Good Jobs, Bad Jobs provides an insightful analysis of how and why precarious employment is gaining ground in the labor market and the role these developments have played in the decline of the middle ...class. Kalleberg shows that by the 1970s, government deregulation, global competition, and the rise of the service sector gained traction, while institutional protections for workers—such as unions and minimum-wage legislation—weakened. Together, these forces marked the end of postwar security for American workers. The composition of the labor force also changed significantly; the number of dual-earner families increased, as did the share of the workforce comprised of women, non-white, and immigrant workers. Of these groups, blacks, Latinos, and immigrants remain concentrated in the most precarious and low-quality jobs, with educational attainment being the leading indicator of who will earn the highest wages and experience the most job security and highest levels of autonomy and control over their jobs and schedules. Kalleberg demonstrates, however, that building a better safety net—increasing government responsibility for worker health care and retirement, as well as strengthening unions—can go a long way toward redressing the effects of today’s volatile labor market. There is every reason to expect that the growth of precarious jobs—which already make up a significant share of the American job market—will continue. Good Jobs, Bad Jobs deftly shows that the decline in U.S. job quality is not the result of fluctuations in the business cycle, but rather the result of economic restructuring and the disappearance of institutional protections for workers. Only government, employers and labor working together on long-term strategies—including an expanded safety net, strengthened legal protections, and better training opportunities—can help reverse this trend.
Energy innovations are critical to combating global warming and climate change. In this context, we focus on the impact of energy research–development (R&D) expenditures, which are the input of ...energy innovations, on CO
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emissions. For this purpose, we investigate the effect of disaggregated energy R&D expenditures on CO
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emission in 19 high-income OECD countries over the period 2003–2015. The dynamic panel data method is followed for empirical analysis. The results of the study show that R&D expenditures for energy efficiency and fossil energy have an increasing effect on CO
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emissions. Contrary to expectations, there is no significant relationship between renewable energy R&D expenditures and CO
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emissions. Remarkably, there is strong evidence that the power and storage R&D expenditures have a reducing effect on CO
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emissions. In light of the empirical findings, policy implications and recommendations to potential readers and authorities are further discussed.
The perceived potential of clean energy to support employment in the post-crisis recovery context has led several OECD and emerging economies to design green industrial policies aimed at protecting ...domestic manufacturers, notably through local-content requirements (LCRs). These typically require solar or wind developers to source a specific share of jobs, components or costs locally. Such requirements have been designed or implemented in the solar- and wind-energy sectors in at least 21 countries, including 16 OECD countries and emerging economies, mostly since 2009. Empirical evidence gathered in this report shows however that LCRs have actually hindered international investment across the solar PV and wind-energy value chains, by increasing the cost of inputs for downstream activities. This report also takes stock of other measures that can restrict international investment in solar PV and wind energy, such as trade remedies and technical barriers. This report provides policy makers with evidence-based analysis to guide their decisions in designing clean-energy support policies.
Over the past 20 years, the management of the public service has changed tremendously in most OECD countries. First, governments have tried to reduce the size of their public employment to decrease ...the costs of producing government services, either directly or indirectly by contracting out the production of services to the private sector under the assumption that it would be more efficient. Second, in many cases, governments have tried to apply general good management principles to the management of public employees. As a consequence, many areas of public employment have lost their uniqueness and have become quite similar to the general employment system in the different countries. This book takes stock of the main changes in the management of public services across OECD countries. It also examines how countries manage to find a balance between, on the one hand, attention to fundamental values such as fairness, equity, justice and social cohesion to maintain political confidence in the government system as a whole and, on the other hand, a focus on efficiency, productivity and effectiveness.
Multiple polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers ranging in molecular weight (MW) from 4000 to 500,000 Da, polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) polymers with degrees of hydrolysis (DH) of 79 % and 88 % and MW 10,000 ...to 130,000 Da, and carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) polymers with degrees of substitution (DS) ranging from 0.6 to 1.2 were evaluated in standard screening biodegradation tests to assess method limitations, modification potential, and reproducibility. All PEGs and PVOHs mineralized completely in OECD 301B and 302B studies reaching >80 % biodegradation with negligible dissolved organic carbon remaining at study completion. For high MW PEOs, extension of test duration was needed to reach full extent of mineralization. CMC biodegradation was directly correlated to degree of substitution with CMC 0.6 biodegrading extensively, CMC 0.79 partially biodegrading, and CMC 1.2 not biodegrading significantly in OECD 301B and 302B studies. For all materials tested in both an OECD 301B and 302B, fewer days were necessary to reach 60 % biodegradation in the OECD 302B indicating increased rates of biodegradation with higher inoculum to test chemical ratios. In a series of investigative studies using respirometry as the analytical endpoint, significant variability in the presence of competent degraders in small volume grab samples of river water was observed. Research is needed to overcome this variability and develop a standardized reproducible test method to accurately assess polymer mineralization in river water. At study completion, residual dissolved organic carbon (DOC) data confirmed respirometry data, high levels of mineralization resulted in negligible residual DOC while low levels of mineralization resulted in significant residual DOC, up to dose concentrations. DOC measurements provided confirmation of complete biodegradation when biomass incorporation and test system set up resulted in variable carbon dioxide production or oxygen demand.
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•PEGs and PVOHs completely mineralized but different test durations were needed.•CMC mineralization decreased with increasing DS.•OECD 302 showed similar biodegradation results vs 301 but in a shorter timeframe.•Modifications were employed to accurately evaluate mineralization.
As the world faces the prospect of climate change, nuclear disasters, and water scarcity, it is clear that environmental degradation is an increasingly serious challenge with economic and social ...consequences. In this book, Detlef Jahn analyzes political processes in a macro-comparative study in order to estimate the role of politics in the field of environmental performance in 21 OECD countries. His model demonstrates various styles of politics used to combat environmental degradation. He finds that economic and environmental performance are still closely linked, and that moving towards a service society does not by itself solve the environmental challenge. The close relationship of these areas was made strikingly clear in the economic crisis of the new millennium. He argues that economic globalization fosters environmental deterioration, and undermines efforts in domestic politics and international coordination to improve the environmental record.
This paper develops a two-step approach to investigate the effect of energy efficiency improvements on CO2 emissions at the macro level. We use the index decomposition analysis to derive the true ...energy efficiency by separating out the impact of structural shifts in economic activity on energy intensity. We then employ both STSM and LSDVC models to examine and quantify the impact of the energy efficiency on CO2 emissions accounting for non-economic factors such as consumers' lifestyle, attitudes and environmental awareness. The application for 30 OECD countries shows that at the group level, the decline in energy intensity predominately occurred due to improvements in energy efficiency while at the country level, there are mixed contributions from improvement in energy efficiency and structural shift to the decline in energy intensity. The econometric results show that income has the most significant positive impact on CO2 emissions but improving energy efficiency makes the biggest contribution to driving down CO2 emissions. The method further enables the separate assessment of non-economic behavioural effects, which are found to exert a non-trivial influence on CO2 emissions in parallel with changes in energy efficiency. We conclude that energy efficiency remains a key option but that there is also a need for additional policies aiming for behavioural and other non-economic changes.
•We use index decomposition analysis to derive the true energy efficiency level.•We use econometric models to examine the impact of energy efficiency on CO2 emissions.•We account for both economic and noneconomic factors such as lifestyle and behaviour.•Energy efficiency makes a relative bigger contribution to driving down CO2 emissions.•Noneconomic factors also exert a non-trivial influence on CO2 emissions.
The OECD has approved two similar methods for testing the phototoxic potency of chemicals. The first method, OECD 432, is based on the cytotoxicity properties of materials to the mouse 3T3 (clone ...A31) cell line (fibroblasts) after exposure to light. The second method, OECD 498, is based on the same properties but using reconstructed human epidermis - EpiDerm (stratified keratinocytes). The aim of this study was to compare these two methods using statistical tests (specificity, sensitivity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value and accuracy) and non-statistical characteristics (e.g. price and experimental duration, amount of material, level of complications, cell type, irradiation dose). Both tests were performed according to the relevant guidelines using the same 11 control substances. Higher performance values were observed for OECD 432 in both phototoxic and non-phototoxic classifications. The accuracy of OECD 432 was 90.9%, while that of OECD 498 was 72.7%. OECD 432 was also shorter and less expensive. On the other hand, OECD 498 was less complicated, and used human cells with stratum corneum, which better reflects real skin. This method can also be used with oily substances that are poorly soluble in water. However, both methods are important for testing the phototoxic properties of materials, and can be used alone or in a tiered strategy.
•Comparison of cell and tissue systems for phototoxicity testing.•Higher performance indicators for OECD 432 than for OECD 498.•OECD 432 is cheaper but more complicated than OECD 498.•OECD 498 has a wider application range than OECD 432.
This study investigates the impact of disaggregated energy consumption and natural resources on environmental sustainability for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ...countries. To this end, CO2 emissions, ecological footprint and carbon footprint data covering the period 1980–2016 are used as proxies for environmental deterioration. The study applies an advanced panel data estimation tool, augmented mean group (AMG) estimator, for the long-run estimation, that allows dependencies across countries and heterogeneity in the slope parameters. The findings of the study indicate that non-renewable energy has a detrimental effect on the environment, while renewable energy reduces deterioration in the environment in terms of ecological footprint and carbon footprint. Natural resource extraction contributes to increasing CO2 emissions, whereas its role is not statistically significant in ecological footprint and carbon footprint. The study provides empirical evidence revealing the requirement for efficient and sustainable natural resource utilization, together with the increasing rate of renewable energy in the energy mix to achieve a sustainable environment and development.
•Investigates the role of natural resources rents on environmental degradation.•Employs carbon footprint, carbon dioxide emissions and ecological footprint.•Conducts advanced panel data estimation techniques by using annual data for OECD countries.•Natural resources rents increase carbon footprint and carbon dioxide emissions.•Renewable and non-renewable energy has a significant role in environmental sustainability.
The current study aims to explore the role of environmental taxes and regulations for the renewable energy consumption, focusing on reporting policy suggestions to overcome climate change issues and ...achieve environmental sustainability. The main objective of this paper is to examine the relation between renewable energy, environmental taxes, environmental technologies, and environmental regulations in 29 OECD countries during 1996-2018. More precisely, we inspect the impact of the environmental regulations and environmental technologies on the renewable energy consumption. The authors employ CIPS and CADF unit root tests, panel Westerlund co-integration test, FMOLS, and Quantile regression methods for the econometric analysis. The econometric analysis suggests that the environmental regulations impede the renewable energy consumption in OECD economies. The study suggests that environmental policy initiatives should focus on implementing environmental strategies to inspire cohesiveness between environmental regulations and the development of environmental technologies in order to promote the renewables industry in the developed countries.
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