Publications

Despite progress in recent years, there is growing evidence that OECD countries are not on track to reach some of their key environmental goals. This report examines the strategies and instruments that governments use to ensure compliance with pollution prevention and control regulations, particularly in the industrial sector. It compares the compliance assurance systems of six OECD countries – Finland, France, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States – as well as those of China and Russia. The report provides policy makers, environmental regulators, and other stakeholders with a comprehensive analysis of the design, management aspects, and the main elements of government compliance and enforcement programmes. Focusing on compliance promotion, compliance monitoring, and non-compliance response, it identifies and compares good practices, sets them in context of different countries’ regulatory cultures and highlights the key international trends.

Multilateral aid accounts for over a third of total official development aid. The scale at which the multilateral system is used reflects donors’ views of it as an important aid channel. However, a clearer picture of the multilateral system is needed to analyse this channel, and the first ever OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) report on multilateral aid aims to address this gap. The report provides a snapshot of the multilateral aid architecture, from the funding of multilateral organisations by DAC members to their own multilateral aid strategies and policies. The report also highlights issues such as fragmentation, multilateral effectiveness, reform processes and partner country views.

Every four years, each of the 24 members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Development Programme as observers is scrutinised by its peers in the Committee.Five different member countries are peer reviewed each year. The aim is to assess the extent to which the development policies, strategies and activities of the reviewed country meet the standards set by the DAC. Members provide constructive criticism and recommendations based on a report that touches on aid policies, volumes, institutions and field operations. There are no sanctions if the country fails to take the recommendations on board. The exercise is meant to encourage positive change, support mutual learning and raise the overall effectiveness of aid throughout the donor community.

The Impact of Culture on Tourism examines the growing relationship between tourism and culture, and the way in which they have together become major drivers of destination attractiveness and competitiveness. Based on recent case studies that illustrate the different facets of the relationship between tourism, culture and regional attractiveness, and the policy interventions which can be taken to enhance the relationship, this publication shows how a strong link between tourism and culture can be fostered to help places become more attractive to tourists, as well as increasing their competitiveness as locations which to live, visit, work and invest.

Driven by technological change, global competition and the liberalisation of markets, foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a key role in the process of global economic integration. OECD compiles and disseminates reliable and up-to-date statistics which are essential for a meaningful interpretation of investment trends for informed policy making. These statistics are based on official reports by OECD countries for investments world-wide. Internationally comparable data makes it possible to measure the degree of economic integration and competitiveness of markets.

Every four years, each of the 24 members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Development Programme as observers is scrutinised by its peers in the Committee.Five different member countries are peer reviewed each year. The aim is to assess the extent to which the development policies, strategies and activities of the reviewed country meet the standards set by the DAC. Members provide constructive criticism and recommendations based on a report that touches on aid policies, volumes, institutions and field operations. There are no sanctions if the country fails to take the recommendations on board. The exercise is meant to encourage positive change, support mutual learning and raise the overall effectiveness of aid throughout the donor community.

OECD Regions at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national economic growth and well-being. This edition updates more than 40 region-by-region indicators to assess disparities within countries and their evolution over the past 15 years. The report covers all the OECD member countries and, where data are available, Brazil, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Peru, the Russian Federation and South Africa.
New to this edition:
- A comprehensive picture of well-being in the 391 OECD regions based on 11 aspects that shape people's lives: income, jobs, housing, education, health, environment, safety, civic engagement and governance, access to services, social connections, and life satisfaction.  
- Recent trends in subnational government finances and indicators on how competencies are allocated and co-ordinated across levels of governments.

OECD Factbook 2015-2016 is a comprehensive and dynamic statistical publication from the OECD. Close to 100 indicators cover a wide range of areas: economy, education, energy, transportation, environment, development, health, industry, information and communications, population, employment and labour, trade and investment, taxation, public expenditure and R&D. This year, the OECD Factbook includes new indicators on a number of regional indicators including GDP by metropolitan area.Data are provided for all OECD countries, including the OECD aggregate, euro area, European Union, and where data are available, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa.For each indicator, there is a two-page spread. A text page includes a short introduction followed by a detailed definition of the indicator, comments on comparability of the data, an assessment of long-term trends related to the indicator, and a list of references for further information on the indicator. The second page contains a table and a graph providing – at a glance – the key message conveyed by the data. Each indicator includes StatLinks which allow readers to download the corresponding data.OECD Factbook 2015-2016 is a key reference tool for users working on economic and policy issues.

In the Accra Agenda for Action (2008), donors and developing country governments commit to deepening their engagement with civil society organisations (CSOs). Better aid requires a broader understanding of the aid effectiveness agenda and a place for CSOs as development actors in their own right and as aid donors, recipients and partners. This book is a resource for implementing the recommendations on civil society and aid effectiveness emerging from the Accra High Level Forum and its preparatory process. These recommendations address a broad community, including developing country governments, donors, and CSOs from developing and developed countries.

The balance of economic power is shifting. Countries that were once poor are becoming economic powerhouses. Yet poverty persists worldwide, depriving billions of people of basic necessities and the prospects of creating a better life. How are we responding to this challenge? This book explores the multi-faceted world of aid and development co-operation – a range of global, and sometimes contested, efforts aimed at reducing the impact of poverty. It traces the history of these efforts, explains where they come from and where they are going, and asks whether they are achieving as much as they could. It also examines some of the ways in which development efforts can be made more effective in achieving lasting benefits through good governance and the creation of a deeper partnership between developed and developing countries. And it looks at how the economic emergence of countries like China and India is bringing a new dynamic to development co-operation.