Reports

This report presents global projections of materials use and their environmental consequences, providing a quantitative outlook to 2060 at the global, sectoral and regional levels for 61 different materials (biomass resources, fossil fuels, metals and non-metallic minerals). It explains the economic drivers determining the decoupling of economic growth and materials use, and assesses how the projected shifts in sectoral and regional economic activity influence the use of different materials. The projections include both primary and secondary materials, which provides a deeper understanding of what drives the synergies and trade-offs between extraction and recycling.The report projects a doubling of global primary materials use between today and 2060. Population and converging per capita income growth drive the growth in materials use. However, structural change, especially in non-OECD countries, and technology improvements partially dampen that growth. Metals and non-metallic minerals are projected to grow more rapidly than other types of materials.

The Korean labour migration system has expanded since the mid-2000s, primarily in the admission of temporary foreign workers for less skilled jobs. Its temporary labour programme, addressed largely at SMEs in manufacturing and based on bilateral agreements with origin countries, has become the largest such programme in the OECD.  Structural changes in the labour force, with a rapidly shrinking and highly educated youth population, keep the underlying demand for this programme strong. Yet skills levels of workers are increasing, and there is interest in increasing Korea's share in global talent mobility, including international students and innovative entrepreneurs. This book addresses the question of how to ensure that international recruitment can help meet urgent needs in the labour market which cannot be met locally, and how the temporary labour migration programme - and other migration streams - can evolve to ensure that Korea meets its policy objectives. This review first examines the characteristics of the Korean labour market and main challenges where labour migration can help address demand. Following a discussion of various programmes and procedures, the review assesses how labour migration is playing a role in different sectors and how programme governance could be improved. It then explores the channels for high-skilled migrants and how these could be improved in light of international experience.

Better skills policies help build economic resilience, boost employment and reinforce social cohesion. The OECD Skills Strategy provides countries with a framework to analyse their skills strengths and challenges. Each OECD Skills Strategy diagnostic report reflects a set of skills challenges identified by broad stakeholder engagement and OECD comparative evidence while offering concrete examples of how other countries have tackled similar skills challenges. These reports tackle questions such as: How can countries maximise their skills potential? How can they improve their performance in developing relevant skills, activating skills supply and using skills effectively? What is the benefit of a whole-of-government approach to skills? How can governments build stronger partnerships with employers, trade unions, teachers and students to deliver better skills outcomes? OECD Skills Strategy diagnostic reports provide new insights into these questions and help identify the core components of successful skills strategies. This report is part of the OECD’s ongoing work on building effective national and local skills strategies.

The Sami have lived for time immemorial in an area that today extends across the Kola Peninsula in Russia, northern Finland, northern Norway's coast and inland, and the northern half of Sweden. The Sami play an important role in these northern economies thanks to their use of land, their involvement in reindeer husbandry, agriculture/farming and food production, and connection with the region’s tourism industry. However, in Sweden, as in the other states where the Sami live, the connections with regional development are often inconsistent and weak, and could do more to support the preservation and promotion of Sami culture and create new employment and business opportunities. This study, together with the OECD’s broader thematic work on this topic, provides actionable recommendations on how to better include the Sami and other Indigenous Peoples in regional development strategies, learning from and incorporating their own perspectives on sustainable development in the process.

Over the past two decades, Austria has become one of the most R&D intensive economies among OECD countries and in the world, dedicating 3.1% of its GDP on R&D in 2016, the second highest figure in the European Union. To fully harness this R&D capacity, Austrian innovation policy needs to put a stronger emphasis on efficiency in transforming R&D inputs into impacts. To achieve higher impacts, Austria also needs to steer its research and innovation system towards leadership excellence in global markets. This requires enhanced international attractiveness for top-level researchers and talent, and a conducive environment for highly innovative enterprises. Austria could also benefit from strengthening R&D and innovation to support key transitions, such as digitalisation and Industry 4.0, and to tackle key societal challenges. The STI policy mix and governance arrangements should be adapted accordingly.

This 2018 edition of OECD Research and Development Expenditure in Industry provides statistical data on R&D expenditure broken down by industrial and service sectors. Data are presented in current and constant USD PPP values. Coverage is provided for 31 OECD countries and four non-member economies. The coverage of ANBERD includes multiple sectors, with extended coverage of service sectors according to ISIC Revision 4 classification. This publication is a unique source of detailed internationally-comparable business R&D data, making it an invaluable tool for economic research and analysis.