Improving education outcomes is important for Germany’s long-term economic performance and social cohesion. While student achievement is above the OECD average in science and at the OECD average in reading and mathematics according to the 2006 OECD PISA study, weaker students tend to do badly...

Belgium has a heavy tax burden which has mainly fallen on labour as international tax competition has limited the scope to which this burden could be imposed on capital. This has raised concerns about possible adverse labour market impacts from such high tax rates. In view of these concerns, the...

Population ageing will reduce economic growth and increase the amount of resources that need to be transferred to the elderly, putting pressure on retirement-income- and healthcare insurance systems. The Netherlands is better placed than most OECD countries to meet these pressures because it has...

This paper first gives a brief account of the main changes introduced by OECD governments in their capital income tax rules during the 1980s with respect to both the corporate and personal sectors. It then examines the evolution of effective capital taxation, using a summary measure ("tax...

Improving education achievement in Luxembourg is a priority for strengthening productivity growth and enhancing residents. employment prospects in the private sector, where employers mainly hire cross-border workers. Student achievement in Luxembourg is below the OECD average according to the...

As in other OECD countries Australia’s population is ageing progressively. On unchanged policies, this will increase government outlays for public pensions and health care, causing a deterioration in budget balances, and reduce economic growth (mainly by lowering growth in the labour force)....

In spite of improvements, on various measures of health outcomes the United States appears to rank relatively poorly among OECD countries. Health expenditures, in contrast, are significantly higher than in any other OECD country. While there are factors beyond the health-care system itself that...

This document analyses aspects of environmental policy in Belgium. Some specific examples are drawn from policies on water in the different regions that make up the Belgian Federation (to whom much environmental policy is delegated), and transport and congestion policy in the Brussels region is...

The United States faces challenging budgetary prospects, as do most other OECD countries. The federal budget deficit widened considerably during the recession, reaching about 10% of GDP in both 2009 and 2010, reflecting the operation of automatic stabilizers and the policy response to the...

The consensus view of scientists is that the build-up of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere is causing global warming. To reduce the probability of severe climate-change impacts and costs occurring, global GHG emissions need to be reduced substantially over coming decades. The United...