All discussions about the desirability of policy reforms rest on judgements about their effects on individuals and societal well-being. Yet, suitable measures for assessing how well-being is changing over time or compares across countries are lacking. This problem is, of course, not new and...

This report looks at the effects on the distribution of household income of those government-provided services that confer a personal benefit to users. While most of the comparative evidence of the size and evolution of income inequalities in OECD countries relies on the concept of household...

<OL><LI>The OECD regularly produces estimates of tax burdens and benefit entitlements for a range of “typical household” situations. The results of these calculations (published in the <I>Benefits and Wages</I> and <I>Taxing Wages</I> series) are frequently used to compare countries’ tax-benefit systems and to...</i></i></li></ol>

This report tries to explain observed changes in fertility rates across OECD countries, with an emphasis on socio-economic considerations. It aims to extend the understanding of fertility-related behaviours in different ways: first, by explaining recent developments in fertility rates and their...

This report provides evidence on income distribution and poverty in 27 OECD countries over the second half of the 1990s, using data that correct for many of the features that limit cross-country and intertemporal comparisons in this field. Patterns for income distribution and relative poverty in...

The paper discusses the use of material deprivation measures for an analysis of poverty in OECD countries. Its main goal is to identify suitable survey questions that might be used in comparative analysis, as a first step towards the construction of more satisfactory poverty measures. The paper...

Three main elements characterise the notion of sustainable development: first, a broad view of human well-being, in which environmental and social elements are important as well as economic ones; second, the view that many of the effects of today's decisions will last over time, thereby...