Reports

The higher education system in Norway generally produces graduates with good skills and labour market outcomes. This success can be largely attributed to Norway’s robust and inclusive labour market and recent higher education reforms to improve quality. However, some Norwegian students have poor labour market outcomes and past success is no guarantee of future success, especially as the Norwegian economy upskills and diversifies. This report provides advice and recommendations to improve the labour market relevance and the outcomes of higher education in Norway. The analysis finds that there is an opportunity to expand work-based learning opportunities, improve career guidance, and do a better job of using innovative learning and teaching practices to improve labour market relevance across the system. The report concludes that Norwegian policy makers have a larger role to play in steering the system. Policy makers can set the conditions for greater labour market relevance by strengthening the mechanism for collaboration between higher education institutions and employers, ensuring better coordination and use of labour market information, and redoubling efforts to support quality learning and teaching. This report was developed as part of the OECD Enhancing Higher Education System Performance project.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, commonly known as the Nordic countries, have been leaders in the development of modern family and gender policy, and the explicit promotion of gender equality at home, at work, and in public life. Today, on many measures, they boast some of the most gender-equal labour markets in the OECD.This report shows that improvements in gender equality have contributed considerably to economic growth in the Nordic countries. Increases in female employment alone are estimated to account for anywhere between roughly 0.05 and 0.40 percentage points to average annual GDP per capita growth – equivalent to 3 to 20% of total GDP per capita growth over the past 50 years or so, depending on the country.The Nordic countries are closer than most to achieving gender equality in the labour market. But the last mile may well prove to be the longest one. To make further progress, a continued assessment of the effectiveness of existing public policies and workplace practices is needed. Only with resolve and a continued focus can Nordic countries ensure that men and women contribute to their economies and societies in gender equal measure. 

The present report on Norway is part of the series on 'Investing in Youth' which builds on the expertise of the OECD on youth employment, social support and skills. This series covers both OECD countries and countries in the process of accession to the OECD, as well as some emerging economies. The report provides a detailed diagnosis of youth policies in the areas of education, training, social and employment policies. Its main focus is on young people who are not in employment, education or training (the 'NEETs'). Earlier reviews in the same series have looked at youth policies in Brazil (2014), Latvia and Tunisia (2015), Australia, Lithuania and Sweden (2016), Japan (2017).

In an increasingly globalised world, cities and regions sometimes join forces with their neighbours to form 'megaregions' and tap economies of scale. This report discusses how eight cities and counties in Norway and Sweden - along the coast joining up Oslo, Gothenburg and Malmö - have decided to work closer together as the megaregion of 'Western Scandinavia'. With a total population of about 5 million inhabitants, this cross-border territory shows good potential to draw on its growing economic and cultural interlinkages, as well as its long history of institutional collaboration, to build a stronger, more sustainable and more inclusive megaregion. The report encourages local authorities to identify a common vision for their shared future development and to take concrete action towards implementing it. It also calls for national governments to tackle the challenges of cross-border transport planning to facilitate greener mobility and more inclusive labour markets.

Under Action 14, countries have committed to implement a minimum standard to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP). The MAP is included in Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention and commits countries to endeavour to resolve disputes related to the interpretation and application of tax treaties. The Action 14 Minimum Standard has been translated into specific terms of reference and a methodology for the peer review and monitoring process. The minimum standard is complemented by a set of best practices. The peer review process is conducted in two stages. Stage 1 assesses countries against the terms of reference of the minimum standard according to an agreed schedule of review. Stage 2 focuses on monitoring the follow-up of any recommendations resulting from jurisdictions' stage 1 peer review report. This report reflects the outcome of the stage 1 peer review of the implementation of the Action 14 Minimum Standard by Norway.

The Nordic region is at the forefront of the global growth of electric mobility. The Nordic Electric Vehicle Outlook (NEVO) aims to identify and discuss recent developments of electric mobility in the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The report assesses the current status of the electric car market, the deployment of charging infrastructure, and the integration with the electricity grid at country level. It analyses the role of European, national, and local policy frameworks in supporting these developments. The analysis also provides insights on consumer behaviour and includes an outlook on the progress of electric mobility in the Nordic region up to 2030. NEVO has been developed in co-operation between the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Nordic Energy Research. It builds on the long-standing IEA engagement in the area of electric mobility, including the co-ordination of the Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) and the hosting of the Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technology Collaboration Programme.

Norway has long used technology to streamline processes within the public sector and bring the government closer to citizens and businesses. Now the country is going further, seeking to transform its public sector through the full assimilation of digital technologies. The goal is to make it more efficient, collaborative, user- and data-driven, and better able to respond to the changing needs and expectations of citizens and businesses. This review analyses the efforts under way and provides policy advice to support the Norwegian government in implementing digital government.

This report contains the 2017 Peer Review Report on the Exchange of Information on Request of Norway.