2 OECD REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPERS This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected studies on regional development issues prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal authors are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language English or French with a summary in the other if available. The opinions e...

The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisati...

Non-clinical animal studies to assess the safety of compounds under development have to comply with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has established the Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) system in OECD member countries for the mutual acceptance of non-clinical safety study data. Since 1997 non-OECD-member countries have also been ab...

Throughout the world governments are beginning to respond to the challenges of population ageing, often in rhetoric implying that ageing will bring about a ‘crisis’. These responses generally centre on the fi scal implications of retirement income support and health care services (OECD, 1998). The OECD notes the need for a broad and holistic approach to ageing, refl ecting the interdependence o...

When one thinks of international organizations whose administrative processes legal scholars should understand, the European Union and the World Trade Organization come to mind without a moment’s hesitation. A bit later, perhaps, one might also come up with the Montreal Protocol secretariat, Codex Alimentarius, or the International Organization for Standardization. It will probably take a good ...

In response to this need, the OECD Directorate for Education devotes a major effort to the development and analysis of quantitative, internationally comparable indicators, which are publishes annually in Education at a Glance. These indicators enable educational policy makers and practitioners alike to see their education systems in the light of other countries’ performances and, together with ...

Fertility rates across the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have declined sharply since the 1960s. This decrease raises public policy concerns because the funding of many social programs, such as public pensions and health care, relies on transfers across generations. Elderly citizens receive benefits funded by younger workers, who, in turn, expect ...

In response to this need, the OECD devotes a major effort to the development and analysis of quantitative, internationally comparable indicators, which are published annually in Education at a Glance. These indicators enable educational policy makers and practitioners alike to see their education systems in the light of other countries’ performances and, together with OECD’s country policy revi...

We attempt to explain why standard explanations of the poverty of nations are unsatisfactory. We first argue that human capital is low in poor countries because its production has increasing returns with respect to life expectancy. We then show that the reason why capital does not flow to poor countries (the Lucas paradox) can readily be explained once market prices rather than PPP prices are u...

This paper summarizes results of a study on " Emerging Africa " , led within the framework of a research project for the OECD Development Centre, where both authors worked at the time of the project. Opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of the authors. Generous financial support from the Belgium and Swiss Governments is gratefully acknowledged.