The OECD Trento Centre is undertaking a review (2017/2018) to identify the needs and priorities for policy improvement and to foster the exchange of experiences, the capitalisation of acquired know-how and the generation of new and fresh thinking in the Adriatic-Ionian macro-region.

The aim of this workshop was to present recent developments in implementing Regulatory Impact Assessment in the Czech Republic as well as to enable an exposure to different approaches in some leading OECD countries.

The OECD, in co-ordination with Mexico's Ministry of Economy and COFEMER, organised a workshop to train federal officials to understake competition assessment as part of the RIA framework.

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.

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

OECD will measure the impact of digitalising the Mexican Social Security Institute formalities and guide future efforts on simplification

Training Workshop on the elaboration and evaluation of regulatory impact assessment (RIA)

Comments are to be submitted electronically to bppria@oecd.org by 17 July 2019.

This report provides an analysis of RIA in the Netherlands

This roundtable focused on the impact the Anti-Bribery Convention has had on the global anti-bribery agenda since its entry into force in 1999, as well as what should be done to ensure the Convention's continued relevance going forward.

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).

21 April 2016, Paris: The OECD will host a High-Level Meeting on boosting the impact of anti-corruption reforms in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

In a majority of OECD countries, GDP growth over the past three decades has been associated with growing income disparities.

This expert seminar aims to get a better understanding of the features, limitations and preliminary findings from the use of SIBs, and to a lesser extent, of DIBs in developing countries from a multidimensional and multi-stakeholder perspective.

The purpose of the seminar is to provide the practical information about how to implement SIBs in Poland using international experiences. The seminar is addressed to the potential applicants interested in the implementation of SIB within the call for proposals planned to be launched by the Ministry of Economic Development.

The OECD Trento Centre is undertaking a review (2017/2018) to identify the needs and priorities for policy improvement and to foster the exchange of experiences, the capitalisation of acquired know-how and the generation of new and fresh thinking in the Adriatic-Ionian macro-region.

The Veronicas have spoken about how their public image has suffered in the wake of their controversial feud with Qantas. 

संसदीय कार्य मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री तथा भारी उद्योग और लोक उद्यम मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री (श्री अर्जुन राम मेघवाल): सभापति महोदया, हम एग्रीकल्चर के विषय पर नियम 193 की चर्चा दो-तीन दिनों से लगा रहे हैं । मैं आपसे अनुरोध करना चाहूंगा कि उसको पहले ले लिया जाए, क्योंकि वित्त मंत्री जी दूसरे हाउस में टैक्सेशन लॉ में बिजी है, इसलिए इसके बाद उस विषय को ले लिया जाए ।

माननीय सभापति: ठीक है, नियम 193 के अधीन चर्चा शुरू की जाए ।

       श्री कोडिकुन्नील सुरेश जी ।

SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH (MAVELIKKARA): Hon. Chairperson, thank you for giving me this opportunity to raise a discussion under Rule 193 on the topic `Crop loss due to various reasons and its impact on farmers’. At the outset I would like to submit that the Government has no intent, desire, and genuine concern towards addressing the issues of farmers in the country. The notice I gave for this discussion read -- `Agrarian crisis and farmers’ distress’. The Government did not accept the language in which I submitted my notice for this discussion, instead have formulated the language for the discussion in another way. The Government chose to ignore the topic that would have exposed the failure of the BJP Government to the public. The Government formulated another language which read -- `Crop loss due to various reasons and its impact on farmers’. They have not chosen the straight path but instead have taken a circuitous route to deviate from the core issue. But this anti-farmer and anti-agriculturist attitude of the BJP Government thus stands exposed in this House as the Modi Government is afraid of facing the truth of deeply disturbing agrarian crisis engulfing the country by refusing to address the real concern. The Congress and other like-minded parties decided to raise this issue in this august House.

With many vehicle makers closing near the end of the month in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, just 78,767 vehicles left factory gates during the month, 47,428 fewer than March last year.

Motivated by the media attention in Nandigram, six volunteers of Child Rights and You decided to examine how the urban poor are faring against State-sponsored eviction. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Indian currency rupee against the dollar has tumbled to a historic low of 76.91 per US dollar on April 22, 2020 and as per reports it may touch levels of 80 as the pandemic Covid 19 brings with it a lot

The contagion of COVID-19 has adversely affected every walk of life, businesses have gone back to the drawing boards to chalk out sustainable plans. The government and financial bodies are constantly working on developing plans for different sectors to be able

The app will generate real-time location-based alerts helping all employees and consumer base in being aware of the relevant localised corona safety information.

The continued lockdown and travel restrictions in India to contain the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted diverse sectors of the economy, and Aviation industry is one among the severely hit with all commercial passenger flights being suspended since March 25

C. Rangarajan, former RBI governor, to head committee

The committee shall submit its final reports to the government within three months time and also submit an interim report

Expert confirms true impact of earthquakes in Devon and Cornwall  Devon Live

Impacts on groundwater quality from abandoned hydrocarbon wells  GOV.UK

Ni-based intermetallics are promising materials for forming efficient contacts in GeSn-based Si photonic devices. However, the role that Sn might have during the Ni/GeSn solid-state reaction (SSR) is not fully understood. A comprehensive analysis focused on Sn segregation during the Ni/GeSn SSR was carried out. In situ X-ray diffraction and cross-section transmission electron microscopy measurements coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and electron energy-loss spectroscopy atomic mappings were performed to follow the phase sequence, Sn distribution and segregation. The results showed that, during the SSR, Sn was incorporated into the intermetallic phases. Sn segregation happened first around the grain boundaries (GBs) and then towards the surface. Sn accumulation around GBs hampered atom diffusion, delaying the growth of the Ni(GeSn) phase. Higher thermal budgets will thus be mandatory for formation of contacts in high-Sn-content photonic devices, which could be detrimental for thermal stability.

A comprehensive analysis focused on Sn segregation during the Ni/GeSn solid-state reaction was carried out. It was demonstrated that Sn is soluble in the various Ni/GeSn intermetallic phases and that, when the temperature increases, the Sn segregation occurs first at grain boundaries, which can hamper Ni diffusion and delay the intermetallic formation.

Data from a recent study of wild takins in the high-altitude forests of the Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve in southeast China has shown that the […]

The post Great Sichuan earthquake of 2008 had little impact on of China’s wild takins appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, may have been the result of a giant impact that sent rocks and debris into orbit around Mars, instead of asteroids that were captured by the planet’s gravity as previously thought.

The post Giant impact may explain origin of Martian moons Phobos and Deimos appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The expanded and remodeled Mathias Laboratory, named in honor of U.S. Senator Charles "Mac" Mathias Jr. (1922-2010) (R-Md.) will have a low environmental impact on all fronts, from where it gets its power to where it gets its materials.

The post New Mathias Lab at Environmental Research Center will have low environmental impact appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The new research reveals that from the period between 1100-1600 small agricultural settlements up and down the Delaware River Valley caused a 50-percent increase in sediment runoff into the Delaware River.

The post Study reveals environmental impact of American Indian farms centuries before Europeans arrived in North America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The newly reported reconstruction of Amazonian prehistory by a Smithsonian scientist, Dolores R. Piperno, and her colleagues suggests that large areas of western Amazonia were sparsely inhabited.

The post Report paints a new picture of early human impact on the Amazon River Basin appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The impact of industrial fishing on coastal ecosystems has been studied for many years. But how it affects food webs in the open ocean―a vast […]

The post Scientists find impact of open-ocean industrial fishing within centuries of bird bones appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Grow fast, die young is not a lifestyle normally associated with trees. But in the forests of the Northeastern United States the red maple follows […]

The post Effects of human impact are long lasting for forests in Northeast U.S. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

If you were an average person in the 18th and early 19th centuries, chances are your wardrobe was 50 shades of beige, with maybe a […]

The post A Purple Accident and Its Vibrant Impact on the Modern World appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In 1969, 60 to 100 peacock bass imported from Buga, Colombia, were introduced into a pond in Panama for sport fishing. Several individuals escaped. By […]

The post Peacock bass invasion Had devastating, long-term impact on Panama’s Fish appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Even tiny crustaceans scuttling across the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean floor will feel the effects of climate change, according to a new study […]

The post Climate change to impact even deep-ocean ecosystems appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Studying lionfish’s impact in Western Atlantic appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The partial federal government shutdown is one week old, but economists are still saying that its impact in Southern California and elsewhere will be limited.

Susanne Whatley: Business analyst Mark Lacter, why is that?

Mark Lacter: If you look back on the history of these things, Susanne, you see that the disputes are resolved before too much damage gets done.  As for Southern California, I notice that KPCC's Alice Walton was asking around over the weekend about the shutdown, and most folks gave it a shrug.  The regional economy is just too diversified - and not especially tied to federal employment.  You have about 46,000 federal workers employed in L.A. County in one capacity or another - that's out of a workforce of nearly 5 million.  And, now it appears as if the federal employees who have been furloughed are going to receive their back wages whenever the shutdown finally ends.

Whatley: That still might make things dicey when it comes time to pay the monthly mortgage...

Lacter: ...but at least money will be available before most folks run into serious liquidity issues.  That's what the shutdown really comes down to - inconvenience rather than dislocation.  And, you see this with the various government services affected: the E-Verify website is down - that lets business owners know whether the people they're wanting to hire can work legally in the U.S., which obviously is important.  The Small Business Administration has stopped processing loan applications, and the Federal Housing Administration is reporting delays in its loan processing, which could mean a home buyer might not complete his or her paperwork all that quickly.

Whatley: But, what if this were to go on for months?

Lacter: Well, then it would create problems, but nobody really thinks that's going to happen.  The real issue, not just nationally and regionally - but globally - is the refusal by Congress to raise the debt ceiling.  The deadline is a week from Thursday, and - of course - there's been all sorts of debate about what this would mean for the economy.

Whatley: All right, so what would this mean for the economy?

Lacter: Well, no one knows exactly.  But, then again, no one knows exactly what would happen if you fell out of a airplane without a parachute.  I just wouldn't want to test it out.  And, of course, let's keep in mind that these are manufactured crises - not reflective of anything that's going on with the real economy.  It's certainly not reflective of anything that's going on in L.A., which saw a big jump in payroll jobs for 2012 - actually it was the sharpest increase since 2005, and nearly double the national rate (that's despite an unemployment rate that remains very high in certain parts of Los Angeles).

Whatley: What about some of the big locally based companies?

Lacter: Well, if your company is publicly traded, there's a good chance your shares took a dip these past few days.  Going back to September 18, the Dow has lost almost 700 points, which - percentage-wise - is not very much, but it is reflective of how uneasy Wall Street has become.  Public companies based in the L.A. area are taking it on the chin - Disney, Amgen, Mattel, DirecTV - their stock prices are all down going back to the middle of September.

Whatley: Even so, hasn't this been a good year for the stock market?

Lacter: It has - those local companies are up anywhere from 13 percent 30 percent year to date, and the Dow is up 14 percent year to date.  Of course, the stock price of a company doesn't always match the amount of money it makes, and this year, even before worries about the debt ceiling, the numbers haven't been as good as they should be at this stage of a recovery.  And, that's why there's particular concern about next week.  You do have to wonder whether a default could have ripple effects involving trade, consumer spending, the dollar - who knows what?  Now, it's still a pretty good bet that saner heads will prevail, although there are no guarantees - and again, if worse came to worse, do you really want to be jumping out of that plane?  Guess we'll find out.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Katie Cramer is a MarineGEO Post-Doctoral Fellow and travels to Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama throughout the year to conduct research. Her recent paper […]

The post Q&A: Katie Cramer on the long term human impact on coral reefs in Caribbean Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A tiny invasive insect from Asia might have an effect on Chesapeake Bay waters. The emerald ash borer is killing millions of ash trees in […]

The post Invasive ash borer found in Smithsonian Environmental Research Center forest; ash deaths may impact Chesapeake waters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.