Entrepreneurship and innovation are engines of economic growth, OECD workshop concludes

13-May-2008

A three-day international workshop on innovation and the global impact of high-growth small and medium-sized firms (SMEs), organized by OECD with the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, hailed entrepreneurship and the fast growth of innovative small firms as the engines of economic growth.

Encouraging labour force participation in Chile

21-Apr-2008

Chile’s labour force participation is low by comparison with most countries in the OECD area, especially among females and youths. In the case of women, labour supply has risen steadily over time for prime age and older individuals, against a background of relative stability for men.

Managing Chile’s macroeconomy during and after the copper price boom

21-Apr-2008

Compliance with the structural budget surplus rule, which has been in place since 2001, has allowed the government to maintain a counter cyclical fiscal stance in an environment of rising copper prices, while delivering a gradual reduction in public indebtedness. Monetary policy is conducted within a framework that combines inflation targeting with exchange rate flexibility. This paper relates to the 2007 Economic Survey of Chile (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/chile).

Tackling business and labour informality in Chile

17-Apr-2008

While Chile’s tax system is not particularly burdensome to business formality, there is scope for making product-market regulations less onerous to firms and the labour code more flexible, especially with regards to indefinite contracts and the allocation of working time. Low human capital remains an important obstacle to reducing labour informality. To the extent that informal businesses also hire informally, there is some room for designing policies to tackle business informality in conjunction with those aimed at boosting formal labour contracting.

Delivering cost efficient public services in health care, education and housing in Chile

16-Apr-2008

The Chilean authorities plan to raise budgetary allocations over the medium term for a variety of social programmes, including education, health care and housing. This incremental spending will need to be carried out in a cost efficient manner to make sure that it yields commensurate improvements in social outcomes. Chile’s health indicators show that it fares relatively well in relation to comparator countries in the OECD area and in Latin America.

Avoiding the value added tax: Theory and cross country evidence

16-Apr-2008

This paper develops a differential game of tax avoidance by modelling the interactions between a taxpayer and the tax authority. This framework is particularly useful for explicitly modelling situations of conflict. The solution to the game is a non co operative Nash that depends on the resources that need to be used by the tax authority to enforce legislation and the cost to be borne by the taxpayer in tax compliance, provided that the curvature of the utility functions is bounded.

The Contribution of Economic Geography to GDP Per Capita

11-Apr-2008

This paper examines how much of the dispersion in economic performance across OECD countries can be accounted for by economic geography factors. More specifically, two aspects of economic geography are examined, namely the proximity to areas of dense economic activity and endowments in natural resources.

Need for policy stimulus stronger in US than in Europe, says OECD's interim assessment

20-Mar-2008

Inflation in US and Europe is at uncomfortable levels as economies slow, the OECD says in its latest interim assessment. But in contrast to the US, the near-term outlook for the euro area does not point to the need for policy stimulus.

Economic Survey of Denmark 2008: Keeping with the targets of the fiscal strategy

19-Feb-2008

In August 2007, the Danish government presented its new medium-term fiscal framework: the 2015 Strategy. It is remarkable for holding up fiscal sustainability as an overarching objective for budgeting and government policies. Nevertheless, clearer mechanisms are needed to prevent spending overruns in regional and local authorities, this report argues.

Economic Survey of Denmark 2008: Pension savings and capital taxation

19-Feb-2008

The Danish pension system is well-developed and almost unique in the OECD. This report suggests that there may be scope to increase choice and flexibility in the pension system. However, the key policy challenge is to reform capital taxation outside pension savings.

How deep is the impact of the recent oil and credit shocks on the productive potential of OECD economies?

Issue No. 83