10-December-2009
English
Japan’s health-care system has provided universal access to care and contributed to the outstanding health status of the Japanese. Public spending has been kept below the OECD average through high co-payment rates and reductions in medical fees.
10-December-2009
English
This paper considers major forces behind the evolution of the oil price, using a simple model of supply and demand elasticities as a benchmark, highlights implications for inflation and economic activity and draws some conclusions for macroeconomic policy.
3-December-2009
English
Prices for many goods and services in Belgium are higher than in other countries, reflecting generally weak competitive pressures.
3-November-2009
English
This paper discusses the policy imperatives in the short term, in the face of the ongoing economic crisis, and reforms that could be implemented over the longer term to improve the efficiency and resilience of the financial system and raise Russia’s potential growth rate.
3-November-2009
English
This paper examines the effect of economic crises on structural unemployment using an Autoregressive Distributed Lags model and accounting for the role of institutional settings.
3-November-2009
English
While Mexico’s growth performance has gradually improved over the past decades, its convergence toward OECD countries has been less rapid than in several other emerging markets.
3-November-2009
English
Despite progress over the past two decades Mexico’s health and education indicators remain well below the average of the OECD and some of its Latin American emerging market peers.
29-October-2009
English
This paper shows that world demand (to which trade has become more responsive in recent decades) can explain most of the collapse in world trade, but that tight credit conditions have likely amplified the short-term trade response.
15-October-2009
English
This working paper discusses what policy makers should do in order to restore balance in the Icelandic economy and lay out the foundations for a sustainable recovery.
23-September-2009
English
Greek health outcomes compare favourably with the OECD average. However, the health care system is seen as not working well by the population. These and other issues are discussed in this working paper.