By Date

This report discusses the costs and benefits of the transition from cash to accrual accounting in the public sector for SIGMA partners in the Western Balkans and the European Neighbourhood. The countries are attracted by the promises of accrual accounting and the corresponding IPSAS standards that it will improve transparency, accountability and financial decision-making. This report investigates whether the reform towards accrual accounting is indeed recommendable given that the reform towards IPSAS-based financial statements also carries a higher administrative burden and often requires government-wide adaptation or adjustment of the financial information systems. In this report, evidence from case studies of five EU Member States and four SIGMA partners is combined with a review of the academic literature to understand the balance of the benefits versus the costs of the reform.

Gender equality is not just about fairness and equity; it is also about economic empowerment and economic growth. Estonia has made great strides towards gender equality. Girls today outperform boys in educational attainment, but they are less likely than boys to study mathematics or information and communication technology. The gender employment gap is small, but Estonian women are still less likely to make it to the top, and career breaks around childbirth contribute to the declining but still considerable gender wage gap. This review considers the gender gaps in labour market outcomes and explores the gap in pay between men and women with equivalent skills within and across firms. It considers family support policies for households with young children, women’s bargaining position in firms, initiatives to combat gender-based discrimination as well as changing gender norms in education. It then explores the potential economic gains of greater gender equality under different scenarios. Indeed, a greater sharing of paid and unpaid work between men and women will lead to economic gains, but it requires changing norms, mindsets, and attitudes. Such changes take time, but policy has a role to play in raising public awareness of gender biases in society and promoting change.

Understanding adults’ attitudes towards the environment is necessary to gauge the opportunities and challenges of creating effective and politically-feasible climate policies. Using data from the Wellcome Global Monitor 2020, the European Social Survey (Round 8), World Values Survey and EM-DAT, this paper examines how adults’ environmental attitudes vary within and across countries and details how environmental attitudes are associated with adults’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviours and support for environmentally-friendly policies. The paper explores whether the extent to which individuals prioritise the environment over the state of the economy or vice versa depends on individuals’ exposure to natural disasters or negative labour market conditions. Results indicate that people’s economic vulnerability and the sectors they work in impact their attitudes towards their environment and support for public policy. Furthermore, the findings suggest that increases in unemployment and exposure to natural disasters influence the extent to which individuals prioritise the environment.

Despite remarkable improvement in water supply and sanitation services, Estonia faces finance and investment challenges to keep up with social expectations and environmental health regulations. With downward demographic trends expected to affect water utilities revenues and the projected phasing out of EU water funding, which was essential in the rapid improvement of service provision over the last two decades, substantial efficiency gains are required to transition towards sustainable water service provision. Towards Sustainable Water Services in Estonia presents a strategy and action plan to promote efficiency gains for water supply and sanitation services in Estonia, focusing on the consolidation of service provision. The report provides consolidation scenarios and accompanying measures, including depreciation methods for granted assets, and benchmarking methods going beyond cost comparisons to performance levels and the ambition of development plans. It also shares insights for countries facing similar challenges or seeking to improve the efficiency of water service provision. The project was undertaken in collaboration with – and with the financial support of the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support of the European Commission.

The paper is the first in a series of two papers mapping young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries that were prepared as background for the forthcoming OECD Skills Outlook 2023 publication. The papers are the results of a collaboration between the OECD Centre for Skills and the European Commission - Joint Research Centre (Unit B4) on students’ environmental sustainability competence. The second paper is titled: ‘The environmental sustainability competence toolbox: From leaving a better planet to our children to leaving better children for our planet’.

The paper is the second in a series of two papers mapping young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries that were prepared as background for the forthcoming OECD Skills Outlook 2023 publication. The papers are the results of a collaboration between the OECD Centre for Skills and the European Commission - Joint Research Centre (Unit B4) on students’ environmental sustainability competence. The first paper is titled ‘Young people’s environmental sustainability competence: Emotional, cognitive, behavioural and attitudinal dimensions in EU and OECD countries.

Many lower density regions in the OECD face shrinkage, with projections suggesting that half of Europe will need to manage decline in remote regions by 2050. Half of Estonia’s counties experienced population decline greater than 25% since 1991. Shrinkage leads to problems including lower municipal revenues, ageing, and greater per capita costs of service and infrastructure provision. Estonia is also the most carbon-intensive economy in the OECD, and heavily utilises its forests and land. To tackle these challenges, the report provides analyses in a number of policy areas to respond to demographic change in a smart and sustainable manner. A policy framework that emphasises a spatially oriented, coordinated approach for responding to shrinkage is developed. The report provides policy recommendations to make land use more efficient and spatial planning more coherent. It suggests ways to improve the transfer system and strengthen the municipal revenue base while encouraging inter-municipal cooperation. It also discusses education, the municipalities’ largest spending responsibility, providing recommendations that adapt the school network to shrinkage while ensuring access to high-quality education for all students.