Regulators and policy makers should boost competition among mobile telephone operators to cut the high prices being charged for international data roaming. Analysis of pricing plans at 68 operators in the 34 OECD countries points to a strong case for new consumer protection and empowerment measures.

The international mobility of highly skilled workers, in particular human resources in science and technology (HRST) such as scientists, engineers and IT experts, is currently an important policy issue in the majority of OECD countries. Accompanying the booming demand for skilled labour,...

The purpose of this test is to determine the effects of a substance on the growth of freshwater microalgae and/or cyanobacteria. Exponentially growing test organisms are exposed to the test substance in batch cultures over a period of normally 72 hours. The system response is the reduction of...

This publication offers a general introduction to sustainability impact assessment, which is an approach for exploring the combined economic, environmental and social impacts of a range of proposed policies, programmes, strategies and action plans. Such assessments can also assist...

This chart compares the EC Procurement Directives and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services. Most central and eastern European countries used the Model Law as the basis of their public procurement laws in the early 1990s. Now that many countries of the region...

This book is a cyber terrorism brief that outlines many of the recent terrorist activities, political objectives, and their use of cyberspace. Much of this book is dedicated to illustrating the use of the global information infrastructure by terrorists for the communication and coordination of...

Governments in developed countries have long used, directly or indirectly through their tax systems, policies that subsidise or otherwise encourage the population at large to acquire assets such as financial savings, home ownership, retirement funds, education (human capital) or business...

This background paper describes five different tools that can be used for the assessment of tax incentives by governments in low income countries' (LICs). The first tool (an application of cost-benefit analysis) provides an overarching framework for assessment. Evaluations of the various costs...

This note provides a set of high-level recommendations that can guide national regulatory and supervisory responses to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and offers an overview of measures taken across jurisdictions to date. The banking sector plays a critical role in mitigating the...