Search Results

This outlook analyses prospective economic developments in OECD countries over the next two years and provides recommendations on the economic policies needed to ensure sustained economic growth. Chapters include: I. General assessment of the macroeconomic situation; II. Developments in individual OECD countries; III. Developments in selected non-member economies; IV. The size and role of automatic fiscal stabilisers; V. Making work pay; VI. Public debt management at the cross-roads; and VII. Cross-country patterns of product market regulation. Statistical data is also included. Show less

This publication begins with the premise that over the next two years unemployment in OECD economies is expected to barely decline from 7.1 per cent to seven per cent of the active population, and that this reveals how crucial policies to address unemployment and promote employment remain. The editorial, ‘Giving youth a better start’, identifies the best ways to ensure that young people get a solid and durable foothold in the labour market. Chapter one, ‘Recent labour market developments and prospects’, highlight the importance of part-time work for employment growth, particularly in Japan and many European countries. Chapter two, ‘Employment protection and labour market performance’, highlights the challenge of reconciling economic security with flexibility, suggesting that countries have concentrated their efforts in the 1990s on easing restrictions for temporary forms of employment, and that, conversely, there has been little movement on the protection of regular work. Chapter three, ‘Training of adult workers in OECD countries: measurement and analysis’, suggests that training of adult workers is much more extensive in some OECD countries than others, with higher training rates being associated with higher levels of education, productivity and wages. This training tends to be targeted on the workers who already have the highest skills and permanent, full-time jobs - a pattern that could marginalise some groups of workers unless it is counteracted by public policies. Chapter four, ‘New enterprise work practices and their labour market implications’, discusses the idea that new work organisation practices such as teamwork, job rotation and delegation of tasks may have considerable implications, both for the workers involved and the labour market as a whole. A first cross-country investigation of this phenomenon shows that managers are making considerable investments in such practices, though the extent varies a lot from country to country. A statistical annex follows this chapter. Show less

In 1996, the OECD's Education Committee launched the 14-country 'Thematic review of the transition from initial education to working life'. Within a lifelong learning framework, the review had two key goals: to describe how young people's transition to work changed during the 1990s; and to describe the education, labour and social policies, and the interaction between these, that lead to successful youth transitions. Participating countries prepared a background report describing the general context of youth transitions and noting key policy concerns. The review team that visited each country prepared a country note to summarise its observations and suggestions. This country note for Switzerland begins by providing statistical data on Switzerland's position in comparison with other OECD countries as a frame of reference and some economic, demographic and institutional background information for the transition of young people to working life in Switzerland. It examines the interface between the education and training system and the labour market, emphasising the importance of qualifications to the functioning of the labour market and how the 'production' of skills within the initial education and training system is specifically geared to these qualifications. The report describes the main pathways currently offered by the education and training system and discusses reforms already underway or needed in the future to fit these pathways to the needs of the labour market. These issues are also examined from the perspective of the labour market. Two major challenges are highlighted: the reduction of unemployment and the economic and social integration of those young people particularly at risk of being marginalised; and the shift to services in the economy. The final section summarises the conclusions of the review team.

The final report of the OECD review is indexed at TD/TNC 62.156. Show less

This chapter examines the importance of local partnerships in securing the effectiveness of United Kingdom (UK) welfare-to-work policies and in particular of the New Deal program. It aims to be useful to those, in the UK and elsewhere in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), who are actively pursuing welfare-to-work policies which have a local design or delivery component. It outlines the nature of UK welfare-to-work programs, focusing on the New Deal and Employment Zones and assesses the importance of the local dimension in such policies and the need for local partnerships. In the main part of the chapter, key lessons are set out from local partnership practice and research, which can be used to inform partnership formation, management and development, together with their implications for welfare-to-work programs in the UK and other countries. The following two sections contain reflections on the UK New Deal local partnerships, based on their early experience so far and conclusions on the future development of welfare-to-work partnerships in the light of the issues discussed.

This publication is indexed at TD/INT 61.539. Show less

In 1996, the OECD's Education Committee launched the 14-country 'Thematic review of the transition from initial education to working life'. Within a lifelong learning framework the review had two key goals: to describe how young people's transition to work changed during the 1990s; and to describe the education, labour and social policies, and the interaction between these, that lead to successful youth transitions. This country note tries to explore some of the complexities of the interrelationship between re-active and pro-active policy approaches and to examine the role of the central government and administration, of regional and local actors - including schools and employment offices - and of the social partners in the ongoing reform processes. It contains the following sections: the context of transition in Finland; the education and training system; the labour market: institutions and policies affecting transition; aspects of governance and administration; ongoing reforms: issues and concerns; and conclusion: summary of issues and suggestions.

The background report for Finland is indexed at TD/TNC 77.198; the final report of the OECD review is indexed at TD/TNC 62.156. Show less

This report has been prepared for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as a part of the 'Alternative approaches to financing lifelong learning' project. It outlines current practices and developments in financing lifelong learning in the Czech Republic. 'Lifelong learning' is a new term in the Czech Republic and the concept is not yet widely accepted. Possibilities for improving the financing of lifelong learning practices are outlined. This report includes the following chapters: (1) Introduction; (2) Estimating public costs of lifelong learning; (3) Increasing the effectiveness of lifelong learning; (4) Mobilising resources for lifelong learning; (5) Case studies of good practice; and (6) Conclusions. Show less

In 1996, the OECD's Education Committee launched the 14-country 'Thematic review of the transition from initial education to working life'. Within a lifelong learning framework the review had two key goals: to describe how young people's transition to work changed during the 1990s; and to describe the education, labour and social policies, and the interaction between these, that lead to successful youth transitions. This country note is based on discussions that were held with a wide range of policy makers. These discussions centred around four main topics, namely, ways in which young people’s transition to work in Hungary is changing, main problems and priorities for action, improving the transition process and its outcomes and policies and programs that are particularly effective. The paper is divided into four main sections: economic and social changes and their implications for the labour market; education and training - recent developments and problems; some major issues affecting the transition process; and conclusions.

The background report for Hungary is indexed at TD/TNC 77.200; the final report of the OECD review is indexed at TD/TNC 62.156. Show less

In recent years there has been considerable interest in the significant role of education and training in enhancing economic progress, fuller employment and social integration. This paper provides an international comparison of adult participation in continuing education and training beyond initial education in Europe, the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and New Zealand. The data is drawn from the International Adult Literacy Survey which collected information about participation in training during the year leading up to the survey. The paper focuses on the differences between countries in relation to participation in education and training, the duration of courses, and financial sponsorship. Cross-national similarities and differences in education and training by gender, age group, educational attainment, literacy levels, occupation, and the size and kind of organisation within which people are employed, are also examined. The results reveal major cross-national differences in the incidence and volume of continuing education and training among adults but there were some notable similarities across countries in relation to the distribution of education and training within sub-populations. Employed adults were more likely to participate in continuing education or training and their participation rate was higher for job-related training than participation for other reasons. Those adults with higher level educational qualifications were more likely to participate than those with lower levels. Younger adults were more likely to participate and for a longer duration than older age groups and those employed in larger organisations were also more likely to participate. Data on funding of training revealed that in all countries, employers were the most common financial sponsors of training, particularly job-related training. Show less

High and persistent unemployment remains a major economic and social problem for many OECD countries. There is also increasing concern about employment insecurity and in-work poverty in some countries. The OECD Jobs Strategy was endorsed by OECD Ministers in 1994 and provided a strategy to address the problem of high and persistent unemployment in OECD countries. The available empirical evidence reveals that the strategy's continued and comprehensive implementation leads to sustained lower unemployment and higher employment. This report reviews key issues in light of OECD Member countries' experience in implementing the strategy: (1) disparities in levels and trends of unemployment rates across countries; (2) the different levels of success in lowering unemployment between countries; (3) the difficulty that some groups in society, such as youth, older workers, and low-skilled workers, have in securing and sustaining decent work in many countries; and (4) the pros and cons of the increase in the number of temporary and part-time jobs. It highlights groups at the margin of the labour market and examines the policies required to better integrate them.

'Implementing the OECD Jobs Strategy: lessons from Member countries' experience' is indexed at TD/TNC 71.284. Show less

This report arises from a visit by the Secretariat of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to Denmark during which Danish officials from the Ministries of Education and Labour met to discuss the financing of lifelong learning. Developments in lifelong learning initiatives in Denmark are outlined. Financial arrangements which support lifelong learning practices are discussed. Denmark's 'taximeter' system of funding is outlined. It is concluded that Denmark's current system of lifelong learning and the associated costs are satisfactory. Sections in the report include: What do we mean by lifelong learning, why is it important, and who does it involve?; What are the operational objectives of the lifelong learning policy and what are their implications for outlays and financing?; What is being done to increase the cost-effectiveness and quality of learning opportunities in order to strengthen the incentives for different actors to invest in and thereby make lifelong learning more affordable?; What mechanisms enhance the financial capacity of various actors to invest in lifelong learning and what mechanisms encourage providers of lifelong learning to offer more opportunities thereby making lifelong learning more affordable?; What distributional issues arise in the current arrangements for lifelong learning? Show less