One of the purposes of OECD is to promote policies "to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy".

To achieve these aims it is necessary to ensure that scarce resources are employed where they make the greatest contributions to current and future economic activities, that longer-term threats are dealt with in a timely and orderly manner, and that market failures are appropriately corrected.

The Economics Department has extensively analysed the conditions in which Member countries are likely to acheive the highest economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living. It has examined how the incentives embedded in current policies influence resource mobilisation and allocation, and how efficiently resources are employed.

The areas studied by the Economics Department include labour markets, regulatory reforms, ageing, environment and sustainable development, human capital, international trade and investment, and health.