LIBRARIANS' EDITION, 1 MARCH 2011

HIGHLIGHTS

OECD and the G20
"The G20 is about coordination and gradual convergence. It is about diagnosis, measuring, comparing and proposing policies. This is also what the OECD has been doing for 50 years and we are supporting the G20 in its efforts to move toward this convergence." -Angel Gurría Read more

OECD PUBLISHING NEWS

OECD Subscription Prices for 2011: Prices

OECD publications will be on exhibit at the following events in the coming months:

• SLA-Arabian Gulf Chapter – 17th Annual Conference & Exhibition, 8-10 March, - Al Bustan Palace Intercontinental, Muscat, Oman
• Computers in Libraries 2011, 21-23 March 2011, Washington, DC, USA
• Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), 30 March - 2 April 2011, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• Deutscher Bibliothekartag, 7-10 June 2011, Berlin, Germany
• Special Libraries Association, 12-15 June 2011, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• American Libraries Association, 23-28 June 2011, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
• Österreichischer Bibliothekartag, 18-21 October, Innsbruck, Austria
  

AGRICULTURE/FOOD/FISHERIES

Disaggregated Impacts of CAP Reforms: Proceedings of an OECD Workshop: Book on Online Bookshop | Book on OECD iLibrary

Evaluation of Agricultural Policy Reforms in the United States: Book on Online Bookshop | Book on OECD iLibrary

Fisheries Policy Reform: National Experiences: Book on Online Bookshop | Book on OECD iLibrary

The Economics of Adapting Fisheries to Climate Change: Book on Online Bookshop | Book on OECD iLibrary Announced in last issue; Print edition now available.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

Corruption and the Legal Profession. A video interview with Mark Pieth, Chairman of the OECD Working Group on Bribery: Video

A Public Debt Management Perspective on Proposals for Restrictions for Short Selling of Sovereign Debt: Prepublication Version of a Financial Market Trends Article (PDF - 267 kb)

Sector Specific Sources of Competitiveness in the Western Balkans: Report (PDF - 1.84 mb)

Kazakhstan: Sector Competititveness Strategy: Report (PDF - 3.12 mb)

Forthcoming
-Risk Awareness, Capital Markets and Catastrophic Risks: Book listing
-Competitiveness and Private Sector Development: Kazakhstan 2010: Sector Competitiveness Strategy: Book listing
-Corporate Governance in Slovenia 2011: Book listing
-Corporate Governance in Israel 2011: Book listing

DEVELOPMENT

Supporting Statebuilding in Situations of Conflict and Fragility: Policy Guidance: Book announcement | Book on Online Bookshop | Book on OECD iLibrary

South-South trade is booming despite high trade barriers: Article/Video

Forthcoming
-Development Co-operation Report 2011 to be published in September 2011

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

Slovenia hit hard by crisis says OECD Economic Surveys: Slovenia 2011: Book Announcement | Book on Online Bookshop | Book on OECD iLibrary

A New Era of Global Co-operation. Article by Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and G20 Sherpa: Article

The Fiscal Imperative. Article by Jean-Claude Trichet, President, European Central Bank: Article

Counter-Cyclical Economic Policy: OECD Economics Department Policy Note

Health Care Systems: Getting More Value for Money: OECD Economics Department Policy Note

OECD Economics Department Working Papers:
-No. 841: Enhancing the Cost-Effectiveness of Climate Change Mitigation Policies in Sweden
-No. 842: Limiting Long-Term Unemployment and Non-Participation in Sweden
-No. 843: The Policy and Institutional Drivers of Economic Growth Across OECD and Non-OECD Economies
-No. 844: Macroeconomic Impact of Basel III
-No. 845: Reforming the Labour Market in Spain
-No. 846: To Move or not to Move:  What Drives Residential Mobility Rates in the OECD?
-No. 847: Strengthening the Macroeconomic Policy Framework in South Africa

Forthcoming
-OECD Economic Surveys: Italy 2011: Book listing
-Economic Policy Reforms 2011: Going for Growth: Book listing
-OECD Economic Surveys: United Kingdom 2011: Book listing
-OECD Economic Surveys: Estonia 2011: Book listing

ECONOMIC STATISTICS

OECD composite leading indicators point to continued expansion: Press release

OECD unemployment rate drops to 8.5% in December: Press release

OECD GDP growth slows to 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2010: Press release

Journal of Business Cycle Measurement and Analysis, Volume 2010 Issue 2 includes articles on Markov-Switching and the Ifo business climate, the industrial cycle of Milan, forecasting aggregated time series variables, the ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters, and identifying business cycles in Peru: Subscribe to the OECD Journal | Issue on OECD iLibrary

EDUCATION

Integrating Formative and Summative Assessment:  Progress Toward a Seamless System? Working paper

Educationtoday: the OECD's collaborative space to help shape the post-crisis economy and society: Educationtoday

Forthcoming
-Reviews of National Policies for Education: Kyrgyz Republic 2010 Lessons from PISA: Book listing
-PISA 2009 at a Glance: Book listing

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Trimming Pensions. Article by Edward Whitehouse, OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs: Article

Forthcoming
-Pensions at a Glance 2011: Retirement Income Systems in OECD and G20 Countries: Book listing
-Society at a Glance 2011: OECD Social Indicators: Book listing

ENERGY

Fuel-saving gadgets for cars: are they worthwhile? Report

Government and private sector professionals to benefit from intensive training week at IEA: Announcement

Overseas activities of China’s oil companies are demystified in new report: Press release | Full report (PDF - 1.98 mb)

Forthcoming:
-Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Poland 2011: Book listing
-Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Norway 2011: Book listing

ENVIRONMENT

New Brochures on OECD environmental work: Recent OECD Work on Climate Change (PDF (2.22 mb) | Recent OECD Work on Adaptation to Climate Change (PDF 1.97 mb) | Recent OECD Work on Biodiversity (PDF 1.8 mb)

The Economics of Adapting Fisheries to Climate Change: Book on Online Bookshop | Book on OECD iLibrary Announced in last issue; Print edition now available.

Forthcoming
-Greening Household Behaviour: Book listing
-Environmental Impacts of International Shipping: The Role of Ports: Book listing
-Better Policies to Support Eco-innovation: Book listing
-OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Portugal 2011: Book listing
-OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Norway 2011: Book listing

HEALTH

Health Care Systems: Getting More Value for Money: OECD Economics Department Policy Note

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

Broadband Bundling :  Trends and Policy Implications: Working paper

NUCLEAR ENERGY

See a video on the Nuclear Energy Agency: Video

PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

Good Governance for Digital Policies: How to Get the Most out of ICT: The Case of Spain's Plan Avanza: Book on Online Bookshop | Book on OECD iLibrary

Forthcoming:
-Lobbyists, Governments and Public Trust, Volume 2: Promoting Integrity through Self-Regulation: Book listing
-Asset Declarations for Public Officials: A Tool to Prevent Corruption: Book listing
-OECD Reviews of Regional Innovation: Basque Country, Spain 2011: Book listing
-Value for Money in Government: The Netherlands 2010: Book listing

SCIENCE , TECHNOLOGY & INDUSTRY

Forthcoming:
-Better Policies to Support Eco-innovation: Book listing
-OECD Reviews of Regional Innovation: Basque Country, Spain 2011: Book listing
-Skills for Innovation and Research: Book listing

SMEs & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Become a LEED partner: Announcement

TAXATION

Forthcoming:
-Consumption Tax Trends 2010: VAT/GST and Excise Rates, Trends and Administration Issues: Book listing

TRADE

South-South trade is booming despite high trade barriers: Article/Video

Latest Commercial Interest Reference Rates used under the Arrangement for Officially Supported Export Credits: CIRRs

TRANSPORTATION

International Transport Forum Annual Summit to be held 24-27 May in Leipzig: Website

FROM THE OECD FACTBLOG

Innovation shifting to emerging markets?
When China’s Tianhe-1A supercomputer with its peak speed of 2.57 petaflops was confirmed as the most powerful computer in the world in November 2010, outpacing the previous leader, the US XTC Jaguar, it was more than a breakthrough for computing. It was a further sign that the geography of global growth, which had already been shifting to emerging markets for quality manufacturing and some IT services, was on the move for knowledge and innovation as well.
Read more

FROM THE OECD INSIGHTS BLOG

Geomagnetic storms: the fire next time?
The Millennium Bug was a great disappointment to me. While everybody else drunkenly counted down the seconds separating 1999 from 2000, I froze in patient greed at an ATM waiting for it to start spitting banknotes into my waiting bag. It didn’t happen, and none of the other celebrations we’d been promised materialised either. But what if the world’s electronic systems really did get seriously damaged? This year’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science had a session called Space Weather: The Next Big Solar Storm Could Be a Global Katrina. Space weather could affect a surprising range of activities. Anything using a satellite, obviously, but that includes a load of things that aren’t so obvious. For example, those ATM machines and many other credit card devices rely on spaceborne communications networks to interrogate your bank. The OECD’s Future Global Shocks project looks at these issues in a new study on geomagnetic storms. Read more

Africa on the move: The Bamboo Bike Project
Africa imports an estimated 30 million bikes per year, yet there are no bike manufacturers on the continent. In today’s post, John Mutter of Columbia University describes a project to build bikes locally, using bamboo for the frames. Read more

Microcredit: Borrowing freely
What’s gone wrong with microcredit? asked Brian Keeley on this blog last month, in response to the growing furore in India and Bangladesh surrounding the activities of micro finance institutions.  Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank are under attack from politicians in Bangladesh. In turn, Professor Yunus has become more vocal in his criticism of commercial micro finance institutions, although the commercial firms continue to enjoy the support of a number of articulate and influential commentators. Read more