Publications & Documents

The EU’s ambitious Green Deal aims at achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The EU is starting from a relatively good position. It has successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions over the past decade. But further efforts are needed to reach the net zero target. These include an extension of emission trading to agriculture and the phase-out of generous subsidies for fossil fuels. Such efforts should be complemented by additional measures to shift to clean energy, notably more integrated electricity markets and deeper capital markets that provide the necessary investment in new technologies. Accelerating the green transition will also involve costs for displaced workers. Bolstering workers’ mobility and training will help improve labour reallocation and reduce transition costs.

Education systems around the world are increasingly recognising that social and emotional skills (SES) are essential for students and societies. This paper contributes to the Innovative approaches to measuring social and emotional skills project, which aims to complement self-report measures of SES with more direct assessments. It addresses criticisms of the OECD framework for SES used by the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills and discusses the use of the Big Five model as an underlying structure for organising SES. The paper then examines the teachability of SES through a comprehensive literature review. In addition, it reviews the evidence for the relationship between different SES and key life outcomes. The paper also seeks to reconcile divergent conceptual understandings in the literature by providing a clear definition of SES and highlighting discrepancies in skill definitions. The conclusions of the paper identify gaps in current research, highlight teachable skills with notable predictive value SES relevant for educators and policy makers, and support the development of direct SES assessments.

The report explores how the built environment (i.e. housing, transport, infrastructure and urban design/land use) interacts with people’s lives and affects their well-being and its sustainability. It primarily draws on the OECD’s Well-being Framework to highlight the many inter-relationships between the built environment and both material and non-material aspects of people’s life, focusing on some key well-being dimensions (e.g. health, safety and social connections). It defines the built environment through a well-being lens and outlines implications for its measurement, leveraging literature, current practice and official data. It then describes the state of the built environment and its components in OECD countries and their inter-relationships with well-being and sustainability. Policy examples of an integrated well-being policy approach in the built environment context are also highlighted. This report is intended to 'scope' relevant data and existing research in order to lay ground for further work on this issue.

The OECD AI Principles call for AI actors to be accountable for the proper functioning of their AI systems in accordance with their role, context, and ability to act. Likewise, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises aim to minimise adverse impacts that may be associated with an enterprise’s operations, products and services. To develop ‘trustworthy’ and ‘responsible’ AI systems, there is a need to identify and manage AI risks. As calls for the development of accountability mechanisms and risk management frameworks continue to grow, interoperability would enhance efficiency and reduce enforcement and compliance costs. This report provides an analysis of the commonalities of AI risk management frameworks. It demonstrates that, while some elements may sometimes differ, all the risk management frameworks analysed follow a similar and sometimes functionally equivalent risk management process.

In 2019, the OECD Council adopted the Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence (the 'OECD AI Principles'). These include five values-based principles and five recommendations for OECD countries and adhering partner economies to promote responsible and trustworthy AI policies. This report takes stock of initiatives launched by countries worldwide to implement the OECD AI Principles which were reported to the OECD.AI Policy Observatory as of May 2023. It provides an overview of national AI strategies, including their oversight and monitoring bodies, expert advisory groups, as well as their monitoring and evaluation frameworks. It also discusses the various regulatory approaches that countries are adopting to ensure AI trustworthiness, such as ethics frameworks, AI-specific regulations, and regulatory sandboxes. Additionally, the report offers policy examples for each of the ten OECD AI Principles to facilitate cross-learning among policymakers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers tremendous benefits but also poses risks. Some of these risks have materialised into what are known as 'AI incidents'. Due to the widespread use of AI in various sectors, a surge in such incidents can be expected. To effectively monitor and prevent these risks, stakeholders need a precise yet adaptable definition of AI incidents. This report presents research and findings on terminology and practices related to incident definitions, encompassing both AI-specific and cross-disciplinary contexts. It establishes a knowledge base for identifying commonalities and encouraging the development of AI-specific adaptations in the future.

This paper provides a factual baseline of the extent to which refugees and internally displaced persons are included in development planning, specifically in the national development plans and sector plans of low- and middle-income countries; in the international development co-operation strategies of Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and participants; and in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks of the UN development system at country level. It contributes to measuring progress towards commitments – under the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the UN Action Agenda on Internal Displacement – to treat forced displacement also as a development issue. Finally, it formulates policy recommendations to further improve the inclusion of the forcibly displaced in development planning.

Good mental health is a vital part of people’s well-being and essential for individuals and societies to thrive. The recognition that successful mental health strategies need to involve a range of sectors beyond health is not new, yet in practice coalition-building often remains limited and not implemented at scale. This Policy Insights highlights the main findings from the report How to Make Societies Thrive? Coordinating Approaches to Promote Well-being and Mental Health that uses the OECD Well-being Framework to review how people’s economic, social, relational, civic and environmental experiences interlink with their mental health, and uses this evidence to identify policies that can jointly improve both mental health and wider well-being outcomes. Selected mental health initiatives across the OECD are also reviewed to illustrate which elements of the policy ecosystem can support collaboration across government and with society more broadly.

Good mental health is a vital part of people’s well-being. This report uses the OECD Well-being Framework to systematically review how people’s economic, social, relational, civic and environmental experiences shape and are, in turn, shaped by their mental health. Based on this evidence, examples of co-benefits, or policy interventions that can jointly improve both mental health and other well-being outcomes, are identified for a range of government departments. Implementing and sustaining such co-benefits requires resources, incentives and working arrangements that enable all relevant stakeholders to contribute to tackling the upstream determinants of mental health. Selected mental health initiatives across OECD countries are reviewed to illustrate how policy makers have been realigning action across government agencies; redesigning policy formulation to address the joint factors influencing mental health; refocusing efforts towards the promotion of positive mental health; and reconnecting with societal stakeholders beyond government, including those with lived experience, youth, civil society and research institutions. How to Make Societies Thrive? Coordinating Approaches to Promote Well-being and Mental Health is the second of two reports as part of a broader OECD project on mental health and well-being.

Located in the state of Western Australia, the Pilbara is a large region and one of the least densely populated within the OECD. The Pilbara's mining sector is a top supplier of iron ore in the world, which has fuelled the economic growth of both the state and the country. While Pilbara’s industrialisation is relatively recent, dating back to the 1960s, First Nations peoples have inhabited the region for approximately 50 000 years. Despite the wealth generated by mining and extractive industries, the Pilbara faces important challenges to improve its attractiveness and well-being standards, especially for First Nations and non-mining workers. Well-being challenges also stifle growth opportunities and responsible mining investments in the region. The green transition presents the Pilbara with an opportunity to diversify its economy and improve well-being conditions of its communities, while becoming a strategic player in the global shift towards more sustainable mining. This study offers guidance on how the Pilbara can shape a more inclusive and sustainable development model that supports economic diversification and prioritises improving the living conditions of its communities, particularly First Nations.