Taxes and cash transfers reduce income inequality more in France than elsewhere in the OECD, because of the large size of the flows involved. But the system is complex overall. Its effectiveness could be enhanced in many ways, for example so as to achieve the same amount of redistribution at lower cost.

Intergovernmental fiscal frameworks usually reflect fundamental societal choices and history and are not foremost geared towards achieving economic policy objectives. Yet, like most institutional arrangements, fiscal relations affect the behaviour of firms, households and governments and thereby economic activity.

This paper puts the original Reinhart-Rogoff dataset, made public by Herndon et al. (2013), to a formal econometric test to pin down debt thresholds endogenously. We show that the nonlinear relation from debt to growth is not very robust.

After peaking in the first half of 2008, international imbalances declined sharply during the global crisis of 2008-09, in part reflecting cyclical factors such as large contractions in domestic demand on the back of bursting housing bubbles in a number of deficit countries, as well as large declines in cross-border capital flows, interest rates and commodity prices.

Fiscal rules that constrain sub-central government (SCG) budgeting are very common across the OECD, but there are substantial cross-country differences in their implementation and impact. This paper presents the 2011 update of the fiscal rules database established in 2005.

This paper develops a simple model-based framework for stress testing fiscal consolidation strategies under different scenarios of future shocks

On 19 September 1893 New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant the right to vote to all adult women. New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the OECD Rosemary Banks says the 120th anniversary of this decision is an time to reflect on that achievement.

The OECD and the Municipality of San Luis Potosí in Mexico launched a programme to improve municipal formalities according to the OECD Guide.

This working paper offers an evaluation of the performance of the inland ports of the Slovak Republic within the framework of the Danube Axis, an analysis of the impact of the ports on their territory and an assessment of policies in this field. It examines port performance over the last decades and identifies the principal factors that have contributed to it.

This working paper offers an evaluation of the performance of ports of Antofagasta, an analysis of the impact of the ports on their territory and an assessment of policies in this field. It examines port performance over the last decades and identifies the principal factors that have contributed to it.

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

The OECD and the Scrutiny Committee on Law Implementation of the French Senate co-organised a conference on 5 December 2013 on “Law evaluation and better regulation: the role for parliaments” at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris.

This blog, by Wikichild co-ordinator Melinda George, takes a look at the well-being aspects and the quality of public service provision in the OECD's "Government at a Glance 2013" report. The post is part of Wikiprogress' December spotlight on governance.

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.

Using panel data for OECD countries, this study investigates the extent to which changes in government spending on education, health and other areas influence long-term growth.

This blog, written by ODI's Anna Locke, discusses land governance and transparency definitions, initiatives and key lessons. The post is part of Wikiprogress' spotlight on governance.

In the wake of the financial crisis there has been renewed focus on the importance of a country’s net external debt position in determining domestic interest rates and, relatedly, its vulnerability to a crisis. This paper extends the panel estimation of OECD countries described in Turner and Spinelli (2012) to investigate the effect of external debt and its interaction with government debt on the interest-rate-growth differential.

A major flooding of the Seine River similar to the flood disaster of 1910 could affect up to 5 million residents in the greater Paris area and cause up to 30 billion euros worth of damage, according to a new OECD report.

This blog, written by David Satterthwaite with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), discusses what indicators are needed in order to assess the quality of life of the urban poor.

The OECD has launched a public consultation on its draft principles on the governance of critical risks.

Recommendation of the OECD Council on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government

These principles give practical guidance for designing, implementing and improving budget systems to meet the challenges of the future. They are currently being considered as a draft Recommendation of the OECD Council, underpinning their importance to good public governance.

The OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Critical Risks seeks to foster future cooperation between countries and with key partners,including the private sector, building common ground and promoting continuous improvement regarding the governance and management of critical risks.

Since around 2007, the country has been enjoying an “energy renaissance” thanks to its abundant stocks of shale oil and gas. The resurgence in oil and gas production is beginning to create discernible economic impacts and has changed the landscape for natural gas prices in the United States, boosting competitiveness.

This study analyses the economic rent generated by the exploitation of a non-renewable resource, and the taxation of this rent.

This study aims to assess the degree of institutional fragmentation of transport and land use planning in Chicago. It provides an overview of local governments in metropolitan Chicago and mechanisms for coordination. Five main challenges are identified.

The Municipality of Hermosillo in Mexico shows a 12% progress in the implementation of OECD recommendations to simplify formalities to boost entrepreneurship and create employment.

This workshop provided practical information and learning through case studies, group exercises and presentations from government officials with extensive experience in applying regulatory impact assessment (RIA) systems.

OECD blog article on the lobbying, written for the launch of the publication "Lobbyists, Government and Public Trust, Volume 3".

The second progress report in the implementation of regulatory improvement actions shows a 52% progress for the Municipality of Hermosillo.

The tramitesmetepec.mx website organises formalities by “life events”, facilitating the search of information for citizens and entrepreneurs, and reducing the cost of regulatory compliance.

The objective of this workshop was to provide basic facts and theory related to RIA and best practices when undertaking RIA.

The Government of Mexico have requested an OECD Integrity Review focusing on anti-corruption, conflict of interest prevention and integrity in the public service.

This chapter begins with a brief socio-economic and institutional overview of the Marseille metropolitan region. It then explores the current status of inter-municipal collaboration, in particular with respect to public transport and spatial planning. Lastly, it discusses the metropolitan governance reforms of 2013.

This chapter discusses existing metropolitan governance arrangements in Athens-Attica, with a closer look at the governance of two strategic sectors: transport and spatial planning. It concludes with possible considerations for strengthening future policy co-ordination in the metropolitan area.

This chapter aims to assess the degree of fragmentation in the metropolitan governance in Chicago (Illinois), United States and its impact on transport and land-use planning, and to identify possible avenues for reform.

This chapter begins with a brief socio-economic and institutional overview of the Daejeon metropolitan region. It then explores the current status of inter-municipal collaboration in two major sectors for urban development: transport and land use. Finally, it reviews existing metropolitan collaboration tools.

This chapter studies the governance of the Frankfurt metropolitan area. It focuses on public transport and spatial planning issues. It provides an overview of the economic conditions in the metropolitan area and analyses the role of the regional association of municipalities (Regionalverband FrankfurtRheinMain) and the state of Hesse for metropolitan governance.

This chapter begins with a brief socio-economic and institutional overview of the Puebla-Tlaxcala metropolitan region. It then explores the current status of inter-municipal collaboration in two major sectors for urban development: transport and land use. Finally, it reviews existing metropolitan collaboration tools.

Governing the Metropolitan City of Venice

This report is the first joint OECD Public Governance Review between two countries. The Report discusses challenges in whole-of-government strategy steering and the opportunities of digital government.

Hermosillo scores 96% in implementing the recommendations of the Guide on improving the regulatory quality of formalities at the municipal level

From oceans and vast rivers to the spring in the garden, we must safeguard our water as a source of well-being, prosperity and progress.

The OECD Secretary-General, Mr. Angel Gurría, chaired several high-level panels; the OECD actively participated through a series of events, the launch of four new reports and by taking part in a number of workshops and seminars throughout the forum. ‌

The OECD and Ukraine today signed an Action Plan for strengthening co-operation to help tackle corruption, improve public governance and the rule of law, boost investment and foster a dynamic business environment.

The tax on immovable property recently started to regain its former significance, but the tax yield still remains low, with slightly more than 1% of GDP and wide variation across countries.

This paper contributes to the scarce literature on the macroeconomic effects of property taxes, in particular on the relationships between property taxes, house prices and the wider economy.

The OECD’s Annual Meeting at Ministerial Level reinforced member governments’ support across a broad range of key OECD work.

Launch of the OECD programme for regulatory improvement in the Municipality of Torreon, Mexico.

Better access to and use of public sector information (PSI), including open government data, are inter-related parts of the shift towards knowledge-based economies, and drivers of innovation, growth and employment. PSI can be used directly to generate products and services, and it contributes in a wide variety of ways to improving efficiency and productivity across the economy (including within the public sector).