The Czech health care system is doing well in terms of health outcomes compared to other Central East European economies that inherited similar health systems after the transition and has been converging to OECD averages. However, benchmarking the Czech health system to countries with comparable...

France’s health-care system offers high-quality care. Average health outcomes are good, public satisfaction with the health-care system is high, and average household out-of-pocket expenditures are low. As in other OECD countries, technology is expanding possibilities for life extension and...

Over the past 60 years, urbanisation and cities have fundamentally transformed the social, economic and political geography of West Africa. The number of people living in cities increased from 5 million in 1950 to 133 million in 2010. During the same period, the number of towns and cities with...

Uncertainty is inherent to forecasting and assessing the uncertainty surrounding a point forecast is as important as the forecast itself. Following Cornec (2010), a method to assess the uncertainty around the indicator models used at OECD to forecast GDP growth of the six largest member...

The measurement of the impact of technology as a driver of health care expenditure is complex since technological effects are closely interlinked with other determinants such as income and the composition and health status of a population. Furthermore, the impact of the supply of advances in...

This paper presents findings of an OECD review of managed entry agreements in OECD countries and EU member states conducted in 2018 and 2019. Findings are based on discussions with the OECD Expert Group on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, responses by experts from 12 OECD countries to a...

In 2017, the “Sláintecare Report” proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the Irish health system including a reform proposal to phase out private practice in public hospitals to end the unequal treatment of public and private patients – private patients typically have quicker access to care...

Belgium has a good record in delivering accessible care, but adaptation to population ageing will be complicated by the fragmentation of responsibilities in the healthcare system and a strong reliance on government regulations. The organisation of the system could be rationalised by giving...

Based on the latest available data up to 2009, the health status of the Hungarian population is among the poorest in the OECD, including countries with a similar level of income per capita. While this outcome has been driven by the socioeconomic status of the population and lifestyle risks, it...

The Netherlands, as other OECD countries, faces the challenge of providing high quality health and long-term care services to an ageing population in a cost-efficient manner. In the health care sector, reforms have aimed at introducing more competition. Despite major changes and some positive...