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Family-friendly policies a key driver of economic growth

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.




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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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Countries should focus on labour market policies to help refugees and improve coordinated actions to tackle illegal immigration

Migration flows to OECD countries have dropped slightly for the first time since 2011, with around 5 million new permanent migrants in 2017, down from 5.3 million in 2016. This trend is mainly due to a significant decrease in new asylum applications, with 1.2 million applications in 2017 compared to 1.6 million in 2016, according to a new OECD report.




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Low productivity jobs driving employment growth in many OECD countries

Weak labour productivity growth continues to mark the world’s advanced economies and risks compromising improvements in living standards, says a new OECD report.




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Job automation risks vary widely across different regions within countries

The risk of job automation is much higher in some regions than others within countries, meaning governments will need to address any widening of job inequality between one area and another in the coming years, according to a new OECD report.




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Global leaders and companies pledge to reduce the gender pay gap by 2030

Today, global leaders from governments, private sector companies, trade unions and civil society pledged to take concrete action towards closing the gender pay gap by 2030. The global commitments – to ensure women in every sector of the workforce are paid equally to men for doing work of equal value – were made at the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) Pledging event held during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.




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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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Seminar on Administrative Simplification in MENA and OECD Countries, Budapest

The objective of this seminar was to facilitate the implementation of administrative simplification strategies in MENA countries and to deepen the knowledge about the use of ICT-tools and consultation processes with stakeholders.




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Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in the Czech Republic and other countries

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.




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Guide to Improve the Regulatory Quality of State and Municipal Formalities and boost Mexico's competitiveness

This Guide provides concrete recommendations of high impact reforms to simplify the processes of business start ups, construction permits, property registration, procurement, and to upgrade regulatory transparency and efficiency in the management of formalities in Mexico.




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Reform of Regulatory Enforcement and Inspections in OECD Countries

This report summarises the results of the survey on regulatory enforcement and inspections conducted among OECD countries in 2012. The report draws some general conclusions from this survey and provides theoretical background on the topic. It also suggests some recommendations for organising and reforming inspections.




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Reforming policies for the business sector to harvest the benefits of globalisation in the Netherlands

The Netherlands has strongly benefited from globalisation, which boosted international trade, cross-border investment and economic growth over the latest decades.




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Hermosillo progresses steadily in the implementation of OECD recommendations to simplify formalities

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.




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Implementation of OECD recommendations to improve business formalities in the Municipality of Hermosillo

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




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OECD and the Municipality of Metepec launch tramitesmetepec.mx, the new on-line registry for formalities

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.




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Hermosillo scores high in improving the regulatory quality of formalities

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




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Cities need new finance options and better governance to tackle future water risks

Rapid population growth, ageing infrastructure and new weather risks are straining the ability of cities in OECD countries to provide clean water and to protect against floods and droughts, according to a new OECD report. Cities will need large-scale investment and more effective tariffs and taxes to pay for upgrades to water systems.




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Measuring the impact of digitalising the formalities of the Mexican Social Security Institute, IMSS

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




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The quantification of structural reforms in OECD countries: a new framework

This document describes and discusses a new supply side framework that quantifies the impact of structural reforms on per capita income in OECD countries.




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Reform services trade policies to boost the global economy, OECD says

Better services trade policy can stimulate inclusive economic growth by promoting access to the information, skills, technology, funding and markets needed for success in an increasingly digital global economy, according to a new OECD report.




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Iceland: Better coordination among authorities needed to tackle foreign bribery, says OECD

Iceland must do more to ensure its law enforcement authorities are coordinated and adequately resourced to investigate and prosecute economic and financial crime, including foreign bribery, says the OECD in a new report.




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Tax: Joining forces to fight financial crime and illicit activities

Financial crimes, including corruption, tax fraud and money laundering, are a threat to all countries, both developing and developed. The sums are vast. Estimates have put total proceeds from all illicit activities at 3.6% of global GDP.




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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 takes aim at software technologies used by businesses to evade taxes

The OECD has released a study to help all countries understand and address the risks of sales suppression software. It describes some of the most common electronic sales suppression techniques and shows how these methods can be detected by tax auditors. The report also considers the approaches already adopted by countries in combating this risk and highlights a number of best practices.




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Evading the Net: Tax Crime in the Fisheries Sector

This report looks at the issue of tax crime in the fisheries sector, including frauds over taxes on profit and earnings, customs duties, VAT and social security, with examples from real cases.




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Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: Measuring OECD Responses

Strengthening OECD firewalls can only do so much to combat a phenomenon which thrives on weak governance. This report highlights that donor agencies can support this goal through their central role in linking OECD and developing countries, and using their aid to support governments willing to tackle these issues.




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FATF guidance tackles terrorist finance and money laundering risk in banks and corporate entities

New guidance from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will help countries tackle the misuse of corporate entities for money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit purposes.




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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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OECD launches report on greater co-operation and information sharing between government agencies to counter financial crimes

Vast amounts are lost to illicit financial flows, including tax evasion, money laundering, bribery and corruption. These crimes threaten the strategic, political and economic interests of both developed and developing countries. In a world of limited resources and increasing complexity, it is essential for government authorities to work closely together in a “whole of government” approach to best address these challenges.




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Colombia needs to address major loopholes to hold companies liable for foreign bribery

Colombia needs to improve its capacity to investigate foreign bribery by establishing an effective corporate liability regime, improving coordination between its numerous agencies and more rigorously training law enforcement, according to a new report by the OECD Working Group on Bribery.




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Conference: Combating Tax Crime and Other Crimes in the Fisheries Sector

This OECD expert workshop will bring together experts to assess available data and methodologies to calculate both Total Factor Productivity and Environmentally Adjusted Total Factor Productivity for the aggregate agricultural sector.




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OECD and AfDB launch powerful tool to help African companies prevent bribery

New guidance from the AfDB and the OECD will help African companies of all sizes set up measures to prevent bribery and improve the quality of corporate compliance and anti-bribery policies.




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Switzerland’s significant foreign bribery enforcement should be accompanied by harsher penalties and private sector whistleblower protection

The OECD Working Group on Bribery has just completed a review of Switzerland's enforcement of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments. The Working Group welcomes the significant level of enforcement by the Federal Office of the Attorney General. Switzerland has cracked down on the bribery of foreign public officials in recent years.




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Internship opportunities working on anti-corruption in the Middle East and North Africa region at the OECD

The OECD Anti-Corruption Division and Middle East and Africa Division offers short-term internships of 3-6 months for qualified students. These internships provide students with the experience of working in an international organisation on anti-corruption issues in MENA countries.




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Germany’s strong anti-bribery enforcement against individuals needs to be matched by comparably strong enforcement against companies

Germany continues to demonstrate a high level of anti-bribery enforcement having prosecuted and sanctioned 328 individuals and 18 companies in foreign bribery cases since 1999.




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Internship opportunities working on anti-corruption at the OECD

The OECD Anti-Corruption Division offers short-term internships of 2-6 months for qualified students. These internships provide students with the experience of working in an international organisation on anti-corruption issues and more specifically the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.




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Education spending rising but access to higher education remains unequal in most countries, says OECD

Governments should increase investment in early childhood programmes and maintain reasonable costs for higher education in order to reduce inequality, boost social mobility and improve people’s employment prospects, according to a new OECD report.




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Are countries educating to protect against unemployment? by Dirk Van Damme

More people than even before now reach a level of educational attainment equivalent to upper secondary education. The available evidence is very conclusive: this level of education can be considered a minimum level to ensure a job and a living wage.




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Promoting Graduate Entrepreneurship in Tunisian Universities

This report provides the main findings and recommendations of a case study review of entrepreneurship education and business start-up support in Tunisian universities and universities of applied sciences as part of a series of reviews on Skills and Competences for Entrepreneurship carried out by the LEED Programme of the OECD.




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15th OECD/Japan Seminar - Global Strategies for Higher Education-Global Trends and Rethinking the Role of Government”

This seminar will provide an opportunity for participants to share experiences on issues such as the influence of accelerated commercialization of education and a knowledge-based society.




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Reviews of National Policies for Education: Tertiary Education in Colombia 2012

In Colombia, the beginning of a new century has brought with it a palpable feeling of optimism. Colombians and visitors sense that the country’s considerable potential can be realised, and education is rightly seen as crucial to this process. As opportunities expand, Colombians will need new and better skills to respond to new challenges and prospects.




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PISA in Focus N°25: Are countries moving towards more equitable education systems?

Most of us think of education as the great leveller; but are our education systems really doing all they can to ensure that boys and girls from all backgrounds have an equal shot at a high-quality education? As this month’s PISA in Focus reports, some countries have been more successful than others in levelling the playing field for their students.




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Education Indicators in Focus No. 11 - What are the social benefits of education? How do early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies, systems and quality vary across OECD countries?

In many OECD countries, ECEC services have increased in response to a growing demand for better learning outcomes as well as growing female labour force participation. In recent years, however, the goals of ECEC policy have become more child-centred.




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Synergies for Better Learning: An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment

How can assessment and evaluation policies work together more effectively to improve student outcomes in primary and secondary schools? This report provides an international comparative analysis and policy advice to countries on how evaluation and assessment arrangements can be embedded within a consistent framework to improve the quality, equity and efficiency of school education.




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Learning from other countries’ experiences in education (OECD Education Today Blog)

Rather than prescribe actions, the OECD often prefers to show policy makers what everyone else is doing and how successful those initiatives have been. A new OECD series of individual Education Policy Outlook Country Profiles does just that: each profile describes how an individual country is responding to key challenges to improve the effectiveness of its education system.




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Working with youth: A series of case studies

How are countries around the world helping youth stay in school, build skills and careers? What are they doing about youth unemployment? These case studies provide a starting point for those looking not only to learn about the problems facing youth today, but how to solve them.




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Newsroom - OECD countries commit to action plan to tackle youth joblessness

30/05/2013 - OECD governments have committed to stepping up their efforts to tackle high youth unemployment and strengthen their education systems to better prepare young people for the world of work.




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PISA in Focus N°30: Could learning strategies reduce the performance gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students?

Students who know how to summarise information tend to perform better in reading. If disadvantaged students used effective learning strategies to the same extent as students from more advantaged backgrounds do, the performance gap between the two groups would be almost 20% narrower.




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Asian countries top OECD’s latest PISA survey on state of global education

Asian countries outperform the rest of the world in the OECD’s latest PISA survey, which evaluates the knowledge and skills of the world’s 15-year-olds. PISA 2012 tested more than 510,000 students in 65 countries and economies on maths, reading and science. The main focus was on maths.




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Call for case studies – Call for participation: Entrepreneurship360

The OECD and the EC are inviting individual teachers and schools to submit case studies about their strategies, practices and achievements in promoting entrepreneurship in schools and VET. Participation in the Call requires a submission of an abstract of 1-2 pages by email to Joseph.Tixier@oecd.org indicating in the subject line "Entrepreneurship360- Call for case studies". Deadline for submission is 30 April 2014.