Most OECD governments use tax incentives to encourage businesses to invest in research and development (R&D) to boost innovation and drive economic growth. Others, like China, India and South Africa, are doing the same. But reforming these incentives would give countries a better return on their investment and support young innovative firms that play a crucial role in job creation, according to a new OECD report.

Korea has made significant progress towards decentralising the management of employment and training programmes, but can still do more to create stronger links with employers at the local level, according to a new OECD report.

The project provided recommendations to the city of Medellin and Antioquia to support the development of the local economy and includes a focus on how the innovative environment can be strengthened to support inclusion, entrepreneurship, SME, and local developmentto and how to better coordinate and integrate its policies with the national level.

SMEs form the vast majority of businesses in most countries and contribute strongly to employment and economic growth, but they face particular challenges, particularly as concerns access to finance. Governments have a range of policy levers, including tax policies, that can and should be used to support the growth and development of SMEs, according to a new OECD report.

Achieving green growth requires ambitious transition management policies in key sectors such as energy, transport, water and agriculture. Provided that the pace of innovation in a number of these key areas is growing faster than ever before, the Forum examined how to foster the "next industrial revolution" by harnessing the potential of systems innovation policies to support green growth.

A new OECD report, the 2018 Business and Finance Outlook, highlights a number of major risks having the potential to disrupt global economic growth. It notes that the gradual normalisation of monetary policy in an environment of growing debt will be a major test of whether the Basel III regulatory reforms have achieved their goal of ensuring safety and soundness in the financial system.

Asia’s pension systems need modernising urgently to deliver secure, sustainable and adequate retirement incomes for today’s workers in the context of the rapid population ageing that will occur over the next two decades, according to a new OECD report.

Ireland should make its pension system simpler and fairer so that everyone gets sufficient income for a decent standard of living in retirement, according to a new OECD report.

Faced with the acute poverty of many Russian pensioners, the Russian government is engaged in wide-ranging systemic reforms. This report contributes to the policy discussion by identifying aspects of the system that may need to be reformed and describing the experience of other countries as a point of comparison.

This 2013 and fifth edition of Pensions at a Glance provides a range of indicators for comparing pension policies and their outcomes between OECD countries. The indicators are also, where possible, provided for the other major economies that are members of the G20.

Low growth, low interest rates and low returns on investment linked to the slow global economy are now compounding the problems of population ageing for both public and private pension systems, according to a new OECD report.

The reforms to the pensions system in Mexico, especially the introduction of a system of individual defined contribution accounts, have significantly improved the system’s financial sustainability.

This review of Latvia by the OECD Working Party of Governmental Experts on Insurance examines Latvia’s position with respect to core principles related to insurance systems.

Brazil’s old-age pensions have reduced old-age poverty below OECD levels, but pension expenditures of 8.2% of GDP are expected to rise rapidly as the population ages. A pension reform is necessary to ensure the financial sustainability of the system.

Improvements in the design of pension systems over the last decade in OECD countries have made them more financially sustainable and governments should now focus on ensuring they provide people with an adequate retirement income, according to a new OECD report.

Portugal needs to reform its pensions system to address the challenges of a fast-shrinking workforce and high levels of old-age inequality, according to a new OECD report.

This paper studies the case of Turkey and suggests several tools to promote retirement planning. Section I provides a review of the traditional and behavioural policy instruments designed to promote retirement savings, along with a discussion on their effectiveness.

This review assesses Peru’s pension system in its entirety, looking at both public and private, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financed and funded pension provisions. The review then provides policy options to help tackle old-age poverty; establish a solid framework for the contributory pension system to meet its objectives.

Governments should urgently reform their pension systems to ensure that the growing share of workers in temporary or part-time employment can contribute enough during their working lives to receive an adequate income in retirement, according to a new OECD report.

The second report of the Continuous Reporting System on International Migration in the Americas was launched at the OAS, Washington on January 17 2013

The OECD presents in this synthesis note the findings of a workshop – held on 28th April in Stockholm – that first worked to identify the bottlenecks and shortcomings in the design and implementation of integration policy in Sweden and then focused on seven themes identified by the OECD and the Swedish authorities as critical issues facing migrants in their integration into the Swedish labour market

This document provides an overview of the key challenges for Canada’s labour migration system, along with recommendations for future policy making.

While the number of migrants in Finland remains small, the relatively short history of migration in Finland has led to a number of integration challenges.

SICREMI is an initiative of the Organization of American States (OAS) that aims to contribute to the promotion and development of public policies that lead to improved migration management in the Americas through the facilitation of dialogue, cooperation, institutional strengthening and access to information.

Chile has taken steps to address the rising environmental pressures from its rapid economic growth, strengthening its environmental institutions and introducing new instruments, including a carbon tax. It now needs to move ahead and thoroughly implement policy measures to stem the threat to its land, air and water, according to a new OECD report.

This paper summarises efforts in two West African countries – Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau – to mobilise international finance to sustain the marine biodiversity upon which fisheries depend, and to establish conservation trust funds. The countries study draws on the 2017 OECD report The Political Economy of Biodiversity Policy Reform.

Emissions curbs set by the European Union’s Emissions Trading System, Europe’s main tool for reducing carbon emissions, have not hurt revenue, profits or employment at firms subject to the cap-and-trade programme over 2005-2014, according to a new OECD report.

An update of the OECD database on transboundary movements of wastes is now available for download. Since 1992, transboundary movements of recyclable wastes between OECD countries are regulated by the Council Decision C(2001)107, which was established by the OECD Council, and designed as an agreement under Article 11 of the Basel Convention.

Achieving green growth requires ambitious transition management policies in key sectors such as energy, transport, water and agriculture. Provided that the pace of innovation in a number of these key areas is growing faster than ever before, the Forum examined how to foster the "next industrial revolution" by harnessing the potential of systems innovation policies to support green growth.

Germans continue to enjoy a high level of health compared to other OECD countries but the government needs to tackle high levels of hospital treatments and address growing pressures on long-term care, according to a new OECD report.

Resistance proportions for eight antibiotic-bacterium pairs in Germany have decreased in recent years, from 12% in 2005 to 10% in 2015, and could go up to 13% by 2030, should current trends in antibiotic consumption, population and economic growth continue into the future. Resistance proportions in Germany were lower than the OECD average in 2015 (17%).

Norway should overhaul its approach to mental health issues in the workplace in order to help more people find a job or stay in work, and cut high and rising public spending, according to a new OECD report.

Korea has made significant progress towards decentralising the management of employment and training programmes, but can still do more to create stronger links with employers at the local level, according to a new OECD report.

Low growth, low interest rates and low returns on investment linked to the slow global economy are now compounding the problems of population ageing for both public and private pension systems, according to a new OECD report.

The project provided recommendations to the city of Medellin and Antioquia to support the development of the local economy and includes a focus on how the innovative environment can be strengthened to support inclusion, entrepreneurship, SME, and local developmentto and how to better coordinate and integrate its policies with the national level.

Brazil’s old-age pensions have reduced old-age poverty below OECD levels, but pension expenditures of 8.2% of GDP are expected to rise rapidly as the population ages. A pension reform is necessary to ensure the financial sustainability of the system.

This conference organised jointly by the OECD, Warwick University, the Work Foundation, and the Centre for Cities brought together stakeholders from national government departments, cities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) as well as business, NGOs and research institutions to discuss the key challenges facing the United Kingdom in building more and better quality jobs

Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) play an important role in the economic, social and urban development of cities and regions and are also a powerful engine for innovation and competitiveness. T‌he conference represents the closure of the 1st Summer Academy on Cultural and Creative Industries and Local Development.

Key results from the partnership of international organisations for effective international rulemaking

Mongolia should persist with systematic reforms in its struggle against corruption, says a new report by the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan (IAP).

The OECD welcomes the laws of the National Anti-corruption System that were approved by the Parliament on June 16, 2016 and enacted on July 18, 2016, clearing the way for one of the key pillars of Mexico’s structural reform agenda. The promulgation of these laws substantially transforms the anti-corruption architecture of Mexico by putting in place measures that the OECD considers effective.

The public consultation took place from 1 August to 31 October 2016.

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.

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.

In a global economy, the benchmark for educational success is no longer improvement by national standards alone, but the best performing school systems internationally.

Korea has made significant progress towards decentralising the management of employment and training programmes, but can still do more to create stronger links with employers at the local level, according to a new OECD report.

Skills have become the currency of 21st century economies

Education has become increasingly important worldwide, including politically. Probably the key driver for this is economic – the fundamental role of knowledge and skills in underpinning and maintaining prosperity.

Education systems are not static; they change. There have been some important changes at both ends of the education ladder recently: in early childhood or “pre-primary” education, at one end, and in tertiary or higher education at the other.

China has the largest education system in the world. With almost 260 million students and over 15 million teachers in about 514 000 schools (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2014), excluding graduate education institutions, China’s education system is not only immense but diverse.