Publications

Colombia’s record in extending health insurance and health services to its population is impressive. In 1990, around 1 in 6 of the population had health insurance. Now, nearly 97% do, with greatest expansion occurring amongst poorer households. Likewise, in 1993 out-of-pocket spending made up 52% of total national expenditure on health. By 2006, this had fallen to less than 15%. Although Colombia has high rates of income inequality (with a Gini coefficient of 53.5 in 2012, compared to the OECD average of 32.2), access to health care services is much more equal. In urban populations, for example, 1.8% of children aged less than two years of age are recorded as having received no routine vaccinations, compared to 1.0% of rural children.  Colombia nevertheless faces important challenges to maintain and improve the performance of its health system. This report looks at Colombia’s health care system in detail and offers recommendations on what Colombia can do to ensure accessibility, quality, efficiency and sustainability.

Tackling mental ill-health of the working-age population is a key issue for labour market and social policies in OECD countries. OECD governments increasingly recognise that policy has a major role to play in keeping people with mental ill-health in employment or bringing those outside of the labour market back to it, and in preventing mental illness. This report on Australia is the ninth and last in a series of reports looking at how the broader education, health, social and labour market policy challenges identified in Sick on the Job? Myths and Realities about Mental Health and Work (OECD, 2012) are being tackled in a number of OECD countries. It concludes that policy thinking in Australia shows well-advanced awareness both of the costs of mental illness for society as a whole and of the health benefits of employment. However, challenges remain in: making employment issues a concern of the health care services; helping young people succees in their future working lives; making the workplace a safe, supportive psychosocial environment; and better designing and targeting employment services for jobseekers with mental ill-health.

Strategically managing crises is an essential responsibility of governments. Often critical  decisions need to be made swiftly under difficult and complex conditions, as crises’ impacts may spread beyond national borders and can trigger significant economic, social and environmental  knock-on effects.  Governments have a significant role to play in strengthening the resilience of their populations, communities and critical infrastructure networks. This report highlights the changing landscape of crises that governments are confronted with today. It discusses new approaches to deal with both traditional and new kinds of crises, and invites reflection on how best governments can adapt to change. Topics covered include capacity for early warning and 'sense-making', crisis communication and the role of social media, as well as strategic crisis management exercises. Finally, the review proposes practical policy guidance for strategic crisis management.

Les boissons alcoolisées, et leur consommation nocive, sont depuis toujours un trait commun des sociétés humaines. L’alcool est l’une des premières causes de morbidité et de mortalité prématurée dans le monde. Il est en effet à l’origine d’un décès sur 17, et d’une proportion importante de handicaps, surtout chez les hommes. Dans les pays de l’OCDE, la consommation d’alcool est près de deux fois supérieure à la moyenne mondiale. Son coût social est estimé à plus de 1 % du PIB dans les pays à revenu élevé et intermédiaire. Quand elle n’est pas liée à une dépendance, la consommation d’alcool est un choix individuel, déterminé par des normes sociales et associé de fortes connotations culturelles. Cela se traduit par des schémas uniques de disparités sociales face à la consommation d’alcool, les plus aisés étant dans certains cas plus enclins à boire dangereusement, et par une polarisation des problèmes de consommation excessive aux deux extrémités du spectre social. Certaines habitudes de consommation d’alcool ont un impact social, ce qui justifie amplement sur le plan économique le fait que les pouvoirs publics cherchent à influencer les comportements en prenant des mesures axées sur la réduction des préjudices, y compris ceux subis par les personnes autres que les consommateurs. Certaines stratégies sont plus efficaces et judicieuses que d’autres, selon qu’elles parviennent à faire évoluer les normes sociales et à cibler les groupes les plus vulnérables. La présente publication examine dans le détail les tendances et les disparités sociales liées à la consommation d’alcool. Elle présente en outre une vaste analyse des effets sanitaires, sociaux et économiques des principales politiques de lutte contre les méfaits de l’alcool dans trois pays de l’OCDE (Allemagne, Canada et République tchèque), et dégage des messages pertinents pour l’action des pouvoirs publics dans un plus grand nombre de pays. 

The report provides a comprehensive picture on the territorial differences in many well-being dimensions across the 31 Mexican states and the Federal District. It represents a sound base for state and local policy makers, political leaders and citizens to better understand people’s living conditions, gauge progress in various aspects of economy and society and use these indicators to improve the design and implementation of policies. It is a part of the 'How’s Life in Your Region?' work produced by the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate at the behest of the Regional Development Policy Committee.

In the field of long-term radioactive waste management, projects to construct repositories normally last from decades to centuries. Such projects will inevitably have an effect on the host community from the planning stage to the end of construction and beyond. The key to a long-lasting and positive relationship between a site and its host community is ensuring that solutions are reached together throughout the entire process. The sustainability of radioactive waste management solutions can potentially be achieved through design and implementation of a facility that provides added cultural and amenity value, as well as economic opportunities, to the local community.This second edition of Fostering a Durable Relationship Between a Waste Management Facility and its Host Community: Adding Value Through Design and Process highlights new innovations in siting processes and in facility design – functional, cultural and physical – from different countries, which could be of added value to host communities and their sites in the short to long term. These new features are examined from the perspective of sustainability, with a focus on increasing the likelihood that people will both understand the facility and its functions, and remember what is located at the site.This 2015 update by the NEA Forum on Stakeholder Confidence will be beneficial in designing paths forward for local or regional communities, as well as for national radioactive waste management programmes.

The Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) across Generations initiative was launched by the Nuclear Energy Agency in 2011 to foster international reflection and progress towards this goal and to meet increasing demands by waste management specialists and other interested parties for viable and shared strategies. The RK&M initiative is now in its second phase, which is to last until 2017. Phase I culminated on 15‑17 September 2014 with the organisation of an international conference and debate on 'Constructing Memory' held in Verdun, France.

The conference was attended by approximately 200 participants from 17 countries and 3 international organisations. Participants included specialists from the radioactive waste management area and beyond, academics in the fields of archaeology, communications, cultural heritage, geography and history, as well as artists, archivists, representatives from local heritage societies and from communities that could host a radioactive waste repository.

Ce rapport formule des recommandations sous la forme de composantes permettant d’élaborer des règles efficaces applicables aux sociétés étrangères contrôlées (SEC). Ces recommandations visent à garantir que les pays qui choisissent de les mettre en œuvre sont dotés de règles qui empêchent les contribuables de transférer des revenus vers des filiales étrangères. Le rapport recense les six composantes suivantes pour la conception de règles efficaces sur les SEC : (1) définition d’une SEC, (2) exemptions aux règles sur les SEC et obligations de seuil, (3) définition du revenu, (4) calcul du revenu, (5) attribution du revenu, et (6) règles tendant à prévenir et supprimer la double imposition. Étant donné que chaque pays a des priorités différentes, les recommandations offrent une certaine souplesse pour appliquer les règles sur les SEC visant les pratiques de BEPS en conformité avec les objectifs stratégiques d’ensemble de son système fiscal et avec les obligations juridiques internationales qui lui incombent.

Ce rapport résume l’état des pêcheries et de l’aquaculture et note que dans de nombreuses régions du monde, ces secteurs sont menacés et n’atteignent pas pleinement leur potentiel. Une croissance soutenue pourrait néanmoins être atteinte si des réformes sont engagées dans la lignée de la Stratégie de croissance verte de l’OCDE. Le rapport souligne le besoin d’une gestion des stocks sérieuse et basée sur les connaissances scientifiques pour garantir la durabilité des ressources ainsi que d’un cycle de développement des politiques transparent et dynamique qui garantisse que les pêcheries génèrent le maximum de bénéfices possibles. Le rapport montre qu’une amélioration de la régulation en termes d’externalités environnementales et de compétition spatiale pour l’exploitation des ressources est un élément clé qui permettrait d’ouvrir des perspectives de croissance pour l’aquaculture.

Education is the key to economic, social and environmental progress, and governments around the world are looking to improve their education systems. The future of education in the 21st century is not simply about reaching more people, but about improving the quality and diversity of educational opportunities. How to best organise and support teaching and learning requires imagination, creativity and innovation.
Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials that make use of tools such as open licensing to permit their free reuse, continuous improvement and repurposing by others for educational purposes. The OER community has grown considerably over the past 10 years and the impact of OER on educational systems has become a pervasive element of educational policy
This report aims to highlight state of the art developments and practices in OER, but also to demonstrate how OER can be a tool for innovation in teaching and learning.