Social Policies

Social policies affect people at different stages of their lives and have to address a range of issues: child-development, combining family and work responsibilitiessocial benefits and disability policies for periods out of work, spells of poverty (more generally income distribution), and pension policies for today's workers. In all areas, taking a gender perspective is an important for policy design.

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What's new

Employment: mental health issues rising in workplace, says OECD

12-Dec-2011

Mental illness is a growing problem in society and is increasingly affecting productivity and well-being in the workplace, according to the new OECD report Sick on the Job? Myths and Realities about Mental Health at Work. It says that one in five workers suffer from a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, and many are struggling to cope.

Governments must tackle record gap between rich and poor, says OECD

05-Dec-2011

The gap between rich and poor in OECD countries has reached its highest level for over half a century, and governments must act quickly to tackle inequality, according to a new OECD report.

Is the European welfare state really more expensive? Indicators on social spending,1980-2012

23-Nov-2011

This working paper No. 124 contains information on gross public social spending 1980-2012 and net (after tax) public and private social expenditure for 2007, a more comprehensive measure of social support. This contains also a manual to the OECD Social Expenditure database (SOCX).

OECD Social Ministerial Meeting and Policy Forum - Building a Fairer Future: the Role for Social Policy

from 02-May-2011 to 03-May-2011

Ministers discussed the following issues: Social policies for the recovery, Doing Better for Families and Future of intergenerational solidarity. Prior to the social ministerial meeting, a Policy Forum on Tackling Inequality was held on the morning of 2 May 2011 to discuss the trend of high and increasing income inequality in many OECD countries and emerging economies and the way forward to a better sharing of the benefits of globalisation.

Society : Safeguard social support for poorest families, says OECD’s Gurría

27-Apr-2011

Poverty in households with children is rising in nearly all OECD countries. Governments should ensure that family support policies protect the most vulnerable, according to the OECD’s first-ever report on family well-being.

Who’s busiest: working hours and household chores across OECD

12-Apr-2011

Mexicans work longer days than anyone else in OECD countries, devoting 10 hours to paid and unpaid work, such as cleaning or cooking at home. Belgians work the least, at 7 hours, compared to an OECD average of 8 hours a day.

Tax-Benefit calculator, out-of-work replacement rates and country specific files for 2009

23-Mar-2011

Statistics, country specific files and tax-benefit models and calculator, which provide detailed descriptions of all cash benefits available to those in and out of work as well as the taxes they were liable to pay in 32 OECD countries from 2001 to 2009.

Cooking, Caring and Volunteering: Unpaid Work Around the World

04-Mar-2011

This paper sheds light on the importance of unpaid work across the OECD. The calculations suggest that between one-third and half of all valuable economic activity is not accounted for in the traditional measures of well-being, such as GDP per capita. In all countries, women do more unpaid work than men, although to some degree balanced by the fact that they do less market work.

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Doing Better for Families

Doing Better for Families