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This review summarises existing studies evaluating the impact of apprenticeships on individuals and firms and provides a brief overview of relevant evaluations in three related policy areas: education; active labour market programmes; and private on-the-job training. Based on the reviewed literature, it draws a number of lessons that are relevant for evaluating apprenticeship programmes in OECD member countries, such as the Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland. First, rigorous evaluation depends on the existence of suitable, high-quality data. Second, the measured effects of apprenticeships depend on the time elapsed since the end of the training period. Third, the outcomes most commonly examined in the existing literature are wages and the probability of employment. Fourth, it is important to employ methods that take into account not only observed but also unobserved individual characteristics. Finally, comparing apprentices to different “control groups” might provide different and complementary evidence on the impact of apprenticeships.

Science and Technology --- Industry and Services

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This policy paper provides an overview of OECD work on measuring the extent and impact of public support for R&D through tax incentives. It discusses the policy rationale for tax incentives in the broader context of public support for business R&D, describing the main features of different modes of expenditure-based tax relief for R&D. It presents evidence on how much financial support is provided through tax incentives, how this has evolved in recent years and the variation in implied R&D tax subsidy rates across OECD countries and partner economies. The document also reviews empirical evidence on the impact of tax incentives, covering in detail different categories of impacts including potentially unintended effects. It further includes evidence on the use and impacts of income-based R&D tax incentives. The paper concludes with a synthesis of the main policy recommendations contained in key OECD policy documents and highlights future measurement and analytical work planned in this area.

Taxation --- Science and Technology

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Public policy has an important role to play in promoting research and development (R&D) the development, diffusion, and use of new knowledge and innovations. Fiscal incentives, including tax policies, should be directed at specific barriers, impediments or synergies to facilitate the desired level of investment in R&D and innovations. Without careful design, policies can have unintended consequences such as favouring incumbent firms, encouraging small firms to undertake less efficient activities, or creating arbitrage and rent-seeking activity. R&D tax policy needs to be considered in the context of the country’s general tax policies, its broader innovation policy mix and its other R&D support policies. More R&D activity in one country does not necessarily result in an overall increase in global innovation if it is simply shifted from another country. More research is needed to determine the extent to which R&D fiscal incentives in one country increase overall R&D, the quality of that R&D, and its positive spillovers to other sectors of the economy and other countries.

Taxation --- Development