Reports

This book provides, from an international perspective, an independent analysis of major issues facing the educational evaluation and assessment framework, current policy initiatives, and possible future approaches in the Slovak Republic.

Governments are major issuers of debt instruments in the global financial market. This volume provides quantitative information on central government debt instruments for the 34 OECD member countries to meet the analytical requirements of users such as policy makers, debt management experts and market analysts.  Statistics are presented according to a comprehensive standard framework to allow cross-country comparison.  Country methodological notes provide information on debt issuance in each country as well as on the institutional and regulatory framework governing debt management policy and selling techniques.

Drawing on the OECD’s expertise in comparing country experiences and identifying best practices, this book tailors the OECD’s policy advice to the specific and timely priorities of the Slovak Republic, focusing on how its government can make reform happen.

The Slovak Republic imports virtually all of its natural gas and crude oil from a single supplier, the Russian Federation. Energy security is therefore an overarching concern and priority in the Slovak Republic�fs energy policy agenda. The government is taking steps to diversify supplies and build on lessons learned from the gas supply disruption in 2009.  Enhancing regional co-operation, particularly in the development of gas and electricity interconnections, is an essential step towards meeting the dual policy objectives of enhancing energy security and market competition. The Slovak Republic has moved forward with coupling its electricity market with the Czech Republic's, and supports the construction of a North-South pipeline connection that would link planned LNG terminals in Croatia and Poland, including an interconnector to Hungary.  Despite a sharp decline in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 1990, the Slovak Republic remains a GHG-intensive economy by OECD standards, with energy-related CO2 emissions accounting for over 70% of total GHG emissions. The country must continue to implement policies that ease the transition to a low-carbon economy. Nuclear power and renewable energy can play crucial roles in the Slovak Republic�fs efforts to decarbonise its electricity production. Significant efforts can also be made to improve energy efficiency, especially in the transport and building sectors. District heating is a notable area with huge potential for reducing national GHG emissions.  This review analyses the energy-policy challenges currently facing the Slovak Republic, and provides sectoral studies and recommendations for further policy improvements. It is intended to help guide the country towards a more secure and sustainable energy future.

This 2011 review of the Slovak Republic's environmental policies and programmes covers recent developments, greening growth, implementation of environmental policies, climate change and energy, agriculture and the environment and international cooperation.

Trends in bank profitability and factors affecting it are major indicators of changes in the state of health of national banking systems. This publication provides nationally aggregated financial statements of banks data for OECD member countries. The coverage of banks is not the same in each country, though the objective is to include all institutions that conduct ordinary banking business, namely institutions which primarily take deposits from the public at large and provide finance for a wide range of purposes. Some information on the number of reporting banks, their branches and staff is also included, as well as structural information regarding the whole financial sector. Moreover, ratios, based on various items of the financial statements of banks in percentage of some specific aggregates, are supplied to facilitate the analysis of trends in bank profitability of OECD countries. Times series available vary according to country, but generally the last five years of available data are shown.

This OECD publication provides statistics on international trade in services by partner country for 28 OECD countries plus the European Union (EU27), the Euro area, and Hong Kong, China as well as definitions and methodological notes. The data concern trade between residents and non-residents of countries and are reported within the framework of the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services. This book includes summary tables of trade patterns listing the main trading partners for each country and by broad service category. Series are shown in US dollars and cover the period 2004-2008.