Browse by: "F"

Rising disinformation has far-reaching consequences in many policy areas ranging from public health to national security. It can cast doubt on factual evidence, jeopardise the implementation of public policies and undermine people's trust in the integrity of democratic institutions. This report explores how to respond to these challenges and reinforce democracy. It presents an analytical framework to guide countries in the design of policies, looking at three complementary dimensions: implementing policies to enhance the transparency, accountability, and plurality of information sources; fostering societal resilience to disinformation; and upgrading governance measures and public institutions to uphold the integrity of the information space.

This report maps strategies, governance tools, institutional settings and innovative approaches used by governments across the OECD to drive and support society-wide gender equality goals. It covers all state institutions, including legislatures and judiciaries, and discusses the challenges faced by OECD countries in achieving long-lasting impact. Finally, the report provides policy guidance for state institutions, supported by examples of what works across the OECD. This report establishes a baseline for monitoring progress, based on the 2015 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Gender Equality in Public Life.

This publication provides an overview of the recent trends and developments in financial education policies and programmes in Europe.  It describes the status of national strategies for financial education and various financial education programmes targeting a variety of audiences and through a variety of delivery channels. Based on the analysis of these initiatives, the report offers policy and practical suggestions for European policy makers and other stakeholders.

Are tax incentives the best way to encourage people to save for retirement? This publication assesses whether countries can improve the design of financial incentives to promote savings for retirement. After describing how different countries design financial incentives to promote savings for retirement in funded pensions, the study calculates the overall tax advantage that individuals may benefit from as a result of those incentives when saving for retirement. It then examines the fiscal cost of those incentives and their effectiveness in increasing retirement savings, and looks into alternative approaches to designing financial incentives. The study ends with policy guidelines on how to improve the design of financial incentives to promote savings for retirement, highlighting that depending on the policy objective certain designs of tax incentives or non-tax incentives may be more appropriate.

This report, prepared at the request of Deputies of the G10, reviews economic consequences of ageing populations for financial markets and recommends that a) governments help facilitate development of financial instruments to support retirement savings and pensions; b) governments strengthen regulation and supervision of these markets; c) tax rules should not hinder the build-up of financial buffers by private pension funds, but should avoid the abuse of tax deferrals; and  d) financial education needs to be strengthened.

Infrastructure worldwide has suffered from chronic under-investment for decades and currently makes up more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. A deep transformation of existing infrastructure systems is needed for both climate and development, one that includes systemic conceptual and behavioural changes in the ways in which we manage and govern our societies and economies. This report is a joint effort by the OECD, UN Environment and the World Bank Group, supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. It focuses on how governments can move beyond the current incremental approach to climate action and more effectively align financial flows with climate and development priorities. The report explores six key transformative areas that will be critical to align financial flows with low-emission and resilient societies (planning, innovation, public budgeting, financial systems, development finance, and cities) and looks at how rapid socio-economic and technological developments, such as digitalisation, can open new pathways to low-emission, resilient futures.

This report looks at the state of health in Finland.

The health systems we enjoy today, and expected medical advances in the future, will be difficult to finance from public resources without major reforms. Public health spending in OECD countries has grown rapidly over most of the last half century. These spending increases have contributed to important progress in population health: for example, life expectancy at birth has increased, rising on average by ten years since 1970. The challenge now is to sustain and enhance these achievements in a context of tight fiscal constraints in many countries combined with upward pressure on health spending from factors such as new technological advances and demographic changes. Finding policies that can make health spending more sustainable without compromising important achievements in access and quality requires effective co-operation between health and finance ministries. Sound governance and co-ordination mechanisms are therefore essential to ensure effective policy choices. Prepared by both public finance and health experts, this report provides a unique detailed overview of institutional frameworks for financing health care in OECD countries. One of the main features of this book is a comprehensive mapping of budgeting practices and governance structure in health across OECD countries.

The costs of mental ill-health for individuals, employers and society at large are enormous. Mental illness is responsible for a very significant loss of potential labour supply, high rates of unemployment, and a high incidence of sickness absence and reduced productivity at work. Following an introductory report (Sick on the Job: Myths and Realities about Mental Health and Work) and nine country reports, this final synthesis report summarizes the findings from the participating countries and makes the case for a stronger policy response.

Recent years have seen a remarkable backlash against globalisation. The costs of increased openness and connectivity – including the consequences of trade and investment liberalisation – are weighted as never before against the benefits, with many voices advocating a slowdown or even a reversal of the global integration that has characterised the past three decades. While there are many economic, social and political reasons for this backlash, there is sufficient evidence showing that globalisation is leaving many people behind, particularly in the lower half of the income distribution, and especially in advanced countries. This backlash suggests that we need to act quickly to fix globalisation and make sure that its benefits are more equally shared. The consequences of a potential reversal of global integration could be dramatic: increased protectionism resulting in a net loss of wealth and opportunities and dangerous inward-looking policies that would put at risk many of the benefits achieved in the past decades.

What worries people across Latin America, North America, Israel and Europe? How do attitudes towards governments’ provision of social protection differ cross-nationally? A collaboration between the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) illustrates how views of economic risk and government effectiveness vary across the Americas and Europe. This report finds that economic discontent is global, as many respondents of both the OECD’s Risks that Matter and LAPOP’s AmericasBarometer surveys say that their country’s economic situation is worse than it was last year, and that public satisfaction with government is low. More than half of all respondents in the OECD and Latin American countries studied in this report say that government is failing to incorporate their views in social policy design and reform.

This report, prepared by FAO and the OECD with inputs from IFPRI, IFAD, the World Bank and WTO, has been submitted to the G20 Presidency of the Argentine Republic in response to the Presidency’s request for information on future trends and challenges faced by global agriculture, with a special focus on the role of soils in promoting food security and the measures that could be undertaken to facilitate sustainable soil management.

Foodborne disease caused by microbiological hazards and chemical contaminants continues to be a growing public health concern, according to the World Health Organisation. This report provides information on the incidence and costs of foodborne disease, which represent a significant economic burden on consumers, the food industry and governments. There is a need to improve interdisciplinary approaches in order to better understand public health issues and their economic consequences. This will also allow policy makers to design appropriate prevention strategies to lower the risk