Gains in female education attainment have contributed to a worldwide increase in women’s participation in the labour force, but considerable gaps remain in working hours, conditions of employment and earnings.  More specific data for Austria are available in this country note.

As a further sign of international efforts to crack down on tax offenders, 12 more countries have signed, or committed to sign, the OECD’s Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. In addition, another 6 countries have ratified the Convention.

The Austrian standard VAT rate is 20.0%, 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 Austria was 18% in 1983. It changed to the current level in 1984. Austria applies reduced VAT rates of 10% and 13% to a number of goods and services as well as one specific regional rates.

Military Expenditure in Uruguay decreased to 1164 USD Million in 2018 from 1166 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Uruguay averaged 999.79 USD Million from 1972 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 1865 USD Million in 1981 and a record low of 530 USD Million in 1972.

Military Expenditure in Morocco increased to 3465 USD Million in 2018 from 3461 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Morocco averaged 1588.49 USD Million from 1956 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 3651 USD Million in 2013 and a record low of 104 USD Million in 1956.

A complement to the OECD insurance database, this report monitors and analyses the insurance industry’s overall performance and health in OECD countries and Hong Kong (China), India, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand.

The paper argues that interest rates are at extremely low levels to support banks, and the search for yield has pushed the liquidity driven speculative bubble from real estate, derivatives and structured products markets into the corporate debt market. Equities have rallied strongly too. This asset cycle is certainly helping banks reduce hidden losses on illiquid securities and could also help reduce the cost of equity.

Organised in Istanbul, this event focused on financial education across Europe and in Turkey, the role(s) of the private and not-for-profit sectors in financial education, financial literacy and innovation for young people and financial education for migrant workers and their families.

This blog post by Adrian Blundell-Wignall builds on a working paper he published earlier this year titled "The Bitcoin Question: Currency versus Trust-less Transfer Technology".

As the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approach their expiry date, we must focus our efforts on ensuring a brighter, more inclusive and sustainable future for all. We face a plethora of common issues: growing inequalities; changing consumption patterns and population dynamics; increasing natural resource scarcity; and ongoing illicit financial flows.

The infrastructure financing market has gone through a process of radical transformation starting from the mid-2000s. This article provides an overview of international trends in infrastructure finance. It proposes a map of the different investment channels that private investors can use to access the infrastructure investment on the equity and debt side, highlighting the historical evolution of these segments in the past few years.

Closing remarks made by the OECD Secretary-General during the Paris Club Forum, organised jointly by the Australian Presidency and the Paris Club.

4-5 February 2016 - Mumbai, India‌‌: This seminar addressed emerging frameworks for financial consumer protection across Asia; financial markets and better outcomes for consumers; improving policy by analysing consumer complaints data; technology and alternative delivery channels and promoting financial consumer protection, inclusion and investor education.

This study explores the effectiveness of the incentive mechanisms embedded within the UK’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) for banks’ to expand their supply of lending to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Adopted by the OECD Council on 23 February 2017, this Recommendation provides high-level policy guidance for designing a strategy for addressing the financial impacts of disasters on individuals, businesses and sub-national levels of governments, as well as the implication for public finances.

Paris, 8 March 2017: Taking place on International Women's Day, this OECD-hosted conference considered questions such as gender differences in financial literacy and inclusion; women working in the informal economy and the role of business: gender differences in the changing pensions landscape; empowering women to fight back against corruption and engaging men to support gender equality in the workplace.

This chapter from "The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An Uphill Battle" shows that two-thirds of the 30 economies participating in a financial literacy survey reported that gender differences in financial knowledge and confidence persist.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly turning to alternative sources of financing, while new bank lending is declining in a number of countries. Many SMEs remain over-reliant on bank credit, however, and the take-up of instruments other than straight debt varies greatly from one country to another, according to a new OECD report.

Paris, 25 May 2018 - Following a keynote speech from Emmanuelle Auriol, Professor at Toulouse School of Economics and Chair of Women in Economics of the European Economic Association, discussions at this event will explore some of the issues emerging from the gender biases evident in the field of economics.

21/11/2018 - The OECD is currently updating its 1977 Recommendation on Consumer Protection in the field of Consumer Credit to ensure that it remains the relevant international standard. The draft text is available for public comment until 21 December 2018.

This report analyses insurance market statistics collected by the OECD to monitor the insurance industry’s overall performance and health. It covers all OECD countries plus selected Asian, African and Latin American countries.

Government Spending in Nepal increased to 113731 NPR Million in 2018 from 104989 NPR Million in 2017. Government Spending in Nepal averaged 65645.63 NPR Million from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 113731 NPR Million in 2018 and a record low of 35785 NPR Million in 2000. This page provides - Nepal Government Spending- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Consumer Spending in Nepal increased to 689298 Million Rupees in 2018 from 647090 Million Rupees in 2017. Consumer Spending in Nepal averaged 499527.16 Million Rupees from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 689298 Million Rupees in 2018 and a record low of 348989 Million Rupees in 2000. This page provides - Nepal Consumer Spending- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Military Expenditure in Nepal decreased to 397 USD Million in 2018 from 405 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Nepal averaged 144.98 USD Million from 1970 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 405 USD Million in 2017 and a record low of 19.80 USD Million in 1970.

Military Expenditure in Rwanda increased to 119.50 USD Million in 2018 from 115.70 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Rwanda averaged 74.36 USD Million from 1973 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 158 USD Million in 1991 and a record low of 32.30 USD Million in 1975.

Gains in female education attainment have contributed to a worldwide increase in women’s participation in the labour force, but considerable gaps remain in working hours, conditions of employment and earnings.  More specific data for Beligum are available in this country note.

Gender inequality is one of the most primitive and oldest forms of inequality. Sadly, it is still very much a reality in most parts of the world. In many countries women do not have equal access to education, healthcare, safety, work or political decision-making.

This publication provides detailed country notes on Value Added Tax/Goods and Services Tax (VAT/GST) and excise duty rates in OECD member countries.

The Belgian standard VAT rate is 21.0%, 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 Belgium was 20.5% in 1995. It changed to the current level in 1996. Belgium applies reduced VAT rates of 0%, 6% and 12% to a number of goods and services.

Military Expenditure in Brunei decreased to 336 USD Million in 2018 from 347 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Brunei averaged 339.31 USD Million from 1984 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 477 USD Million in 2014 and a record low of 210 USD Million in 1984.

Military Expenditure in Malawi increased to 53.50 USD Million in 2018 from 47.40 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Malawi averaged 22.71 USD Million from 1968 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 64.30 USD Million in 2013 and a record low of 6 USD Million in 1969.

Government Spending in Malawi increased to 139966.40 MWK Million in 2018 from 134737.90 MWK Million in 2017. Government Spending in Malawi averaged 90742.62 MWK Million from 2002 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 139966.40 MWK Million in 2018 and a record low of 27173.70 MWK Million in 2002. Government Spending refers to public expenditure on goods and services and is a major component of the GDP. Government spending policies like setting up budget targets, adjusting taxation, increasing public expenditure and public works are very effective tools in influencing economic growth. This page provides - Malawi Government Spending - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Military Expenditure in Mali decreased to 457 USD Million in 2018 from 459 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Mali averaged 90.56 USD Million from 1965 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 459 USD Million in 2017 and a record low of 24.20 USD Million in 1966.

Military Expenditure in Cyprus increased to 360 USD Million in 2018 from 357 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Cyprus averaged 421.43 USD Million from 1985 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 918 USD Million in 1992 and a record low of 79.60 USD Million in 1985.

This workshop will convene leading experts from health and finance backgrounds in government, academia, and international organisations to take stock of progress in health expenditure forecasting and to discuss future directions, in light of policy needs and recent advancements in techniques, detailed data and computing power.

In his remarks, OECD Secretary-General answers the three following questions: Where is growth going to come from? How sustainable will it be? Who is going to benefit from it?

This paper proposes a new set of public health and long-term care expenditure projections until 2060, seven years after a first set of projections was published by the OECD. It disentangles health from long-term care expenditure, as well as the demographic from the non-demographic drivers, and refines the previous methodology, in particular by extending the country coverage.

This paper derives estimates of the efficiency of welfare spending in Slovenia and the other OECD countries from data envelopment analysis based on model specifications used in earlier OECD studies.

This paper provides new projections of public spending on health and long-term care for OECD countries and the BRIICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa). Despite the inevitable uncertainty surrounding projections, they suggest a rapidly rising trend over the next 50 years.

In Europe, the two most pressing structural policy priorities that must be addressed are the challenge of unemployment and the restoration the health of euro area banks, said OECD Secretary-General in Brussels.

The productivity compendium provides data and methodological notes and describes the measurement challenges and the data choices that were made, as well as the remaining measurement problems.

Finland’s economy is gradually picking up, but uncertainty surrounds the recovery. Determined action to implement structural reforms is needed to revive economic growth, restore competitiveness and preserve high standards of living and well-being, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Finland.

A broad agenda of reforms in four areas – labour markets, education, product markets and innovation – should strengthen Poland’s economy and allow it to continue its path of convergence towards the income levels of the more affluent OECD economies, said Angel Gurría during a seminar in Warsaw.

Leaders of the G20 countries meeting at their Summit in Brisbane, Australia, have called on the OECD and IMF to monitor their commitment to boost economic growth and create jobs.

Meeting Greece’s Minister of Development and Competitiveness Mr. Kostas Skrekas today, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría said the Greek government’s reform programme was already showing positive results.

This paper first decomposes labour productivity growth over 2000-11 into a within-industry, a shift and a cross effect in a number of countries and compares China with other countries over this period. This shift-share analysis also allows a comparison of within-sector productivity gains across a large number of sectors and countries.

This paper studies how public policies, including pro-women interventions, can raise female labour force participation and promote economic growth in India.

Austria has a model of "separate gender roles" in work, family and life arrangements which persists despite efforts to better balance these roles.

Gender mainstreaming with the aim of more gender equality ranks high on the agenda of Austrian policy makers.

This paper investigates the impact of policies and institutions on health expenditures for a large panel of OECD countries for the period 2000-10.