The OECD is developing a general Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct to provide practical support to companies on the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The Due Diligence Guidance contains plain language explanations of the due diligence recommendations and associated provisions in the OECD Guidelines and can be used by companies in any sector of the economy.

This page contains all information relating to implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in Lithuania.

Lithuania has taken significant steps to strengthen its legislative framework to combat foreign bribery. Yet further efforts are needed to ensure effective enforcement of anti-bribery laws with regard to corporate liability and imposing sanctions for foreign bribery, including confiscation, according to a new report by the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

Australia has stepped up its enforcement of foreign bribery since 2012, when the OECD Working Group on Bribery last evaluated Australia’s implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, with seven convictions in two cases and 19 ongoing investigations.

25-26 January 2018 - The first annual meeting of the G20 Global Infrastructure Connectivity Alliance will bring together policy makers and practitioners to discuss the state of play in global connectivity, innovative practices and the outlook for connectivity.

When companies involve stakeholders, such as local communities, in their decision making, it enables them to identify, and account for the impacts of their activities, and contribute to positive social and economic development. To address the challenges raised when engaging with stakeholders, the OECD is preparing a user guide on how to undertake due diligence in engaging with stakeholders for mining, oil and gas enterprises.

This report is part of a series of assessments on Colombian gold supply chains and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. It analyses conditions of mineral extraction and related risks.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly turning to alternative sources of financing, while new bank lending is declining in a number of countries. Many SMEs remain over-reliant on bank credit, however, and the take-up of instruments other than straight debt varies greatly from one country to another, according to a new OECD report.

8 March 2018, Paris - On the occasion of International Woman's Day, senior decision-makers from the public and corporate worlds, experts, academics and stakeholders considered different policy approaches and implementation tools on how to close gender gaps in the private sector.

This report builds on national reviews of seven countries in Southeast Asia. It looks at common challenges across the region and at the interplay between regional initiatives and national reforms.

This study explores good practices and challenges in the detection of international corruption cases via media reporting and investigative journalism.

The OECD Due Diligence Guidance is being used as the basis and benchmark by many industry initiatives created to ensure the responsible sourcing of minerals. This report presents the findings of a pilot alignment assessment of five industry programmes against the recommendations of the OECD Guidance to gauge the coherence, effectiveness and credibility of these initiatives.

Many governments seek to promote and facilitate inward investments that they expect will benefit their economy. This paper looks at the merits of an international framework to facilitate investment in support of sustainable and inclusive growth.

This paper examines the implications of digitalisation and digital technologies for international investment and investment policy, with a particular focus on digital policies relating to national security and digital policies directed at business operations.

CPI Housing Utilities in Portugal increased to 109.15 points in March from 109.12 points in February of 2020. CPI Housing Utilities in Portugal averaged 55.81 points from 1977 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 109.15 points in March of 2020 and a record low of 4.59 points in January of 1977. This page provides - Portugal Cpi Housing & Utilities- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Housing Index in Australia decreased to -3 percent in the first quarter of 2019 from -2.40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018. Housing Index in Australia averaged 1.43 percent from 2002 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 6.10 percent in the second quarter of 2002 and a record low of -3 percent in the first quarter of 2019. In Australia, House Price Index measures weighted average of price movements for residential properties for eight capital cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Darwin and Perth. Residential properties are defined as detached residential dwellings on their own block of land regardless of age. . This page provides the latest reported value for - Australia House Price Index - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Military Expenditure in Angola decreased to 2508 USD Million in 2018 from 3063 USD Million in 2017. Military Expenditure in Angola averaged 3250.97 USD Million from 1988 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 7798 USD Million in 2014 and a record low of 207 USD Million in 1992.

Cpi Housing Utilities in Angola increased to 277.25 Index Points in October from 277.16 Index Points in September of 2019. Cpi Housing Utilities in Angola averaged 93.53 Index Points from 2002 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 277.25 Index Points in October of 2019 and a record low of 14.25 Index Points in January of 2002. This page provides - Angola Cpi Housing Utilities- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This note presents selected findings based on the set of well-being indicators published in How's Life? 2020.

This country note explains how the Czech Republic taxes energy use. The note shows the distribution of effective energy tax rates across all domestic energy use. It also details the country-specific assumptions made when calculating effective energy tax rates and matching tax rates to the corresponding energy base.

The tax-to-GDP ratio in the Czech Republic increased by 0.4 percentage points from 34.9% in 2017 to 35.3% in 2018. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

This note presents selected findings based on the set of well-being indicators published in How's Life? 2020.

The tax wedge for the average single worker in the Czech Republic increased by 0.1 percentage points from 43.8 in 2018 to 43.9 in 2019. The OECD average tax wedge in 2019 was 36.0 (2018, 36.1). In 2019 the Czech Republic had the 7th highest tax wedge among the 36 OECD member countries, occupying the same position in 2018.

An overview of the long-term care situation in the Slovak Republic is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in the Czech Republic is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Australia is available here.

The OECD’s latest edition of Health at a Glance shows that medical care is improving in OECD countries, but better prevention and management of chronic diseases is required to reduce costs.

This book introduces the concept of knowledge networks and markets (KNMs) in the life sciences, the emerging organisations and mechanisms to share and trade an increasing variety of knowledge assets.

The obesity epidemic slowed down in several OECD countries during the past three years. Rates grew less that previously projected, or did not grow at all, according to new data from ten OECD countries. However, rates remain high and social disparities in obesity are unabated.

The OECD and the ESRC Genomics Policy & Research Forum jointly organised a one-day Forum on 12 November 2012 in Paris. The event was both retrospective and forward-looking. The forum concluded that the promise of biotechnology is not set but evolves with fresh scientific knowledge, novel laws and regulations. The future of biotechnology needs to also integrate social and cultural dimensions.

New OECD data show that men are more likely to be admitted to hospital as a result of poor management of diabetes than women, even when there are no significant differences in the number of men and women living with diabetes.

Though the rate of public spending on healthcare in the Asia/Pacific region is still well below the OECD average, countries there are committing more resources to improving health care quality.

Belgian companies, mutualities and employment services should be more proactive in helping people with mental health problems stay in the workplace or find a job, according to a new OECD report.

Increasingly complex and inconsistent clinical trial regulations are causing delays, raising costs and leading to a decline in the number of international trials conducted by academics for non-commerical purposes.

This paper provides new projections of public spending on health and long-term care for OECD countries and the BRIICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa). Despite the inevitable uncertainty surrounding projections, they suggest a rapidly rising trend over the next 50 years.

This report presents the findings of a research project to investigate the drivers and criteria shaping the application of genomic biotechnology to health in different national settings, and the barriers to implementation nationally and internationally. Findings are based on case studies on Finland, Israel, Luxembourg, Mexico, the United Kingdom, China and South Africa.

This book discusses scientific and technological tools at the centre of a renewed interest in marine biotechnology that is contributing to a new bioeconomy sector in many countries and offering potential new solutions to global challenges.

The future of public health: policy decisions today for tomorrow’s populations. Our health, our economy, our society, our future: a Brave New World. Remarks by Yves Leterme, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD. Brussels, Belgium, September 4th 2013.

This paper explores the development of the bioplastics sector and its role in national bioeconomy strategies. It finds that bioplastics are at a disadvantage compared to some other biobased products, notably biofuels, that often benefit from preferential treatment. It also notes that greater efforts are needed at the international level as regards standards to avoid creating barriers to international trade in biobased products.

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

Australians continue to enjoy one of the highest levels of health across the developed world but need to address Australia’s growing obesity problem, according to a new OECD report.

An ageing population brings new challenges both to healthcare systems and to medicine in terms of the increased manifestation of specific diseases primarily seen in the elderly. Biomedical innovation, and in particular research into "omics technologies", offers the promise of new means of detection, prevention and treatment of age-related disabilities and diseases.

Synthetic biology is an emerging technology that shows promise for investigating some of the burning issues in biological research. It also has the potential to address some of the grand challenges facing society, such as climate change and energy security.

The pricing of specialist and hospital services is a contentious issue in South Africa. To help inform domestic debates, the OECD Secretariat has produced a paper profiling international experiences on the pricing of specialist medical services services, competition policy and models of buying services from the private sector.

Strengthening primary health care and prevention programmes would help stem the growing tide of diabetes and other chronic health conditions in the Czech Republic, according to a new OECD report.

The USA has exceptional levels of health-care expenditure, but growth slowed dramatically in recent years, amidst major efforts to close the coverage gap with other OECD countries.

Several OECD countries have published their plans for the development of a future bioeconomy, in which bio-based materials and production techniques will contribute significantly to economic and environmental sustainability. The case for support for bio-based chemicals and plastics therefore warrants serious attention.

Elderly individuals with complex, chronic diseases need continuous and tailored care to maintain their health and maximise their ability to participate in society. Japan must change the way it delivers health services for older citizens by strengthening its specialist primary care and making mental health care services more widely available, according to a new OECD report.

Improving labour market participation of people with mental health problems requires well-integrated policies and services across the education, employment, health and social sectors. This paper provides examples of policy initiatives from 10 OECD countries for integrated services.

Today, Europeans enjoy a much longer life expectancy than the previous generation, but large inequalities in health remain across and within countries. These are largely due to disparities in access to and quality of care, as well as individual lifestyles and behaviours, according to a new joint OECD/European Commission report.