This paper examines the role of structural indicators in the process of multilateral surveillance of structural policies. An analytical framework is suggested that is based on welfare economics and which focuses on efficiency considerations. Potential indicators are examined for six areas --...

This paper analyses how different tax policies can affect investment and productivity. To address this question the paper uses industry-level data from a set of OECD countries and examines whether different industries are affected differently by taxation. Investment is shown to respond...

This paper reviews the Finnish tax system and the scope for further tax reform. Finland is among the most egalitarian countries in the OECD and a high tax burden is required to finance the associated public spending. Nevertheless, capital and corporate income taxation was substantially and...

The recent tax reforms have improved incentives to work and removed barriers to the internationalisation of Spanish firms, and have helped to make the tax system simpler and more neutral, especially as regards saving. However, the structure of tax wedges, combined with significant labour market...

This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on the effects of taxation on economic performance, adds marginally to the empirical literature, and draws conclusions for tax policy in OECD countries. Key issues covered are how, in open OECD economies, taxes may have affected...

This paper estimates the elasticities of government revenue and expenditure items with respect to the output gap for European Union (EU) countries. These elasticities are used by the European Commission, as part of the EU fiscal surveillance process, to calculate the semi-elasticity of the...

The landscapes of housing loan markets vary considerably across OECD countries, reflecting differences in preferences and policy settings. This paper first draws a topography of disparities in mortgage structure, documenting considerable variation across OECD countries in key features such as in...

Inter-regional migration – the movements of the population from one region to another within the same country – can be an important mechanism of spatial economic adjustment, affecting regional demographic and growth patterns. This paper examines the economic and housing-related factors that...

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of patterns and trends of worker transitions across European countries and the United States, with an emphasis on differences across socio-economic groups. Understanding labour market transitions is important to gauge the scope of labour market...

New variants of the virus are spreading which, together with seasonal effects, are estimated to be able to raise effective reproduction numbers by up to 90%. Meanwhile, many countries are rolling out vaccination programmes, but at varying speeds. Hence the race is on to beat the variants with...