Organization For Economic Cooperation Research Articles

Is there a Positive Influence of Foreign Direct Investment on the Economies of OECD Countries? Empirical Evidence on Countries within the European Area

In the last years, most of the empirical results presented in the international literature are highlighting a positive impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth. This econometric study is taking into account evidence from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries within the European area, the main focus being the economic crisis and the pandemic crisis during the most recent years. The research methodology is based on the Panel Least Squares regression, VAR model and Granger causality test, which proved that the foreign direct investment has a positive impact on economic growth, but not so strong, and the causal relationship is unidirectional from foreign direct investment to economic growth. The results of the study are aligned with the literature review showing a positive influence of foreign direct investment on the economies of OECD countries and are useful in terms of investing decisions and macroeconomic policies.

Advancing Endocrine Disruptors via In Vitro Evaluation: Recognizing the Significance of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development and United States Environmental Protection Agency Guidelines, Embracing New Assessment Methods, and the Urgent Need for a Comprehensive Battery of Tests.

Efforts are being made globally to improve the evaluation and understanding of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Recognition of their impact on human health and the environment has stimulated attention and research in this field. Various stakeholders, including scientists, regulatory agencies, policymakers, and industry representatives, are collaborating to develop robust methodologies and guidelines for assessing these disruptors. A key aspect of these efforts is the development of standardized testing protocols and guidelines that aim to provide consistent and reliable methods for identifying and characterizing endocrine disruptors. When evaluating the potential endocrine-disrupting activity of chemicals, no single test is capable of detecting all relevant endocrine-disrupting agents. The test battery approach is designed to reduce the risk of false negative results for compounds with toxic potential. A weight-of-evidence approach is therefore necessary for endocrine disruptor evaluation. This approach considers various types of data from multiple sources, assessing the overall strength, consistency, and reliability of the evidence. OECD guidelines are highly regarded for their scientific rigor, transparency, and consensus-based development process. It is crucial to explore and develop new methodologies that can effectively evaluate the risks associated with potential endocrine disruptors. Integrating these methods into a comprehensive weight-of-evidence framework will enhance risk assessments and facilitate informed decisions regarding the regulation and management of these substances, ensuring the protection of human health and the environment from their adverse effects.

Does the board of directors play a role in mitigating real and accrual-based earnings management in the MENA context?

Purpose In light of the key role attributed to the board of directors as a monitoring tool to constrain earnings management practices, this study aims to examine the effect of some board attributes on accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) context, whose institutional, economic and legal environment is markedly different from that of most organization for economic cooperation and development countries. Design/methodology/approach The authors selected a sample of 161 nonfinancial companies from nine MENA countries between 2014 and 2021 (corresponding to an unbalanced data panel of 486 observations). The authors used the generalized least squares regression test to examine the relationship between board attributes and earnings management. Findings The authors found that three board attributes (size, independence and gender diversity) have no effect on both types of earnings management practices, while CEO duality has no effect on accrual-based earnings management but has a significant and negative effect on real earnings management. Overall, the results suggest that most board attributes do not play a crucial role in reducing earnings management. Research limitations/implications The results provide valuable insights into the universal role of corporate governance mechanisms and raise questions about the role of the board of directors in improving reporting quality in the MENA context. Practical implications Regulators should adapt corporate governance mechanisms to the characteristics of the institutional context in which they are inserted. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effect of various board characteristics on both types of earnings management practices in the MENA context. It also provides the first empirical evidence of the relationship between board gender diversity and earnings management in the MENA region.

Risk governance and regulatory adjustments in the public commercial banks of OECD

PurposeThis study aims to explore the relationship between risk governance characteristics (chief risk officer [CRO], chief financial officer [CFO] and senior directors [SENIOR]) and regulatory adjustments (RAs) in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development public commercial banks.Design/methodology/approachUsing principal component analysis (PCA) and regression models, the research analyzes a representative data set of these banks.FindingsA significant negative correlation between risk governance characteristics and RAs is found. Sensitivity analysis on the regulatory Tier 1 capital ratio and the total capital ratio indicates mixed outcomes, suggesting a complex relationship that warrants further exploration.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s limited sample size calls for further research to confirm findings and explore risk governance’s impact on banks’ capital structures.Practical implicationsEnhanced risk governance could reduce RAs, influencing banking policy.Social implicationsThe study advocates for improved banking regulatory practices, potentially increasing sector stability and public trust.Originality/valueThis study contributes to understanding risk governance’s role in regulatory compliance, offering insights for policymaking in banking.

The impact of digitalization, technological and financial innovation on environmental quality in OECD countries: Investigation of N-shaped EKC hypothesis

This research article aims to determine the interrelationships between digitalization, technological and financial innovation, and environmental quality in selected Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. This study also tests the validity of the N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. To this end, we utilize a rigorous three-stage panel data econometrics approach. The empirical outcomes entail that financial innovation decreases carbon emissions, whereas technological innovation and digitalization increase carbon emissions in the OECD countries. The results further underscore that across all models, the first level of gross domestic product (GDP) harms environmental quality. On the flip side, the second level of GDP tends to improve environmental quality. However, the third level of GDP deteriorates environmental quality. In conclusion, the empirical findings corroborate the N-shaped EKC hypothesis in OECD countries, urging policymakers to adopt more sustainable development practices.

Housing affordability indicators and the sustainability paradigm in OECD countries

The present study aimed to analyse the housing affordability indicators (HAI) and sustainability paradigm (SP) of 23 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries for the period of 2010–2019. The study used different estimators to overcome the heterogeneity and endogeneity problems of panel data and adopted many diagnostic tests to increase robustness. The findings of panel least square, generalized least square, and instrumental variables of the two-stage least squares regression approach showed that three HAI proxies - households' housing-related expenditures, housing costs, and housing market proxies - had a significant positive impact on the sustainability paradigm. In contrast, the final two HAI proxies - housing allowance and housing quality – significantly negatively impacted the sustainability paradigm. Regarding the control variables, population density had a significant positive impact on the sustainability paradigm indicators. However, GDP per capita growth had a significant negative impact on most of the sustainability paradigm indicators. The main conclusion is that decision-makers should prioritize making housing more affordable. This could be achieved by controlling rents and low-cost buildings. The OECD should explore alternative methods of support, such as providing low-interest loans or targeted assistance, to help families bear housing costs without negatively impacting their financial sustainability.

An artificial intelligence platform for automated PFAS subgroup classification: A discovery tool for PFAS screening

Since structural analyses and toxicity assessments have not been able to keep up with the discovery of unknown per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), there is an urgent need for effective categorization and grouping of PFAS. In this study, we presented PFAS-Atlas, an artificial intelligence-based platform containing a rule-based automatic classification system and a machine learning-based grouping model. Compared with previously developed classification software, the platform's classification system follows the latest Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition of PFAS and reduces the number of uncategorized PFAS. In addition, the platform incorporates deep unsupervised learning models to visualize the chemical space of PFAS by clustering similar structures and linking related classes. Through real-world use cases, we demonstrate that PFAS-Atlas can rapidly screen for relationships between chemical structure and persistence, bioaccumulation, or toxicity data for PFAS. The platform can also guide the planning of the PFAS testing strategy by showing which PFAS classes urgently require further attention. Ultimately, the release of PFAS-Atlas will benefit both the PFAS research and regulation communities.

Association between retirement age and depressive symptoms among Korean retirees: Results from Korean Retirement and Income Panel Study

BackgroundThe effective age of retirement in South Korea is higher than the average of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Early retirement in Asia may affect mental health differently compared to western countries. Thus, we examined the association between retirement age and depressive symptoms among South Korean retirees. MethodsWe used data from the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 Korean Retirement and Income Panel Study, including a total of 2998, 3152, 3203, 3154, and 3055 participants, respectively. We excluded those younger than 50 years, non-retirees, those without information on the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale, and those with other missing values. We used a generalized estimating equation model to identify the association between retirement age and depressive symptoms measured using the CES-D. ResultsParticipants who retired at age < 50 years had significantly higher CES-D scores (β = 1.764, P = 0.0003) compared to those who retired at age ≥ 70 years. The negative effects of early retirement on depressive symptoms were greater among male participants, heads of households, young involuntary retirees, those who retired within the past 20 years, and those who had no difficulties in activities of daily living. LimitationsSince we evaluated the association between retirement age and depressive symptoms in one direction, there is a possibility of reverse causality. ConclusionOur findings highlight the importance of managing depressive symptoms in early retirees, especially young involuntary retirees and those burdened with family care.

Medie- och informationskunnighet är mer än bara källkritik och tekniskt kunnande. Vilka behov är det som behöver mötas och hur?

The same day as the invasion of Ukraine started, the two biggest TVnews channels in Sweden and the prime minister pointed out the problem with source criticism of media and that it is difficult to know what a reliable source is and why it is very important to be critical (SVT, 2022; TV4, 2022). This article dwells on source criticism in mainly digital media within the school subject of civics, both as a problematizing text and as a discussion. The discussion has its basis in two studies. One is a study from the Swedish Schools Inspectorate that originates from an audit of the teaching of source criticism within civics classes, mainly in regards to digital media and where there is a criticism towards the content and teaching of the subject. The other study is a study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that was published in May 2021. It is a PISA study where it was noted that 15 year old pupils all over the world had difficulties in sorting facts from opinions in digital media. The Nordic Countries were ranked high, despite only around 50 percent of the pupils managing to differ between fact and opinion. The two studies are then brought up in conjunction with previous research, which mainly focuses on the teaching of source criticism within civic classes and the mediatization process that is ongoing in society, and which forms the basis for the discussion. Based on the problematization it is evident that there is a strong need to increase the knowledge of media and information among pupils, if they are to be brought up as citizens in a democracy. The three main questions are therefore, what kind of MIL do the pupils have and do the teachers in the schools have the opportunity to further their education to a required level and is it reasonable that student teachers in the subjects they are training for should also have time to educate themselves sufficiently in Media and information literacy to be able to strengthen the pupils MIK?

Improved QSAR models for PARP-1 inhibition using data balancing, interpretable machine learning, and matched molecular pair analysis.

The poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) enzyme is an important target in the treatment of breast cancer. Currently, treatment options include the drugs Olaparib, Niraparib, Rucaparib, and Talazoparib; however, these drugs can cause severe side effects including hematological toxicity and cardiotoxicity. Although in silico models for the prediction of PARP-1 activity have been developed, the drawbacks of these models include low specificity, a narrow applicability domain, and a lack of interpretability. To address these issues, a comprehensive machine learning (ML)-based quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) approach for the informed prediction of PARP-1 activity is presented. Classification models built using the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) for data balancing gave robust and predictive models based on the K-nearest neighbor algorithm (accuracy 0.86, sensitivity 0.88, specificity 0.80). Regression models were built on structurally congeneric datasets, with the models for the phthalazinone class and fused cyclic compounds giving the best performance. In accordance with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines, a mechanistic interpretation is proposed using the Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) to identify the important topological features to differentiate between PARP-1 actives and inactives. Moreover, an analysis of the PARP-1 dataset revealed the prevalence of activity cliffs, which possibly negatively impacts the model's predictive performance. Finally, a set of chemical transformation rules were extracted using the matched molecular pair analysis (MMPA) which provided mechanistic insights and can guide medicinal chemists in the design of novel PARP-1 inhibitors.

Lack of in vivo mutagenicity of carbendazim in the liver and glandular stomach of MutaMice

BackgroundCarbendazim (methyl 2-benzimidazolecarbamate, CASRN: 10605-21-7) exhibits spindle poisoning effects and is widely used as a fungicide. With respect to genotoxicity, carbendazim is deemed to be non-mutagenic in vitro, but it causes indicative DNA damage in vivo and chromosome aberrations in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we examined the mutagenicity of carbendazim in vivo.ResultsMutaMice were treated with carbendazim orally at doses of 0 (corn oil), 250, 500, and 1,000 mg/kg/day once a day for 28 days. A lacZ assay was used to determine the mutant frequency (MF) in the liver and glandular stomach of mice. MutaMice were administered up to the maximum dose recommended by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Test Guidelines for Chemicals No. 488 (OECD TG488). The lacZ MFs in the liver and glandular stomach of carbendazim-treated animals were not significantly different from those in the negative control animals. In contrast, positive control animals exhibited a significant increase in MFs in both the liver and glandular stomach.ConclusionsCarbendazim is non-mutagenic in the liver and glandular stomach of MutaMice following oral treatment.

Legal issues of transparency and disclosure in Ethiopian state-owned enterprises: a global perspective

Purpose Ethiopia has enacted laws on transparency and disclosure of information in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However, these laws are not strict enough, with the transparency and disclosure practices disappointing in the country. Thus, this study aims to investigate the legal framework governing transparency and disclosure in SOEs. Design/methodology/approach This study uses doctrinal, qualitative and comparative approaches. Domestic legal texts are appraised based on the organization for economic co-operation and development Guideline on Corporate Governance of State-owned Enterprises, the World Bank Toolkit on Corporate Governance of State-owned Enterprises and best national practices. This approach has been further corroborated by qualitative analysis of the basic principles of transparency and disclosure. Findings The finding reveals that the laws on transparency and disclosure do not comply with global practices and are inadequate to ensure transparency and discourse in SOEs. They fail to establish appropriate disclosure frameworks and practices at the SOE and state-ownership entity levels. They also indiscriminately subject enterprises to multiple auditing functions and conflicting responsibilities. Originality/value To the author’s knowledge, this study is the first legal literature on transparency and disclosure in Ethiopian SOEs. This study assists the state as owner in reforming the laws and uplifting SOEs from their current unpleasant condition. It can also become a reference for future research.

Is labour force participation independent of unemployment? A panel analysis for high-income countries

PurposeWe test the pertinence of the unemployment invariance hypothesis (UIH) for a set of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.Design/methodology/approachWe empirically investigate the nexus between unemployment and labour force participation employing structural vector autoregressive methods for panel data.FindingsWe find that shocks in unemployment produce long-lasting, negative effects on participation, testifying to a discouraged worker effect.Originality/valueOur results do not support the validity of the UIH in high-income economies. This has relevant implications for policy making and macroeconomic models.

Mental health indicators for children and adolescents in OECD countries: a scoping review.

This scoping review is a further step to build up the Mental Health Surveillance System for Germany. It summarizes and analyzes indicators used or described in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries for public mental health monitoring in children and adolescents aged 0-18 years. We searched PubMed-MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Databases, and Google Scholar from 2000 to September 2022. The search used five general keyword categories: 1) "indicators/monitoring/surveillance" at the population level, 2) "mental/psychological," 3) "health/disorders," 4) "children and adolescents," and 5) 38 OECD countries. The search was complemented with an extensive grey literature search, including OECD public health institutions and an internet search using Google. A predefined set of inclusion and exclusion criteria was applied. Over 15,500 articles and documents were screened (scientific search N = 10,539, grey literature search more than 5,000). More than 700 articles and documents have been full-text assessed, with 382 being ultimately included. Out of 7,477 indicators extracted, an initial set of 6,426 indicators met our inclusion criteria for indicators. After consolidating duplicates and similar content, this initial set was categorized into 19 topics, resulting in a final set of 210 different indicators. The analysis highlighted an increasing interest in the topic since 2008, but indicators for the younger age, particularly those aged 0 to 2 years, were less readily available. Our research provides a comprehensive understanding of the current state of mental health indicators for children and adolescents, identifying both (1) indicators of public mental health noted in a previous scoping review on adults and (2) new indicators specific to this age group. These findings contribute to the development of effective public health surveillance strategies for children and adolescents and inform future research in this field.

Housing cost burden and external causes of mortality: Variations across housing regimes in high-income countries, 2010–2020

ObjectivesWhile comparative studies reported that generous welfare state improves population health, they did not take into account the roles of housing as a cornerstone of welfare state. To reduce knowledge gaps, this study aims to estimate (a) the link between housing affordability stress and mortality rate due to external causes and (b) the moderating effects of housing regime on such association. MethodsUsing country level panel data from the databases of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), fixed effects were performed to estimate the effects of housing costs to income ratio on mortality rates due to external causes (accidents, intentional self-harm, and assault). Also, we tested whether housing regimes moderate the association between housing cost burden and mortality rate. ResultsAn increased level of housing cost burden predicted mortality rates due to accidents and intentional self-harm. Such association was pronounced for countries with higher rates of homeownership and limited access to market self-help. In addition, when homeownership rates and debt-to-income ratios are taken into account as time-varying variables, the elevated mortality risks associated with both increased housing cost burden and higher homeownership are mitigated in countries where debt relative to income increases. ConclusionOur findings suggest that different housing systems shape divergent patterns of mortality risks associated with housing affordability stress. Future studies may wish to incorporate housing in macro comparative studies on population health.

Improving Sediment Toxicity Testing for Very Hydrophobic Chemicals: Part 1-Spiking, Equilibrating, and Exposure Quantification.

Sediment toxicity tests have applications in ecological risk and chemical safety assessments. Despite the many years of experience in testing and the availability of standard protocols, sediment toxicity testing remains challenging with very hydrophobic organic chemicals (VHOCs; i.e., chemicals with a log octanol/water partition coefficient of more than 6). The challenges primarily relate to the chemicals' low aqueous solubilities and slow kinetics, due to which several experimental artifacts may occur. To investigate the potential artifacts, experiments were performed, focusing on spiking and equilibrating (aging) sediments, as well as exposure quantification with passive sampling. The results demonstrated that generally applied, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development-recommended spiking (coating) methods may lead to significant chemical losses and the formation of nondissolved, nonbioavailable VHOCs. Direct spiking appeared to be the most optimal, provided that intensive mixing was applied simultaneously. Passive dosing was tested as a novel way of spiking liquid VHOCs, but the approach proved unsuccessful. Intensive postspiking mixing during sediment equilibration for 1 to 2 weeks was shown to be essential for producing a homogeneous system, minimizing the presence of nondissolved chemical (crystals or nonaqueous phase liquids; NAPLs), and creating a stable toxicological response in subsequent toxicity tests. Finally, exposure quantification of VHOCs in sediments through passive sampling was found to be feasible with different polymers, although prolonged equilibration times may be required, and determining sampler/water partition coefficients can be extremely challenging. The results of additional experiments, focusing on toxicity test exposure duration, concentrations above which NAPLs will occur, and ways to distinguish actual toxicity from false-positive results, are presented in Part 2 of thispublication series. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1-11. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Agriculture Financing for Output Growth: A Focus on Livestock Production in Nigeria

In this study, the effect of agriculture financing such as the agricultural credit guarantee scheme fund, bank loans and advances to agriculture, and foreign aid to agriculture on livestock production was examined in Nigeria from 1981 to 2021. Annual time series data for each of the variables were obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Statistics. The method of data analysis includes descriptive statistics, a parsimonious error correction model (ECM), and diagnostic tests. Evidence of the first difference stationary processes was established from the unit root test results. This indicates that the variables are all integrated of order one, I(1). The Johansen cointegration test results show that the variables in the model have a long-run relationship. The parsimonious ECM shows that the agriculture credit guarantee scheme fund has a positive and significant effect on livestock output. The estimated parameters show that a 1% increase in the current value of the agriculture credit guarantee scheme fund leads to a 0.0244% increase in livestock output. Similarly, it was found that livestock output increased by 0.0183% following a 1% increase in the first-lag agriculture credit guarantee scheme fund. The findings highlight the importance of agriculture financing in boosting the growth of livestock production in Nigeria. The results further show that bank loans and advances, as well as foreign aid to agriculture, negatively and significantly affected livestock production. The error correction coefficient (-0.297) is negative and significant at the 5% level.

What are the main determinants of social expenditure? A panel data approach for EU and OECD countries

PurposeThe aim of this study is to analyze which socioeconomic factors (economic, demographic, and political) most commonly affect the social expenditure of the European Union (EU) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.Design/methodology/approachA panel data fixed-effects model is employed for 34 OECD and 23 EU countries between 2000 and 2020.FindingsResults indicate that, in all country groups, economic factors have the most significant influence on social expenditures, with income being the primary determinant, particularly in EU countries. The negative impacts of unemployment and inflation underscore the importance of counter-cyclical measures adopted by countries to maintain stability in their social expenditures. The most influential demographic factor is found as the old-age-dependency ratio. While the rule of law affects social expenditure positively, government effectiveness and female labor force participation affect it negatively. The positive effect of Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF) indexes shows the globalization effect, which can be attributable to the compensation hypothesis.Practical implicationsGovernments enforce inclusive and sustainable policies to boost economic activities and GDP, thus combating inflation and unemployment and regulating the labor market and socioeconomic problems about aging populations and women’s economic participation to control social expenditures. The rule of law and institutional quality will also boost economic growth.Originality/valueThis study focuses on the effects of social expenditures in a broader view within the framework of the three main factors (economic, demographic, political) and attempts to determine the key factors that account for the differences in social expenditure between the OECD and EU countries.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0384

EFFICACY OF HYDROALCOHOLIC EXTRACT OF ACORUS CALAMUS LINN. IN THE MANAGEMENT OF HYPOTHYROIDISM IN ALBINO WISTAR RATS – A REVIEW

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of hydroalcoholic extract of Acorus calamus Linn (HAEAC), in drug-induced hypothyroidism in albino Wistar rats, to prove the scientific integrity, credibility, and reliability of the concepts of the Unani system of medicine in the present era, to manage the disease with safe, low-cost, effective, and easily available drugs in the Unani system of medicine, and to compare the test drug with the standard control drug in the management of hypothyroidism. Methods: Thirty female albino Wistar rats were used in the study. The rats were divided into six groups and three animals were in each group. G1 – Control group, G2 – Negative group, G3 – Standard group, G4 – Low test dose, G5 – Medium test dose group, and G6 – High test dose group. Except control group, all the rats were given propylthiouracil (PTU)-10 mg/kg/day, oral route for 30 days to induce hypothyroidism. The HAEAC used for the study. Toxicity study was done according to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development 423 guidelines for the pilot study. Moreover, then the dose of the test drug was fixed as low dose (200 mg/kg/bw), medium dose (400 mg/kg/bw), and high dose (600 mg/kg/bw). Results: The effect of test drug Waj (HAEAC) in PTU-induced hypothyroidism, in high test dose (600 mg/kg/bw) results, shows the Mean±Standard deviation of T3 is 91.667±2.517 (p&lt;0.001), T4 is 4.700±0.200 (p&lt;0.01), and TSH is 26.033±7.061 (p&lt;0.01).

A global perspective on school leadership: Evidence from a latent class analysis on OECD TALIS data

Previous research highlighted the existence of multiple educational leadership styles; however, evidence on their multidimensional application is limited. The current study defines an innovative cross-national classification for school leaders along the two dimensions of instructional and distributed leadership. We apply a three-step Latent Class Analysis to transnationally generalizable Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Teaching and Learning International Survey 2013 data, with N = 9384 school principals surveyed across 32 countries. From here, we identify four sub-groups of leaders: integrating leaders (64.9% of the sample), who adopt instructional and distributed leadership in an integrated way, participative leaders (22.2%) and supportive leaders (8.5%), who are respectively high only on distributed or instructional leadership, and contingent leaders (4.4%), without a specific a priori leadership approach. Features specific to the principals, the schools and the school context are significantly related to leadership sub-group membership and important moderators of the correlation between types of leadership and students’ test scores, as analyzed for a subset of countries. As implications for leadership policy and practice, the cross-country prevalence of integrating leaders might increase the level of organizational complexity, while the geographical distribution of leadership classes highlights the important role played by cultural aspects in influencing leadership practices.