Publications

Policies that respond to climate change and other environmental issues will increasingly impact the development of the global energy sector. The transition to low-carbon economies will need to be carefully managed, as the provision of secure, affordable energy is critical for economic growth and social development. More than ever, there is a need for a fuller understanding of the opportunities to promote synergies between energy, environmental and climate policies. Energy, Climate Change, and Environment: 2014 Insights helps address this need with in-depth analysis of selected policy questions at the energy-climate interface, including:

• How can we accelerate the transition from (i.e. 'unlock') existing high-emissions infrastructure?
• What are the best ways to design cost-effective emissions trading systems that fit with national circumstances?
• What are some alternative energy-specific metrics that support near-term emissions reductions and long-term decarbonisation of the energy sector?
• And, in the special focus of this report, can curbing local air pollution help reconcile energy priorities with environmental sustainability, including greenhouse gas mitigation?

Addressing these questions will help inform decisions that can boost decarbonisation of the energy sector while taking into account security and economic objectives.This report also features an update of key energy and emissions statistics for ten world regions that should interest energy practitioners and climate policy makers alike.

OECD's comprehensive review of investment policy in Botswana.  After an overview of the country, the review examines investment policy, investment promotion and facilitation as well as infrastructure in Botswana.

The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) asks teachers and principals who they are, where they teach and how they feel about their work. The results on lower secondary schools were published in TALIS 2013 Results: An International Perspective on Teaching and Learning. A few countries chose to also conduct the survey in primary and/or upper secondary education. This report presents the results of these options and offers a broader view of teachers and school principals across all levels of compulsory education, and all the similarities and differences in the issues they are facing.

Vocational education and training (VET) programmes are facing rapid change and intensifying challenges. How can employers and unions be engaged? How can workbased learning be used? How can teachers and trainers be effectively prepared? How should postsecondary programmes be structured? This country report on Kazakhstan looks at these and other questions.

Les propositions de modifications du Modèle de convention fiscale sont exposées dans ce livrable afin d’empêcher l’utilisation abusive des conventions fiscales. Les pays participant au projet BEPS se sont accordés sur des standards minimum pour prévenir le chalandage fiscal et autres stratégies destinées à obtenir indûment les avantages prévus par certaines dispositions des conventions fiscales. Ce livrable veille également à s’assurer que les conventions fiscales n’entravent pas l’application de règles nationales visant légitimement à prévenir l’utilisation abusive des conventions. Il précise que les conventions fiscales n’ont pas vocation à être utilisées pour aboutir à une double non-imposition et recense également les considérations de politique fiscale que les pays doivent prendre en compte avant de décider de conclure une convention fiscale avec un autre pays. Les modèles de dispositions figurant dans le livrable constituent des orientations appelées à évoluer car d’autres travaux devront être réalisés, en particulier en ce qui concerne la règle relative à la limitation des avantages conventionnels.

These guidelines published within the framework of the Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables established by OECD in 1962. They include explanatory notes and illustrations to facilitate the uniform interpretation of the Shallots Standard. This book illustrates the standard text and demonstrates the quality parameters on high quality photographs. It therefore is a valuable tool for the inspection authorities, professional bodies and traders interested in international trade in Shallots.

Pension funds and annuity providers need to effectively manage the longevity risk they are exposed to. Individuals receiving a lifetime income may live longer than expected or accounted for in the actuarial calculations to provision for these liabilities. Mismanaged longevity risk can deteriorate finances, cause bankruptcy and expose individuals to the risk of losing their retirement income. To safeguard against this risk, pension funds and annuity providers must provision for future improvements in mortality and life expectancy. The regulatory framework can support the effective management of longevity risk.

This publication assesses how pension funds, annuity providers such as life insurance companies, and the regulatory framework account for future improvements in mortality and life expectancy. The study then examines the mortality tables commonly used by pension funds and annuity providers against several well-known mortality projection models with the purpose of assessing the potential shortfall in provisions. The final part of the publication identifies best practices and discusses the management of longevity risk, putting forward a set of policy options to encourage and facilitate the management of longevity risk. 

The growing role of the digital economy in daily life has heightened demand for new data and measurement tools. Internationally comparable and timely statistics combined with robust cross-country analyses are crucial to strengthen the evidence base for digital economy policy making, particularly in a context of rapid change. This report presents indicators traditionally used to monitor the information society and complements them with experimental indicators that provide insight into areas of policy interest. The key objectives of this publication are to highlight measurement gaps and propose actions to advance the measurement agenda.

Ports and cities are historically strongly linked, but the link between port and city growth has become weaker. Economic benefits often spill over to other regions, whereas negative impacts are localised in the port-city. How can ports regain their role as drivers of urban economic growth and how can negative port impacts be mitigated? Those are the questions that this report aims to answer.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) conducts periodic reviews of the individual development co-operation efforts of DAC members. This peer review of Ireland reviews its development policies and programmes. It assesses not just the performance of its development co-operation agency, but also policy and implementation. It takes an integrated, system-wide perspective on the development co-operation and humanitarian assistance activities of the member under review.