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Ageing has a wide range of impacts on individuals and society as a whole. But the consequences for health care, working life, income and well-being in general are not always what many people imagine. OECD Insights: Ageing: Debate the Issues discusses the problems, challenges, and opportunities that ageing brings to citizens and governments in developed and developing countries. Experts on demography, medical research, pensions, employment and other domains from inside and outside the OECD present their latest analyses and views on one of the most important trends shaping our societies.

How school systems respond to immigration has an enormous impact on the economic and social well-being of all members of the communities they serve, whether they have an immigrant background or not. Immigrant Students at School: Easing the Journey towards Integration reveals some of the difficulties immigrant students encounter – and some of the contributions they offer – as they settle into their new communities and new schools.

Results from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicate that students with an immigrant background tend to perform worse in school than students without an immigrant background. Several factors are associated with this disparity, including the concentration of disadvantage in the schools immigrant students attend, language barriers and certain school policies, like grade repetition and tracking, that can hinder immigrant students’ progress through school.

But successful integration is measured in more than academic achievement; immigrant students’ well-being and hopes for the future are just as telling. This report examines not only immigrant students’ aspirations and sense of belonging at school, but also recent trends in Europeans’ receptiveness to welcoming immigrants into their own countries – the context that could make all the difference in how well immigrant students integrate into their new communities. The report includes a special section on refugees and education, and an extensive discussion on education policy responses to immigration.

Job displacement (involuntary job loss due to firm closure or downsizing) affects many workers over their lifetime. Displaced workers may face long periods of unemployment and, even when they find new jobs, tend to be paid less and have fewer benefits than in their prior jobs. Helping them get back into good jobs quickly should be a key goal of labour market policy. This report is the fourth in a series of reports looking at how this challenge is being tackled in a number of OECD countries. It shows that Sweden has been relatively successful in minimising the adverse effects of displaced workers, manily due to the longstanding tradition of collaboration between the social partners to share responsibility for restructuring by creating special arrangements and practices that provide help to workers much faster that in other OECD countries. Despite this positive institutional framework, there is room to improve policies targeted to displaced workers as remarkable inequalities still exist in both the Swedish labour market and in the way workers are treated.
 

Social impact investment can provide new ways to more efficiently and effectively allocate public and private capital to address social and economic challenges at the global, national and local levels. While these innovative market-based approaches will not replace the core role of the public sector or the need for philanthropy, they can provide a potentially powerful means for leveraging existing capital.

This report provides a framework for assessing the social impact investment market and focuses on the need to build the evidence base, in particular for impact assessment compared to existing social service delivery models. The report highlights the importance of further international collaboration in developing global standards on definitions, data collection, impact measurement and evaluation of policies as well as experience sharing between players in the market. International organisations can play an important role in facilitating these collaborations as well as conducting further analysis and data collection.

Income inequality is rising. A quarter of a century ago, the average disposable income of the richest 10% in OECD countries was around seven times higher than that of the poorest 10%; today, it’s around 9½ times higher. Why does this matter? Many fear this widening gap is hurting individuals, societies and even economies. This book explores income inequality across five main headings. It starts by explaining some key terms in the inequality debate. It then examines recent trends and explains why income inequality varies between countries. Next it looks at why income gaps are growing and, in particular, at the rise of the 1%. It then looks at the consequences, including research that suggests widening inequality could hurt economic growth. Finally, it examines policies for addressing inequality and making economies more inclusive.

The report provides a comprehensive picture on the territorial differences in many well-being dimensions across the 31 Mexican states and the Federal District. It represents a sound base for state and local policy makers, political leaders and citizens to better understand people’s living conditions, gauge progress in various aspects of economy and society and use these indicators to improve the design and implementation of policies. It is a part of the “How’s Life in Your Region?” work produced by the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate at the behest of the Regional Development Policy Committee.

The 10-year anniversary edition of Pensions at a Glance highlights the pension reforms undertaken by OECD and G20 countries over the last two years. Two special chapters provide deeper analysis of first-tier pension schemes and of the impact of short or interrupted careers, due to late entry into employment, childcare or unemployment, on pension entitlements. Another chapter analyses the sensitivity of long-term pension replacement rates on various parameters. A range of indicators for comparing pension policies and their outcomes between OECD and G20 countries is also provided.