In the three decades to the recent economic downturn, wage gaps widened and household income inequality increased in a large majority of OECD countries. This occurred even when countries were going ...through a period of sustained economic and employment growth. This report analyses the major underlying forces behind these developments. It examines to which extent economic globalisation, skill-biased technological progress and institutional and regulatory reforms have had an impact on the distribution of earnings. The report further provides evidence of how changes in family formation and household structures have altered household earnings and income inequality. And it documents how tax and benefit systems have changed in the ways they redistribute household incomes. The report discusses which policies are most promising to counter increases in inequalities and how the policy mix can be adjusted when public budgets are under strain. Tables, Figures.
This book examines the transformation of contemporary social democracy through the concept of 'third way' reforms. It proposes a set of theories about the possibility for continuing social democratic ...ideological adaptation, for ideologies to overcome institutional constraints in triggering path-breaking innovations, and for social democracy to bridge the insider-outsider divide. Empirically, the book utilizes these theories to account for social democratic welfare state and labor market reforms in nine OECD countries after the end of the Golden Age. Based on the logic of 'public evils', the book proposes that the ideologically contested nature of institutions provides incentives for institutional innovation. Social democratic ideology shapes the fundamental characteristics and content of the third way policy paradigm, and the paradigm's practical implementation continues to be path-dependent on historical institutional settings.
The issue of local governance is high on the institutional agenda of many local and regional authorities throughout the OECD countries. This book explores the relationship between two key issues of ...urban governance - leadership and community involvement - and how making these two elements more complementary can lead to more effective as well as legitimate policy outcomes. The authors examine the dilemmas involved in ensuring effective governance, focusing on issues such as legitimacy, citizen participation, economic performance and social inclusion.
Michael Haus is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Political Science at Darmstadt University of Technology. His current research focuses on the institutional design of local government in a comparative perspective. Recent publications include: * Bürgergesellschaft, soziales Kapital und lokale Politik , Leske & Budrich: Opladen 2002 (editor). Hubert Heinelt is Professor of Public Administration/Public Policy and Urban Studies at the Institute for Political Science at Darmstadt University of Technology. His current research focuses on local policy and politics and European integration and EU cohesion policy, as well as on issues of participatory governance. He is co-chair of the study group "Lokale Politikforschung" of the German Political Science Association (DVPW), a member of the executive board of the European Urban Research Association (EURA), as well as co- of the series Gesellschaftspolitik und Staatstätigkeit of Leske & Budrich, Opladen. His recent publications include: *Brennpunkt Stadt. Stadtpolitik und lokale Politikforschung in den 80er und 90er Jahren (Stadtforschung aktuell 31), Birkhäuser: Basel/Boston/Berlin 1991 (editor, together with Hellmut Wollmann) *Politik in europäischen Städten. Fallstudien zur Bedeutung lokaler Politik (Stadtforschung aktuell 38), Birkhäuser: Basel/Boston/Berlin 1993 (editor, together with Margit Mayer) *Policy Networks and European Structural Funds. A Comparison between Member States, Avebury: London 1996 (together with Randall Smith) *Zivile Gesellschaft. Entwicklung, Defizite und Potentiale, Leske & Budrich: Opladen 1997 (together with Klaus M. Schmals) Murray Stewart is Reader at the University of the West of England, Bristol and was Director of the Cities research centre at the University of the West of England, Bristol 1997-2002. His current research activities include participation in the national evaluations of the New Deal for Communities and of Local Strategic Partnerships. He was a member of the Social Exclusion Unit PAT 17 Policy Action Team, (Joining It Up Locally), and is the academic member of the Regional Co-ordination Unit Advisory Group. He is Deputy Chairman (and South West Trustee) of the Lloyds/TSB Foundation for England and Wales. Recent publications include: *Cross-cutting Issues affecting Local Government, London: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 1999 *Community Leadership in Area Regeneration, JRF Report, Bristol: The Policy Press 2000 *Understanding Collaboration : International perspectives on Theory, Method and Practice. Proceedings of an International Conference, Bristol 2000 (with D. Purdue) *Globalism and Local Democracy (ed. with R. Hambleton and H. Savitch.)
"The PLUS collaborators have set a new benchmark for cross-national research in this crucial arena of governance. Researchers in a wide range of relevant fields, from political economy to social policy to the study of civic life, will benefit from close scrutiny of the empirical findings of this project. Although the pluralistic approach of the authors leaves it largely for the reader to draw synthetic conclusions, the overall picture is one of convergent trends across advanced industrial democracies as well as among newer democracies in southern and eastern Europe. At a more general level, the findings underscore the importance of state–society relations and culture within cities as an important element in trajectories of governance worldwide."
Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, Vol. 21, No. 2, April 2008 (pp. 297–308).
Improving water quality is consistently ranked as a top environmental concern in OECD public opinion surveys. The key challenges for policy makers in addressing water quality issues in agriculture ...are to reduce water pollution while encourage benefits, such as maintaining aquatic life. This book examines linking policies, farm management and water quality. It looks at recent trends and prospects for water pollution from agriculture and the implications of climate change. It assesses the costs and benefits of agriculture's impact on water systems, and presents a series of case studies. Finally the report provides a set of recommendations for countries for meeting the challenge of improving agricultural water quality.
Every person aspires to a good life. But what does "a good or a better life mean? This report looks at the most important aspects that shape peoples lives and well-being: income, jobs, housing, ...health, work and life-balance, education, social connections, civic engagement and governance, environment, personal security and subjective well-being. It paints a comprehensive picture of well-being in OECD countries and other major economies, by looking at peoples material living conditions and quality of life across the population. The report responds to the needs of citizens for better information on well-being and of policy makers to give a more accurate picture of societal progress.The report finds that well-being has increased on average over the past fifteen years: people are richer and more likely to be employed; they enjoy better housing conditions and are exposed to lower air pollution; they live longer and are more educated; they are also exposed to fewer crimes. But differences across countries are large. Furthermore, some groups of the population, particularly less educated and low-income people, tend to fare systematically worse in all dimensions of well-being considered in this report: for instance they live shorter lives and report greater health problems; their children obtain worse school results; they participate less in political activities; they can rely on lower social networks in case of needs; they are more exposed to crime and pollution; they tend to be less satisfied with their life as a whole than more educated and higher-income people. Hows Life?is part of the OECD Better Life Initiative, launched by the Organization on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary. The OECD Better Life Initiative aims to promote "Better Policies for Better Lives, in line with the OECDs overarching mission. One of the other pillars of the OECD Better Life Initiative is the Your Better Life Index (www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org), an interactive composite index of well-being that aims at involving citizens in the debate on societal progress.
Water resources allocation determines who is able to use water resources, how, when and where. It directly affects the value (economic, ecological, socio-cultural) that individuals and society obtain ...from water resources. This report overviews how allocation works in a range of countries and how the performance of allocation arrangements can be improved to adjust to changing conditions. Capturing information from 27 OECD countries and key partner economies, the report presents key findings from the OECD Survey of Water Resources Allocation and case studies of successful allocation reform. It provides practical policy guidance for water allocation in the form of a "health check", which can be used to assess the performance of current arrangements and manage the transition to improved regimes.
Today's children will need a balanced set of cognitive, social and emotional skills in order to succeed in modern life. Their capacity to achieve goals, work effectively with others and manage ...emotions will be essential to meet the challenges of the 21st century. While everyone acknowledges the importance of socio-emotional skills such as perseverance, sociability and self-esteem, there is often insufficient awareness of 'what works' to enhance these skills. Teachers and parents don't really know whether their efforts at developing these skills are paying off, and what they could do better. Policies and programmes designed to measure and enhance socio-emotional skills vary considerably within and across countries. This report presents a synthesis of the OECD's analytical work on the role of socio-emotional skills and proposes strategies to raise them. It analyses the effects of skills on a variety of measures of individual well-being and social progress, which covers aspects of our lives that are as diverse as education, labour market outcomes, health, family life, civic engagement and life satisfaction. The report discusses how policy makers, schools and families facilitate the development of socio-emotional skills through intervention programmes, teaching and parenting practices. Not only does it identify promising avenues to foster socio-emotional skills, it also shows that these skills can be measured meaningfully within cultural and linguistic boundaries. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ".
Doing better for children Chapple, Simon; Richardson, Dominic
2009, 2009-09-01, 20090901
eBook, Book
The well-being of children is high on the policy agenda across the OECD. But what is the actual state of child well-being today? How much are governments spending on children and are they spending it ...at the right times? What social and family policies have the most impact during children's earliest years? Is growing up in a single-parent household detrimental to children? Is inequality that persists across generations a threat to child well-being? This publication addresses these questions and more. Drawing on a wide range of data sources, it constructs and analyses different indicators of child well-being across the OECD. These indicators cover six key areas: material well-being; housing and environment; education; health and safety; risk behaviours; and quality of school life. They show that no one OECD country performs well in all areas and that every OECD country can do more to improve children's lives. (DIPF/Orig.).
