help people with mild to moderate mental health issues at and into work, according to a new OECD report.




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Limited access to employment services hurts vulnerable laid-off workers in Australia

Australia should provide early access to more intensive employment services for disadvantaged laid-off workers to help them find a new job more quickly, according to a new OECD report.




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Some well-known (and some lesser-known) facts about digitalisation, deindustrialisation and the future of work

The OECD has just released a new working paper by Thor Berger and Carl Frey which provides a systematic overview of the literature examining the impact of digitalisation on labour markets. The paper highlights some well-known as well as some lesser-known facts about digitalisation, deindustrialisation and the future of work.




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Australia should help more women and other underemployed groups into work

Australia’s strong economy has helped drive a healthy job market. But to avoid a future shortage of labour as the population ages, further efforts are needed to help older women, indigenous Australians and mothers with young children into work, according to a new OECD report.




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Summer Academy on Cultural and Creative Industries and Local Development

The Summer Academy, a three-year project 2018-2020, provides training for policy makers and representatives of cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The first edition will take place 11-15 June 2018 in Trento and Bolzano, Italy. The final conference on Friday 15 June is open to local as well as to national and international stakeholders interested in the event themes, upon registration.




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Finland must focus on integrating migrant women and their children to boost their contribution to the economy and society

Finland should offer labour-market-oriented integration support to all migrants, strengthen efforts to identify and address early vulnerabilities, and work more closely with employers according to a new OECD report.




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Fictional Stories turned into Blockbuster Hit Movies

Today, directors and producers are not willing to risk shooting a film with a fresh story; instead they are relying on the already successful or best-selling novels to base their movie on.




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What makes civil justice effective?

Well-functioning judicial systems play a crucial role in determining economic performance – notably by guaranteeing the security of property rights and the enforcement of contracts – but not all countries’ judiciaries operate at the same level of efficiency.




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OECD Global Conference on Governance Innovation: Towards Agile Regulatory Frameworks in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Conference to exchange information on the need for and experience with governance innovation in the context of different sectors and different countries, both within and outside of the OECD, and to inform future OECD work.




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Corruption: Luxembourg must implement without delay its legislation against the bribery of foreign public officials, says OECD

Luxembourg must step up its efforts to detect and prosecute cases of bribery of foreign public officials, particularly now that its legal framework has been strengthened, in compliance with the Anti-Bribery Convention




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Openness and Transparency - Pillars for Democracy, Trust and Progress

Openness is one of the key values that guide the OECD vision for a stronger, cleaner, fairer world. This is why the OECD welcomes the launch of the Open Government Partnership today and the efforts led by Presidents Obama and Rousseff to promote government transparency, fight corruption, empower citizens and maximise the potential of new technologies to strengthen accountability and foster participation in public affairs.




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Hungary has improved legal framework for fighting foreign bribery, but must do more to detect and prosecute

Hungary’s law banning bribery of foreign public officials is relatively good on paper but lacks effective application, according to a new OECD report. Hungary must strengthen detection and prosecution of individuals and companies involved in foreign bribery.




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Slovak Republic must urgently introduce effective legislation holding companies liable for foreign bribery, says OECD

20/06/2012 - The Slovak Republic must urgently meet its obligations under the Convention it signed 12 years ago and introduce an effective corporate liability regime so that Slovak companies are held accountable for the bribery of foreign public officials in cross-border business deals, says a new OECD report.




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OECD seriously concerned by lack of foreign bribery convictions, but encouraged by recent efforts by the Australian Federal Police

Australia’s enforcement of its foreign bribery laws has been extremely low, with just a single case leading to prosecutions out of 28 referrals in 13 years. Cases may have been closed prematurely. Australia must vigorously pursue foreign bribery allegations.




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Austria’s enforcement of foreign bribery laws far too weak, but could pick up soon says OECD

The OECD Working Group on Bribery regrets that Austria has not had a conviction of bribing foreign public officials despite a number of allegations, 13 years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. However, enforcement appears to be picking up, with one case being tried, two more cases soon to be tried, and four ongoing investigations.




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Netherlands must significantly step up its foreign bribery enforcement, says OECD

The Netherlands is failing to vigorously pursue foreign bribery allegations and must do more to enforce its foreign bribery laws. Fourteen out of 22 foreign bribery allegations have not triggered the opening of an investigation, calling into question the Netherlands’ ability and proactivity in investigating and prosecuting this crime.




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Denmark must investigate foreign bribery more proactively

Denmark’s enforcement of its foreign bribery laws has been weak. Only 13 foreign bribery allegations have surfaced, and sanctions have been imposed in just one case that falls under the Convention. Law enforcement authorities have not been sufficiently proactive, and cases have been prematurely closed without complete investigations. Denmark must take more investigative steps and make greater efforts to gather evidence from abroad.




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Trust comes from within

Russians are becoming increasingly active in the country’s social arena. While activists remain a small but growing and visible minority of citizens looking for changes in governance, many more are becoming involved in the day-to-day affairs of their communities. It remains to be seen whether this emerging culture of civic participation will sit comfortably with existing governance structures.




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Restoring Trust in Government: Addressing Money and Influence in Public Decision Making

This Forum took stock of the key challenges and trends in regulating money in politics; identify emerging risks and opportunities; shape a common understanding of the policy options ahead and trade-offs in enhancing fairness, integrity and transparency in decision making including in the realm of political finance; and mobilise partners to work together and promote synergies in the future agenda.




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Integrity and the crisis: How to earn back the trust of young people?

How can we earn back the trust of young people? Improving openness, transparency, accountability, and access to information is essential. On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day and Transparency International’s 20th Anniversary, the OECD and Transparency International are inviting young people for a discussion about how to push the integrity agenda forward together.




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Ireland must urgently apply more resources to enforce Anti-Bribery Convention, says OECD

Ireland should increase its resources to detect and investigate foreign bribery more efficiently. Resources have, in recent years, been largely devoted to investigating non-bribery cases in the financial sector. Ireland has not prosecuted a foreign bribery case in the twelve years since its foreign bribery offence came into force, and law enforcement has taken few proactive steps to investigate allegations.




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Slovenia must urgently prioritise the fight against foreign bribery, says OECD

Serious steps must be taken by Slovenia to ensure that it effectively detects, investigates and prosecutes allegations of transnational bribery.




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ADB-OECD Conference on fighting corruption and building trust in Asia and the Pacific

3-4 September 2014, Phnom Penh, Cambodia: This conference focused on the key levers for restoring trust in government and building trust by and in the private sector and civil society.




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Kazakhstan must sharpen its strategy and raise impact of its anti-corruption measures

Kazakhstan’s new anti-corruption strategy must be better defined, involving key stakeholders, with targeted actions and goals that address the key corruption challenges facing the country, says a new OECD report by the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan (IAP).




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Iceland’s Inter-Ministerial Steering Group Must Make Prompt Progress in Fighting Foreign Bribery

The OECD Working Group on Bribery has serious concerns about Iceland’s lack of progress in combatting the bribery of foreign public officials, and to implement the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.




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Kyrgyzstan must implement anti-corruption policies and laws to reduce corruption

Widespread corruption continues to be a major challenge for Kyrgyzstan’s development, despite efforts to streamline its anti-corruption policy and strengthen the institutional framework since 2012.




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Ukraine must enforce its new anti-corruption strategy and legislation

Widespread corruption was one of the main reasons that led to the change of the political regime in Ukraine in 2014. The new administration pledged to fight corruption, a challenging task in the current context of the economic crisis and military conflict in the East of the country.




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Uzbekistan must enforce anti-corruption laws and strengthen public sector integrity

Uzbekistan has adopted its first anti-corruption action plan and established an anti-corruption coordination commission. Nevertheless corruption is widespread in Uzbekistan and remains a key obstacle for business.




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Argentina must seize chance to fight corruption

The OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Transactions has repeatedly over 15 years urged Argentina to strengthen its efforts to fight corruption and foreign bribery. During that time, the Working Group has recommended that Argentina change its laws to hold companies liable for corruption and to extend jurisdiction to Argentines who commit foreign bribery overseas.




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Tackling policy fragmentation: the key to getting onto a path of rapid and sustainable productivity growth

Further structural reforms are needed to help the business sector boost productivity growth and overcome the key challenges of sluggish investment in advanced economies and excess capacity in emerging economies, according to a new OECD report.




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Japan must make fighting international bribery a priority

The OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Transactions has continuously urged Japan since 2002 to strengthen its efforts to fight bribery by Japanese companies in their foreign business activities, and implementation of the Convention on Combating the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.




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Ukraine must eliminate obstacles to effectively implement anti-corruption reforms

Ukraine has made considerable progress in the area of anti-corruption reform but faces significant challenges to implement some important tools for combating corruption, according to a recent OECD report.




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Argentina must urgently enact Corporate Liability Bill to rectify serious non-compliance with Anti-Bribery Convention

Some 16 years after joining the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, Argentina remains in serious non-compliance.




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The Czech Republic must take significant steps to enforce its foreign bribery laws, but demonstrates commitment to improve

The Czech Republic must strengthen its efforts to detect, investigate and prosecute foreign bribery. Seventeen years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the Czech Republic has yet to prosecute a case involving the bribery of foreign public officials.




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Chile must conclude its current legislative reforms of the criminal sanctions regime and clarify its corporate liability framework to better combat foreign bribery

Chile must make further progress on key recommendations of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions, more than three years after its Phase 3 evaluation in March 2014.




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Russia must make fighting international bribery a priority

The OECD Working Group on Bribery has serious concerns regarding Russia’s continued failure to implement key legislative reforms to enable it to effectively investigate, prosecute and sanction the offence of foreign bribery.




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Australia takes major steps to combat foreign bribery, but OECD wants to see more enforcement

Australia has stepped up its enforcement of foreign bribery since 2012, when the OECD Working Group on Bribery last evaluated Australia’s implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, with seven convictions in two cases and 19 ongoing investigations.




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Poland must make urgent legislative reforms to combat foreign bribery

Poland must make urgent progress on carrying out key recommendations of the OECD Working Group on Bribery that remain unimplemented, more than four years after its Phase 3 evaluation in June 2013.




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Mexico must increase foreign bribery enforcement: full implementation of anti-corruption reforms could help

Mexico needs to give more priority to foreign bribery enforcement, having yet to prosecute a case involving the bribery of foreign public officials 19 years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.




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OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: Australia

Evaluation and assessment policies are key in Australia’s national school reform agenda. The Australian approach combines the development of goals, monitoring and reporting at national level with local evaluation and assessment practices shaped by jurisdiction-level school improvement frameworks




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Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools - Spotlight Report: Austria

This spotlight report draws upon the OECD report Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools.




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Education at a Glance 2012: Country Notes - Australia

Australia’s education system achieves good outcomes overall - attainment of upper secondary education by adults aged 25 to 34 was 85% in 2010, above the OECD average of 82%




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OECD report on vocational training in Austria calls for continued diversity and increased co-ordination

There are few OECD countries where vocational education and training (VET) is held in such high regard or takes so many forms as in Austria. Some 60 percent of young Austrians aged between 25 and 34 have completed a VET course below tertiary level (vocational school or technical college).