The report reviews progress on the availability of broadband access across the OECD area. It particularly focuses on benchmarking digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modem expansion and availability, as well as the emergence of broadband wireless as a platform to provide low-cost...

This review discusses the challenges and opportunities of German rural areas. Significant differences between East and West persist and many of these have clear rural dimensions. Factors such as CAP reforms, ageing of the German population and migration trends will also have important rural...

Today’s global policy climate underlines the importance of better addressing non-economic dimensions of well-being and social progress such as health, social engagement, political interest and crime. Education plays an important role in shaping indicators of progress. However, we understand...

Are breast cancer survival rates higher in the United States than in the United Kingdom and France? Are a patient's chances of dying within 30 days after admission to a hospital with a heart attack lower in Canada than in Korea? Are surgeons in some countries more likely to leave “foreign...

People in OECD countries are healthier than ever before, as shown by longer life expectancy and lower mortality for diseases such as cancer. At the same time, total spending on health care now absorbs over 9% of GDP on average in the OECD. Achieving value for money in the health care sector is...

How can the performance of the Korean health care system be improved? How have the July 2000 health sector reforms affected performance? This book investigates a set of policy challenges concerning the type of government interventions that are needed to promote health systems objectives in a...