Europe's single currency was launched a bit more than a year ago for eleven of the fifteen countries of the Union. This study assesses economic developments and policies during the inaugural year of the new regime. It analyses the economic performance and prospects of the euro area as a whole,...

The launch of the euro reinforces the foundations for unprecedented economic integration encompassing 11 countries, 16 per cent of world GDP and 290 million people. For the first time, the OECD has studied the euro-area as a fully-fledged economic entity and has analysed the intensive...

This book provides an overview of the key challenges currently faced in the Euro Area and OECD's main policy recommendations to address them. Drawing on the OECD’s expertise in comparing country experiences and identifying best practices, the book tailors the OECD’s policy advice to the...

Electric power in OECD countries is mostly produced by large central generating stations, then transmitted along high voltage lines to local distribution systems that carry it to final consumers. Distributed generation plants are different. They produce power on an electricity consumer’s own...

Over the last few years, much progress has been made in developing rail charges to ensure non-discriminatory access to, and efficient use of national rail networks. But in Europe the international dimension is still missing, particularly in terms of the freight market. Integration of European...

Hard-core cartels are the most egregious violations of competition law. What are the most appropriate tools to fight them? In this book, the OECD identifies an increasingly successful "carrot-and-stick" approach – applying stiffer punishment for cartel operators and enhancing programmes aimed...

This profile provides a concise and policy-relevant overview of health and the health system in the United Kingdom as part of the broader series of the State of Health in the EU country profiles. It provides a short synthesis of: the health status in the country; the determinants of health,...

This indicator presents the number of nursing graduates in a given year. In response to concerns about current or anticipated shortages of nurses, many OECD countries have taken steps in recent years to expand the number of students in nursing education programmes. Increasing investment in...

The database on Job Quality refers to multiple aspects of employment. It is structured around the three key dimensions of the OECD Job Quality Framework: earnings quality, labour market security, quality of the working environment. It displays country information for OECD countries at the...

The database on Job Quality refers to multiple aspects of employment. It is structured around the three key dimensions of the OECD Job Quality Framework: earnings quality, labour market security, quality of the working environment. It displays country information for OECD countries at the...