This study proposes a structured approach to selecting instruments of fiscal consolidation that are consistent with growth, equity and global-rebalancing objectives, which is then illustrated with a particular application.

The Spanish government has launched a series of ambitious public administration reforms as part of wider efforts to promote economic competitiveness and strengthen trust in government and public institutions.

An article from the OECD Insights blog about the Metropolitan Explorer - a nifty tool from the OECD that lets you explore statistics for 268 metropolitan areas in OECD countries.

Today’s post is by Arthur Mickoleit of the OECD’s Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development. Inputs from Kareen Schramm and Sofia Varas of Chile’s Ministry General‑Secretariat of the Presidency are gratefully acknowledged.

Public trust is the cornerstone of effective governance, the main ingredient to promote economic growth and social progress. Like never before, our citizens have doubts about their government’s capacities to make the right decisions. Therefore, we need to take the necessary measures to recover that confidence, said OECD Secretary-General.

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.

Today’s post is from Kate Lancaster, editor in charge of publications on government finance at the OECD. Government budgets are news. Tough choices have had to be made in these challenging economic times and we’re all interested in how our governments are managing our money.

The report "Regulatory Reform in the Middle East and North Africa" assesses progress in the implementation of regulatory policy within the MENA region and highlights good practices from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia.

This Forum took stock of the key challenges and trends in regulating money in politics; identify emerging risks and opportunities; shape a common understanding of the policy options ahead and trade-offs in enhancing fairness, integrity and transparency in decision making including in the realm of political finance; and mobilise partners to work together and promote synergies in the future agenda.

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.

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 post on trust in governments is a compilation of presentations given at the OECD Workshop entitled "Joint Learning for an OECD Trust Strategy", held on 14 October 2013.

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.

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

Spain’s planned public sector reforms should help make the country’s institutions stronger and more effective, and proposals to increase transparency and root out corruption will do much to restore public trust, according to a new OECD report.

Finnish municipalities enjoy ample fiscal autonomy and provide or arrange the provision of a large share of public services. In recent years, their spending and debt has been increasing steadily, especially because of population ageing and increases in the cost of health care and social services.

Whistleblowing is an essential element for safeguarding the public interest and for promoting a culture of public accountability and integrity. The majority of OECD countries have recently passed legislation protecting whistleblowers and yet, despite being high on the agenda, successful whistleblowing stories are rare.

Latin American and Caribbean countries need to do more to improve budget management, tax collection and public sector pay equality if they are to catch up with advanced economies in terms of government performance, according to a joint report by the OECD and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

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

This International Roundtable will provide a platform for policy dialogue on addressing the challenges of ageing societies.

Webinar presenting OECD’s and UNEP’s Compendium of Best Practices in Green Public Procurement

Better policies for better lives: this time, in your region - Insights Blog

The OECD Conference on Innovating the Public Sector: From Ideas to Impact on 12-13 November 2014 will bring together public sector practitioners, researchers, civil society and businesses to discuss how innovation can help solve today's complex challenges.

MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries are looking for ways to build a strategic public sector capacity to enable full women’s empowerment in society and public life in a sustainable manner. They also seek to ensure conformity with international standards related to issues of gender equality and human rights.

Trust is the glue that holds societies together. It is essential for most social and economic relations. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, OECD countries have been under pressure to restore trust in their institutions, especially in their governments.

Over the past couple of years the OECD has been working with countries to develop the Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, to help them make the most of innovation. The Observatory puts the experiences of innovators from across the world at everyone’s finger tips.

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

Opinion piece on lobbying regulation by Rolf Alter, published in the EU Observer.

This report documents procurement regulations and practices in Mexico's main electricity company (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) and makes policy recommendations in key procurement areas.

This country review series assesses countries public governance ability in delivering government objectives and determines their preparedness to meet current and future challenges.

This Recommendation provides clear and effective guidance on how to implement a public procurement system that uses state-of-the-art tools and techniques to use public funds sustain-ably and efficiently.

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.

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.

Meeting focusing on challenges on gender sensitive policies and gender budgeting in MENA region. Delegates will also discuss the progress to date on legal reforms in advancing gender equality and promoting women’s political participation in the region.

Blog written for the OECD Integrity Forum 2015 on “Curbing Corruption – Investing in Growth”. The Forum will expose corruption in its myriad forms, in both the public and private sectors, as part of the OECD CleanGovBiz initiative, supporting governments, business and civil society to build integrity and fight corruption.

Blog article by Cobus de Swardt, Managing Director of Transparency International, written for the OECD Integrity Forum 2015.

When we think about water scarcity, we tend to focus on drinking water. But in terms of global usage, drinking water accounts for only 8% of water use, with 22% used by industry and 70% for farming and irrigation. Effective water governance must mediate across a broad set of actors and needs that cut across all economic sectors.

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. ‌

This online resource will guide you in implementing the OECD Principles on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government. In addition to better familiarising yourself with the 12 Principles, the Toolkit lets you compare indicators and best practices in use in numerous countries, regions and municipalities.

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.

Improving public sector efficiency can help to meet two conflicting objectives: ensuring fiscal consolidation and maintaining room for growth-friendly spending.

Blog: Anecdotal evidence suggests there are loads of grumpy old men and women around. A new, evidence-based report from the OECD offers some clues as to why this should be.

The recent riots in Baltimore following the death of Freddy Gray bring a tragic focus, once again, on inequality. Maryland’s largest city, Baltimore is a perfect laboratory to study it, thanks in part to the superb comparative statistics the city keeps. OECD Insights Blog.

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.

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).

The Public Governance Review of Lithuania was launched in Vilnius on 19 June 2015 as part of the closing event of Lithuania’s Open Progress Forum "Innovative Public Sector – Mission (Im)possible?".

Government at a Glance 2015, published on 6 July, offers a dashboard of key indicators to help analyze international comparisons of public sector performance. Given the timing of the release, it seems appropriate to focus on Greece to gain a balanced understanding of the country's challenges and strengths.

Countries need to do more to identify and reduce conflicts of interest and other breaches of integrity to help win back trust in national governments, which surveys suggest remains below pre-crisis levels, according to a new OECD report.