Modernisation of service industries and the expansion of international trade have been important elements of the reform process in the Baltic States, aimed at establishing a business-friendly and pro-competitive environment for services in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Tradeable Permits: Policy Evaluation, Design and Reform The search for cost-effective environmental policy measures in OECD countries has led to an increase in the use of tradeable permit systems. After many years of experimenting in a limited number of countries, tradable permits in...

In the absence of strong government policies, the IEA projects that the worldwide use of oil in transport will nearly double between 2000 and 2030, leading to a similar increase in greenhouse gas emissions.  Biofuels, such as ethanol, biodiesel, and other liquid and gaseous fuels, could offer an...

Rail transport accounts for 80% of all freight in Russia and its performance is critical to overall economic growth. Though the railways have been starved of investment they are now in the process of rapid reform, and maintaining momentum will be crucial

Renewable energy has received high levels of attention in recent years as an alternative to traditional hydrocarbons.  Governments, industry and consumers have adopted and promoted renewable technologies in response to concerns about energy security and the environment, and as a solution to...

Progress towards Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) will require widespread acceptance of the need for EST, and a mix of measures designed to achieve the necessary changes to overcome the barriers to EST. Some of the measures will be hard measures, which include taxes, emission...

In the face of rapid population ageing and the trend towards early retirement, there is a need to promote better employment opportunities for older people. Much has been said about the need for reform of old-age pensions and early retirement schemes but this may not be sufficient to raise...

Cross-border education is undergoing new and growing developments such as e-learning, for-profit providers, joint campuses and transnational consortia. These changes are challenging existing national quality assurance and accreditation frameworks and agencies

Expectations are running high for significant outcomes on the temporary movement of natural persons to supply services - known as mode 4 - in the current WTO services negotiations. Powerful drivers for liberalisation exist, such as increased trade and investment, strengthened global business...

The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) has embarked on a new approach to strengthening its work on road safety. To this end, the ECMT works to contribute more effectively to the debate on the improvement of road safety policies by conducting peer reviews of the measures and...