Austria has taken important steps to improve its school system, but needs to reform its complex school governance to further improve quality and equity, according to a new OECD report.

This country note provides an environmental tax and carbon pricing profile for Austria. It shows environmentally related tax revenues, taxes on energy use and effective carbon rates.

The Secretary-General held bilateral meetings with Federal Chancellor Christian Kern and several high-level Austrian officials.

The Austrian economy is strengthening, supported by recent tax reform and a pick-up in international trade. With business and household confidence rising and the short-term outlook favourable, policymakers should enact deeper structural reforms that will improve both fiscal sustainability and social cohesion.

Life expectancy in Austria is close to the OECD average, but Austrian’s smoke and drink more than people in other countries. While access to health care is good, quality of care indicators show more mixed results. Austria spends more on health than the OECD average.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Vienna on 5-6 March 2018, to visit the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), where he will meet with IIASA Senior Management as well as with researchers from Mexico.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Salzburg on 29-30 August 2018 to attend the Trilogue Salzburg “Taking Stock of Democracy - Still a Success Story or not Competitive Anymore?” event, organised by Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, was in Vienna on 7-8 September 2018 to attend the Eurogroup Meeting / Informal Meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers (ECOFIN).

The digital revolution, globalisation and demographic changes are transforming labour markets at a time when policy makers are also struggling with slow productivity and wage growth and high levels of income inequality. The new OECD Jobs Strategy provides a comprehensive framework and policy recommendations to help countries address these challenges.

The Sales Tax Rate in Uruguay stands at 22 percent. Sales Tax Rate in Uruguay averaged 22.13 percent from 2006 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 23 percent in 2007 and a record low of 22 percent in 2008. In Uruguay, the sales tax rate is a tax charged to consumers based on the purchase price of certain goods and services. The benchmark we use for the sales tax rate refers to the highest rate. Revenues from the Sales Tax Rate are an important source of income for the government of Uruguay. This page provides - Uruguay Sales Tax Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Uruguay recorded a government budget deficit of 35177.36 UYU Million in February of 2020. Government Budget Value in Uruguay averaged -1838.32 UYU Million from 1999 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 11132.20 UYU Million in April of 2012 and a record low of -35177.36 UYU Million in February of 2020. The government budget balance is the difference between government revenues and expenses. The budget is balanced when outlays equal to receipts, the country reports budget surplus when revenues are higher than expenses and deficit when expenses exceed the revenues. This page provides - Uruguay Government Budget Value - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Government Debt in Romania increased to 323601.80 RON Million in the second quarter of 2019 from 314907.90 RON Million in the first quarter of 2019. Government Debt in Romania averaged 187764.88 RON Million from 2006 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 323601.80 RON Million in the second quarter of 2019 and a record low of 38469.80 RON Million in the fourth quarter of 2006. This page provides the latest reported value for - Romania Central Government Debt - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Government Debt in Slovakia decreased to 43184 EUR Million in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 43273 EUR Million in the third quarter of 2019. Government Debt in Slovakia averaged 28637.91 EUR Million from 2002 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 44329 EUR Million in the third quarter of 2018 and a record low of 12737 EUR Million in the first quarter of 2003. This page provides - Slovakia Government Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Government Debt in Portugal decreased to 249980 EUR Million in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 252278 EUR Million in the third quarter of 2019. Government Debt in Portugal averaged 159351.93 EUR Million from 2000 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 252278 EUR Million in the third quarter of 2019 and a record low of 62915 EUR Million in the second quarter of 2000. This page provides the latest reported value for - Portugal General Government Gross Debt - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Government Debt in Spain decreased to 1188861917 EUR Thousand in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 1207754952 EUR Thousand in the third quarter of 2019. Government Debt in Spain averaged 560073464.89 EUR Thousand from 1990 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 1210915185 EUR Thousand in the second quarter of 2019 and a record low of 136774640 EUR Thousand in the fourth quarter of 1990. This page provides the latest reported value for - Spain General Government Debt - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Government Debt in Australia decreased to 424164 AUD Million in February from 430211 AUD Million in January of 2020. Government Debt in Australia averaged 181251.67 AUD Million from 2007 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 430211 AUD Million in January of 2020 and a record low of -50019 AUD Million in May of 2008. This page provides - Australia Government Net Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Government Debt in Italy increased to 2446893 EUR Million in February from 2443483 EUR Million in January of 2020. Government Debt in Italy averaged 719921.78 EUR Million from 1950 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 2462572.70 EUR Million in August of 2019 and a record low of 1320.50 EUR Million in April of 1950. This page provides the latest reported value for - Italy General Government Debt - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Government Debt in France decreased to 2380.10 EUR Billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 2414.70 EUR Billion in the third quarter of 2019. Government Debt in France averaged 1453.46 EUR Billion from 1995 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 2414.70 EUR Billion in the third quarter of 2019 and a record low of 683.50 EUR Billion in the fourth quarter of 1995. This page provides the latest reported value for - France General Government Debt - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Gross Fixed Capital Formation in Morocco increased to 314963 MAD Million in 2018 from 302226 MAD Million in 2017. Gross Fixed Capital Formation in Morocco averaged 75401.06 MAD Million from 1952 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 314963 MAD Million in 2018 and a record low of 690 MAD Million in 1957. This page provides - Morocco Gross Fixed Capital Formation - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Banks Balance Sheet in Morocco decreased to 1426031 MAD Million in February from 1431200 MAD Million in January of 2020. Banks Balance Sheet in Morocco averaged 872056.34 MAD Million from 2001 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 1448618 MAD Million in December of 2019 and a record low of 360422.93 MAD Million in March of 2002. This page provides - Morocco Banks Balance Sheet - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

G20 finance ministers have agreed new principles on financial consumer protection developed by the OECD. “Without consumer trust and confidence we could jeopardise the basis for global economic recovery and growth,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.

At this Financial Regulation Session of the G20 Leaders Summit, M. Gurría spoke of 'a comprehensive reform of the international financial architecture that should include financial inclusion, protection and education'.

The OECD/INFE High level Principles on National Strategies for Financial Education provide international guidance to policy makers with a view to developing evidence-based, co-ordinated and tailored approaches to financial education, both in emerging markets and more advanced economies. G20 Leaders recognised the important role of financial education policies when they endorsed these Principles in 2012.

This seminar aimed to advance shared understandings on policies to make the most of cross-border capital flows in support of growth and development and on the value of international co-operation, including the OECD Codes of Liberalisation, in the current context of serious global financial turbulence.

A complement to the OECD insurance database, this report monitors and analyses the insurance industry’s overall performance and health in OECD countries and Hong Kong (China), India, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand.

This report concludes that actual application of bail-ins, involving bondholders in loss sharing, could effectively reign in perceptions of implicit guarantees for bank debt. However, bail-ins are rare owing to concerns about contagion risks and depositor and investor protection, so implicit guarantees persist.

Paris, 5 December 2012: This conference addressed the evolution of the terrorism threat and whether current insurance solutions adequately answer the needs of market players in an ever changing risk context.

This conference in Nairobi, Kenya, addressed specific issues relating to financial literacy in Africa and the MENA region. It presented the output of the Russia/OECD/World Bank Trust Fund on Financial Literacy and Education.

This conference, taking place on 4-5 March 2013 in New Delhi, India, addressed specific issues relating to financial literacy in India and the Asia region. It presented the output of the Russia/OECD/World Bank Trust Fund on Financial Literacy and Education.

This article by OECD Deputy Secretary-General Rintaro Tamaki focuses on three issues that will be important in shaping the future of the Asian economic and financial community: trade, funding long-term investment and strengthened regional financial co-operation.

This article summarises discussions from a financial roundtable addressing concerns about structural flaws in the way banks operate and are being regulated and supervised in the wake of on-going banking sector problems involving financial fraud and banking scandals.

The implications of the European sovereign debt crisis for Asia, the globalisation of the funding of investments and the contribution of long-term institutional investors to growth were amongst the topics explored at the 2013 Tokyo Roundtable.

The management of operational risk is at the heart of efficient government, but countries often fail to apply good or even routine operational risk management practices and have difficulty in understanding how to put the processes in place. This paper sets out a widely-applicable and relevant policy approach and management framework and illustrates its practical application in Turkey.

The OECD provides an update on global economy in this statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee - April 2013.

Governments are major issuers of debt instruments in the global financial market. This volume provides quantitative information on central government debt instruments for the 34 OECD countries.

The paper argues that interest rates are at extremely low levels to support banks, and the search for yield has pushed the liquidity driven speculative bubble from real estate, derivatives and structured products markets into the corporate debt market. Equities have rallied strongly too. This asset cycle is certainly helping banks reduce hidden losses on illiquid securities and could also help reduce the cost of equity.

The crisis has shown that there is no such thing as an optimal banking structure or model. The Liikanen report highlighted excessive risk taking and excessive reliance on short-term funding not matched with adequate capital protection. The French reform of the banking sector builds on this insight as well as the agreement reached by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the European CRD 4 to foster financial stability.

Co-organised by the G20 Russian Presidency and the OECD, this roundtable focused on policy measures to address constraints in long-term investment. It was organised back-to-back with the 2013 OECD Forum and the OECD-Euromoney Infrastructure Summit.

This conference in Moscow explored strategies for developing financial literacy and capability and building effective consumer protection systems.

At a time when many governments are looking to encourage private investment in infrastructure to bridge the infrastructure financing gap, this paper compares the experience of pension funds in Canada and Australia, looking at infrastructure policies, the pension system, investment strategies, asset allocation and governance of pension funds.

This report provides an overview of the status of financial education programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean, discusses their rationale, and offers initial guidance for policy makers.

The financial crisis has shown that many people need to have a better understanding of the financial issues in order to make informed decisions on matters such as savings, investments, pensions and credit, according to a report to be presented to G20 leaders in Saint Petersburg this week.

Both women and men need to be sufficiently financially literate to effectively participate in economic activities and to take appropriate financial decisions for themselves and their families, but women often have less financial knowledge and lower access to formal financial products than men. Women therefore have specific and additional financial literacy needs.

Jointly developed by the IMF, World Bank, EBRD, and the OECD, this report analyses the main elements necessary to deepen domestic bond markets in emerging and developing economies.

Low levels of financial inclusion are associated with lower levels of financial literacy. This report looks at how policy makers are developing financial education policies for financial inclusion. It highlights challenges faced and solutions found, as well as outlining the main lessons learnt and possibilities for the way forward.

This book addresses gender differences in financial literacy and reviews policy responses and initiatives across the world to tackle women’s and girls’ needs, drawing lessons from existing experiences.

This paper examines how institutional investors can access green infrastructure, the extent to which this is currently happening, and the barriers to scaling up these investment flows. Based on four case studies, broader lessons are drawn for governments on the policy settings which may support investment in green infrastructure by institutional investors.

The 2013 Global Forum focused on a number of critical policy, regulatory and supervisory issues affecting private and public pension provision in the Asia region.

This paper identifies the main trends in long-term financial intermediation focusing on the role of institutional investors in providing long-term finance for growth and development. It also highlights infrastructure as one specific sector that is facing major challenges in long-term financing.

This statistical yearbook provides quantitative information on African central government debt instruments. It includes individual country data but also comparative statistics to facilitate pan-African (cross-country) analysis.