OECD Economic Surveys: European Union 2012

OECD’s Economic Survey of the European Union for 2012 examines recent economic developments, policies and prospects. It also includes special chapters covering the single market and labour market mobility.

Table of contents:

 Executive summary

Assessment and recommendations
-The EU needs to tackle the economic crisis and reach a stronger sustainable growth path
-The new growth model should support a fairer and greener economy
-The Europe 2020 strategy sets out ambitious EU reform targets, but will they be achieved?
-The completion of the Single Market is a strong EU-level tool to boost growth
-Europe needs to innovate more and better
-Further progress in trade liberalisation and agriculture would boost growth and raise living standards
-Labour market reforms and removing barriers to intra-EU labour mobility would boost employment, growth and ease adjustments
-An EU-level immigration policy could ease skill shortages due to demographic changes
-Regional policy can contribute more to growth
-Bibliography
Chapter 1. A Single Market for Europe
-How far is the Single Market a single market?
-Deeper integration would have a large impact on growth and living standards
-EU policy to complete the Single Market is moving forward, but slowly
-The Single Market needs to move closer to a Single Rule Book
-Targeted sector-specific measures policies are needed to open some markets fully
-Bibliography
Chapter 2. Mobility and migration in Europe
-EU labour markets are fragmented between and within countries and overall mobility is low
-Mobility is held back by Europe’s diversity but also by administrative obstacles
-Migration from outside Europe can reduce labour market imbalances
-Bibliography
Glossary

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Perspectives on Global Development 2012

“Shifting wealth” – a process that started in the 1990s and took off in the 2000s – has led to a completely new geography of growth driven by the economic rise of large developing countries, in particular China and India. The resulting re-configuration of the global economy will shape the political, economic and social agendas of international development as those of the converging and poor countries for the years to come.

This report analyses the impact of “Shifting wealth” on social cohesion, largely focusing on high-growth converging countries. A “cohesive” society works towards the well-being of all its members, creates a sense of belonging and fights against the marginalization within and between different groups of societies. The question this report asks is how does the structural transformation in converging economies affect their “social fabric”, their sense of belonging or put generally their ability to peacefully manage collective action problems.

Recent events in well performing countries in the Arab world but also beyond such as in Thailand, China and India seem to suggest that economic growth, rising fiscal resources and improvements in education are not sufficient  to create cohesion; governments need to address social deficits and actively promote social cohesion if long-term development is to be sustainable.

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Introduction to Econometrics :University of Oregon Online Course

Course Description :

This course looks at what happens when the conditions are less than ideal due to departures from the assumptions necessary for ordinary least squares to be the best linear unbiased estimator, and provides alternative regression techniques that address problems arising from the violations of the basic assumptions.

Lecture Details :

Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 

Lecture by

Prof. Mark Thoma

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1. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 1
2. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 2
3. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 3
4. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 4
5. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 5
6. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 6
7. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 7
8. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 8
9. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 9
10. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 10
11. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 11
12. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 12
13. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 13
14. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 14
15. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 15
16. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 16
17. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 17
18. Economics 421 – Econometrics – Winter 2009 – Lecture 18

 

Combating Poverty and Inequality: Structural Change, Social Policy and Politics: UNRISD Flagship Report

Poverty reduction is a central feature of the international development agenda and contemporary poverty reduction strategies increasingly focus on “targeting the poor”, yet poverty and inequality remain intractable foes.

Combating Poverty and Inequality argues that this is because many current approaches to reducing poverty and inequality fail to consider key institutional, policy and political dimensions that may be both causes of poverty and inequality, and obstacles to their reduction. Moreover, when a substantial proportion of a country’s population is poor, it makes little sense to detach poverty from the dynamics of development. For countries that have been successful in increasing the well-being of the majority of their populations over relatively short periods of time, the report shows, progress has occurred principally through state-directed strategies that combine economic development objectives with active social policies and forms of politics that elevate the interests of the poor in public policy.

The report is structured around three main issues, which, it argues, are the critical elements of a sustainable and inclusive development strategy:

• patterns of growth and structural change (whether in the agricultural, industrial or service sectors) that generate and sustain jobs that are adequately remunerated and accessible to all, regardless of income or class status, gender, ethnicity or location;
• comprehensive social policies that are grounded in universal rights and that are supportive of structural change, social cohesion and democratic politics; and
• protection of civic rights, activism and political arrangements that ensure states are responsive to the needs of citizens and the poor have influence in how policies are made.

The report seeks to explain why people are poor and why inequalities exist, as well as what can be done to rectify these injustices. It explores the causes, dynamics and persistence of poverty; examines what works and what has gone wrong in international policy thinking and practice; and lays out a range of policies and institutional measures that countries can adopt to alleviate poverty.

Download the full report.

Download by chapters.
Contents, acknowledgements, foreword and preface
Overview

Section 1: Socially Inclusive Structural Change
Chapter 1 – Towards Employment-Centred Structural Change
Chapter 2 – Income Inequality and Structural Change
Chapter 3 – Tackling Ethnic and Regional Inequalities
Chapter 4 – Gender Inequalities at Home and in the Market

Section 2: Transformative Social Policy and Poverty Reduction
Chapter 5 – Towards Universal Social Protection
Chapter 6 – Universal Provision of Social Services
Chapter 7 – Care and Well-Being in a Development Context
Chapter 8 – Financing Social Policy

Section 3: The Politics of Poverty Reduction
Chapter 9 – Business, Power and Poverty Reduction
Chapter 10 – Building State Capacity for Poverty Reduction
Chapter 11 – Democracy and the Politics of Poverty Reduction

Concluding Remarks
References, acronyms and list of boxes, figures and tables

Better Life Initiative: Your Better Life Index

How do you define a better life? What matters most to you – good schools, safe streets or something else?

The OECD Better Life Initiative proposes an interactive tool, Your Better Life Index, which enables you to rate your country on the things you feel make for a better life.

The Index allows citizens to compare well-being across 34 countries, based on 11 dimensions the OECD has identified as essential, in the areas of material living conditions and quality of life:

housing, income, jobs, community, education,environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, work-life balance.

The OECD is NOT deciding what makes for better lives. YOU decide for yourself.

The Index currently covers the 34 member countries of the OECD.

The Index allows you to put different weights on each of the topics, and therefore to decide for yourself what contributes most to well-being.

Try the Index!

World Economic Outlook : 2011

The World Economic Outlook (WEO) presents the IMF staff’s analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups (classified by region, stage of development, etc.), and in many individual countries. It focuses on major economic policy issues as well as on the analysis of economic developments and prospects. It is usually prepared twice a year, as documentation for meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, and forms the main instrument of the IMF’s global surveillance activities.

Assumptions and Conventions

Preface

Foreword

Executive Summary

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Attractiveness for Innovation: Location Factors for International Investment

Attractiveness for investment in innovation is high on the policy agenda in many countries as innovation is a key factor of growth and competitiveness in OECD countries. Virtually all governments are keen to attract international investment by multinational enterprises (MNEs) as a means to promote growth and employment, create new jobs and bring in new technologies.

While all countries and regions have some policy measures in place that are aimed at increasing their attractiveness for innovation, it is less clear if these policies are effective.

This report analyses the current trends in international investment in innovation and the attractiveness policies already implemented. These are often based on the more traditional instruments for attracting international investment. The book also explores in more detail the role of investment incentives that governments tend to give to international investors: their rationale, their impact and their usefulness.

The evidence presented in this report raises clear policy issues and questions existing policies. A number of policy principles are formulated to guide policy makers.

Its an OECD publication.

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World Development Report 2011

The World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development examines the changing nature of violence in the 21st century, and underlines the negative impact of repeated cycles of violence on a country or region’s development prospects. Preventing violence and building peaceful states that respond to the aspirations of their citizens requires strong leadership and concerted national and international efforts. The Report is based on new research, case studies and extensive consultations with leaders and development practitioners throughout the world.

Overview (multilingual)

English,  Arabic, Chinese,  French,  Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish

Complete Report

Complete Report as on File (File as of April 11, 2011)

Report Synopsis (multilingual)

English,  Arabic,  Chinese,  French,  Portuguese,  Russian, and  Spanish

Facts and Figures (multilingual)

English,  Arabic,  Chinese,  French,  Portuguese,  Russian, and  Spanish

Principles of microeconomics: lecture materials

lecture notes provided online by John Kane, SUNY Oswego

Part of the support materials for Eco 101 – Principles of Microeconomics as taught by John Kane of SUNY Oswego. Notes from twenty lectures are available here as ordinary Web pages with graphics, as Flash videos with an audio narration and as PowerPoint presentations.

Online lecture materials

Chapter 1 – Introduction	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 2 – Opportunity Costs	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 3 – Demand and Supply	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 4 – Market System	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 5 – Public Sector	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 6 – Elasticity	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 7 – Consumer Choice	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 8 – Production, Costs, and Supply	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 9 – Profit Maximization	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 10 – Perfect Competition	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 11 – Monopoly	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 12 – Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 13 – Antitrust and Regulation	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 14 – Government and Market Failure	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 15 – Resource Markets	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 16 – Labor Market	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 17 – Capital and Financial Markets	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 18 – The Land Market and Natural Resources	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 19 – Aging, Social Security, and Health Care	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow
Chapter 20 – Income Distribution and Poverty	single document HTML format	Macromedia Flash format (w/audio)	PowerPoint slideshow

Supplemental Readings

1. Introduction (Chapters 1 and 2) - School vouchers
2. Demand and supply (Chapter 3) - Do slave redemption programs reduce the problem of slavery? (revised topic)
3. Private and public sectors (Chapters 4 and 5) – no supplemental readings
4. Elasticity (Chapter 6) – no supplemental readings
5. Consumer choice and demand – (Chapter 7) - Capital punishment
6. Productivity and costs (Chapter 8) – no supplemental readings
7. Product markets (Chapter 9) – no supplemental readings
8. Perfect competition (Chapter 10) - Should there be a market for human organs?
9. Monopoly (Chapter 11) - Is Microsoft a Monopolist?
10. Monopolistic competition and oligopoly (Chapters 12 and 13) – No supplemental readings
11. Resource markets (Chapter 14) – No supplemental readings
12. Labor markets (Chapters 15 and 16) – No supplemental readings
13. Capital, resource markets, and the environment (Chapters 17 and 18) – No supplemental reading

Society at a Glance 2011: OECD Social Indicators

This is the sixth edition of Society at a Glance, the OECD’s biennial overview of social indicators. As with its predecessors, this report addresses the growing demand for quantitative evidence on social well-being and its trends across OECD countries. It updates some indicators included in the previous five editions and introduces several new ones.

The 2011 report heralds the arrival of four new OECD member countries: Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia. These countries are included in Society at a Glance for the first time. Data on Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, and South Africa are also included separately where available.

This report features a special chapter on unpaid work (Chapter 1.). It also provides a guide to help readers in understanding the structure of OECD social indicators (Chapter 2.), and a summary of the main trends (Chapter 3.). Indicators are then considered. More detailed information on indicators, including some not included in this print edition, can be found on the OECD web pages (www.oecd.org/els/social/indicators/SAG).

This report was prepared by Simon Chapple and Maxime Ladaique. Nabil Ali, Michael De Looper, Michael Förster, Pauline Fron, Herwig Immervoll, Gaetan Lafortune, Thomas Liebig, Pascal Marianna, Veerle Miranda (special chapter), Marlène Mohier, Dominique Paturot, Andrew Reilly, Dominic Richardson, Kim Robin and Olivier Thévenon all made valuable contributions. Monika Queisser, Head of the OECD Social Policy Division, supervised the report.

Read online

• WEB
• PDF – 2.18 Mb

Social data and indicators:

1. Cooking and caring, building and repairing: Unpaid work around the world: Chapter1.pdf

See Methodological documentation of national time-use surveys in Table A1.2 pp36-39 in Miranda (2011)

See also the special Chapter on Measuring Leisure in OECD Countries  from Society at a Glance 2009

2. Interpreting OECD social indicators3. Society at a Glance: An overview 4. General Context Indicators Household income Fertility Migration Family Old age support rate 5. Self-sufficiency Indicators Employment Unemployment Student performance Pensionable year Education spending 6. Equity Indicators Income inequality Poverty Income difficulties Leaving low income from benefits Social spending 7. Health Indicators Life expectancy Infant mortality Positive and negative experiences Water and air quality Health spending 8. Social Cohesion Indicators Trust Confidence in social institutions Pro- and anti-social behaviour Voting Tolerance

Table 3.1.XLSGE1.XLS GE2.XLS GE3.XLS GE4.XLS GE5.XLS SS1.XLS SS2.XLS SS3.XLS SS4.XLS SS5.XLS EQ1.XLS EQ2.XLS EQ3.XLS EQ4.XLS EQ5.XLS HE1.XLS HE2.XLS HE3.XLS HE4.XLS HE5.XLS CO1.XLS CO2.XLS CO3.XLS CO4.XLS CO5.XLS