Focus on an inclusive recovery

Education for allPeople, jobs & SMEsDigital equityWell-being dataEffective co-operationResources
Education for allPeople, jobs & SMEsDigital equityWell-being dataEffective co-operationResources
HOMEDATA INSIGHTSPolicy responses Country Policy TrackerFocus on green recoveryFocus on social challengesFocus on the global economyFocus on resilient healthcare

 

The crisis unleashed by COVID-19 is affecting every aspect of our lives, from health, jobs and education, to financial security, social relations and trust.

Poverty is rising, and people everywhere are worried about the future. The crisis has heightened social pressures and increased the inequalities that existed before COVID-19. Now is the time to intensify efforts to address these challenges.

We must continue to provide unprecedented support, to save lives and keep people working and in education. At the same time, we must prepare for an inclusive and transformative recovery together, one that puts people’s well-being at the centre.

This means:

  • Addressing inequalities in education

  • Supporting people, jobs & small businesses

  • Closing the digital divide

  • Measuring what matters in people’s lives

  • Working together on health, tax & trade

Addressing inequalities in education

The pandemic has taught us some hard lessons about the impact of school disruptions and the shift to online learning on children, especially those from families with low incomes, little education or of migrant origin.

Many vulnerable children depend on school for stability and even meals. Many are likely to lack the IT devices or parental support to make learning at home effective. For others, home is simply not a safe environment, a problem that lockdowns and school closures have exacerbated. These impacts may affect their opportunities – and even earnings – for years to come.

We must invest in education, ensuring that everyone can learn safely and effectively, whether from home or in school. And we must close the educational digital divide, so that all students and families, teachers and schools, have the skills, equipment and connectivity they need.

Supporting people, jobs & small businesses

The COVID-19 crisis has led to fall in employment and millions of jobs and businesses in once secure sectors have been hard hit, such as tourism, hospitality, retail and construction.

SMEs account for the majority of firms and jobs in OECD countries, particularly in these sectors. Many are struggling to survive the pandemic.

Workers are struggling too, in particular young people, women and low-income workers, who are among those at greatest risk of joblessness and poverty. They generally have less secure, unskilled jobs, and are more likely to work in industries and firms most affected by the crisis.

We need to provide adequate social protection to all people, as well as the necessary training for them to find work in new sectors as the recovery unfolds. We need to support viable firms and help industries develop new sectors and jobs.

Improving social dialogue and collective bargaining will also be essential in supporting people and firms today and in laying the foundations for the inclusive and sustainable jobs of tomorrow.

Young people and women hit hard by jobs crisis, August 2020

Closing the digital divide

Digital technologies have become a cornerstone of today’s global economy. The COVID-19 crisis is heightening our dependency on them, for school, work and leisure.

Distance learning, working from home, and online shopping have all surged, yet many regions, businesses and households still face poor connectivity. This affects access to essential services, like healthcare and education, and to jobs.

We must step up reform and investment in digital infrastructure and access to online services. Firms will need a boost too, especially SMEs that lag behind in adopting digital technologies and shifting operations on line.

This also applies to developing countries, where digital technologies can transform knowledge sharing, spur trade and integration in global markets, and strengthen public administrations.

Measuring what matters in people's lives

Today’s crisis has amplified our need for new ways to measure inclusiveness and well-being. And reaching the Sustainable Development Goals, to which all countries have committed, relies on it.

Traditional growth indicators based on what countries produce and what they spend too often do not capture what matters most in people’s lives, like the quality of their workplaces and jobs, how healthy the environment is, or their trust in government and their fellow citizens.

New measurements are important for economic performance too, as widening inequalities can undermine growth. We need to put people’s well-being at the top of the agenda and to listen to what people tell us about what matters most to them. It is crucial to monitor how well we are doing in reducing poverty, bridging social divides and building a recovery that includes everyone.

More than 100 000 users of the Better Life Index around the world have shared their views on what makes for a better life. Explore the interactive map and find out what well-being topics are rated highest and where.

Build your BLI

Working together on health, tax & trade

Co-operation is the key to a transformative and inclusive recovery for communities, cities, regions and countries, firms and social partners alike – and our way out of this crisis.

Drawing on the lessons learned during the 2008 financial crisis, it is only by gathering and analysing data, facts and viewpoints, and by learning from each other, that we can overcome the COVID crisis and build a better future, together.

From finding and distributing treatments and vaccines, to keeping trade flowing and our economies moving, and ensuring tax rules benefit all countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has made international co-operation among all countries and regions more important than ever.

Browse all related resources

In order to help countries build back better, this collection presents OECD analysis and data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and what will be needed to achieve a truly resilient and inclusive recovery. It focuses on inequalities and on what matters for well-being across a range of domains: education, jobs, business and finance, digitalisation, health, tax, trade and more.

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19/01/2021
Report
Africa’s Development Dynamics 2021
Africa’s Development Dynamics uses lessons learned in the continent’s five regions – Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa – to develop policy recommendations and share good practices. Drawing on the most recent statistics, this analysis of development dynamics attempts to help African leaders reach the targets of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 at all levels: continental, regional, national and local.The 2021 edition, now published at the beginning of the year, explores how digitalisation can create quality jobs and contribute to achieving Agenda 2063, thereby making African economies more resilient to the global recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report targets four main policy areas for Africa’s digital transformation: bridging the digital divide; supporting local innovation; empowering own-account workers; and harmonising, implementing and monitoring digital strategies. This edition includes a new chapter examining how to finance Africa’s development despite the 2020 global economic crisis.Africa’s Development Dynamics feeds into a policy debate between the African Union’s governments, citizens, entrepreneurs and researchers. It aims to be part of a new collaboration between countries and regions, which focuses on mutual learning and the preservation of common goods. This report results from a partnership between the African Union Commission and the OECD Development Centre.
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11/01/2021
Report
Making Better Policies for Food Systems
Food systems around the world face a triple challenge: providing food security and nutrition for a growing global population; supporting livelihoods for those working along the food supply chain; and contributing to environmental sustainability. Better policies hold tremendous promise for making progress in these domains. This report focuses on three questions. What has been the performance of food systems to date, and what role did policies play? How can policy makers design coherent policies across the triple challenge? And how can policy makers deal with frictions related to facts, interests, and values, which often complicate the task of achieving better policies? Better policies will require breaking down silos between agriculture, health, and environmental policies, and overcoming knowledge gaps, resistance from interest groups, and differing values. Robust, inclusive, evidence-based processes are thus essential to making better policies for food systems.
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22/12/2020
Report
Development Co-operation Report 2020
The devastating impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) on developing countries have tested the limits, ingenuity and flexibility of development co-operation while also uncovering best practices. This 58th edition of the Development Co-operation Report draws out early insights from leaders, OECD members, experts and civil society on the implications of coronavirus (COVID-19) for global solidarity and international co-operation for development in 2021 and beyond. The report suggests ways forward for the international development community as a whole for bold action and systemic reform to build resilient national and international systems capable of coping with global shocks, and providing and protecting global public goods while reinforcing the fundamental building blocks for sustainable development. The annual “development co-operation at a glance” infographics showcase the latest trends in development finance for over 80 providers of development co-operation, including members of the OECD, the Development Assistance Committee, other countries and philanthropic foundations.
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16/12/2020
Report
Blended Finance in the Least Developed Countries 2020
The least developed countries (LDCs) are the furthest from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are also likely to be hit the hardest by the COVID-19 crisis and badly need the additional private finance that blended finance can unlock. Yet evidence shows that too little private finance is mobilised for investment in LDCs. How can this be fixed?The Blended Finance in the Least Developed Countries 2020 report is the third edition and second joint UNCDF-OECD report. It builds on UNCDF research and transactional experience, OECD data and analysis on private finance mobilized by official development finance, and a series consultations with and contributions by blended finance experts, LDC governments, UN missions, donors, civil society and research institutions. The report provides an update on the deployment of blended finance in LDCs. It also analyses its potential role in helping those countries recover from the COVID-19 crisis, and provides an Action Agenda for unlocking capital for the achievement of the SDGs in LDCs, as called for in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
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16/12/2020
Report
Promoting an Age-Inclusive Workforce
All OECD economies are undergoing rapid population ageing, leading to more age diversity in workplaces than ever before as people are not only living longer but working longer. Greater diversity of experience, generations and skills gives employers an important opportunity to harness the talent that different age groups bring to the workplace and improve productivity and profitability. What can employers do to maximise the benefits of a multigenerational workforce? This report presents a business case for embracing greater age diversity at the workplace and debunks several myths about generational differences in work performance, attitudes and motivations towards work. It points to key employer policies and offers practical examples in three key areas to support and promote an age-inclusive workforce. This includes designing and putting in place all-age and life-stage policies covering the full span of workers careers through best practice in recruitment, retention and retirement, as well as the promotion of life-long learning and good health at work.
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15/12/2020
Report
Lessons for Education from COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken long-accepted beliefs about education, showing that learning can occur anywhere, at any time, and that education systems are not too heavy to move. When surveyed in May 2020, only around one-fifth of OECD education systems aimed to reinstate the status quo. Policy makers must therefore maintain the momentum of collective emergency action to drive education into a new and better normal. This Handbook provides practical guidance to support them to do just that. It presents the current state-of-play in over 40 education systems, and efforts to improve pedagogical practices in the midst of the pandemic. It proposes three key lessons and related policy pointers for the current academic term and beyond. Drawing on concrete examples of COVID-19 policy responses from primary to tertiary, as well as impactful pre-crisis policies, it addresses the policy areas of flexible learning, educator skills, and student equity. The Handbook has been prepared with evidence from the Education Policy Outlook series – the OECD’s analytical observatory of education policy. As such, it benefits from a decade of policy analysis, outcomes from the Education Policy Reform Dialogues 2020, and the development of an actionable Framework for Responsiveness and Resilience in education.
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14/12/2020
Policy response
Rebuilding tourism for the future: COVID-19 policy responses and recovery
The outlook for the tourism sector remains highly uncertain. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to hit hard, with international tourism expected to decrease by around 80% in 2020. Domestic tourism is helping to soften the blow, at least partially, and governments have taken impressive immediate action to restore and re-activate the sector, while protecting jobs and businesses. Many countries are also now developing measures to build a more resilient tourism economy post COVID-19. These include preparing plans to support the sustainable recovery of tourism, promoting the digital transition and move to a greener tourism system, and rethinking tourism for the future. Rebuilding tourism for the future.
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11/12/2020
Report
Transport Bridging Divides
Transport connects people, places and cities. Investment in transport infrastructure therefore helps bridging economic and social divides. It promotes economic growth and catching up of regions by providing access to jobs for workers and markets for firms. This report summarises evidence on the benefits of transport investment for economic growth and job creation and thereby for catching up in OECD regions. Beyond economic divides, the report consider inequality in access to opportunities using the EC-ITF-OECD Urban Access Framework. It considers how transport can bridge social divides by taking a closer look at accessibility within OECD cities (functional urban areas). Cities differ greatly in their ability to provide inclusive access to opportunities across more affluent and poorer neighbourhoods. To bridge divides, the report highlights the need to go beyond transport infrastructure investment and consider wider urban planning, as well as complementary measures in regions.
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30/11/2020
Report
OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2020
Regions and Cities at a Glance 2020 provides a comprehensive assessment of how regions and cities across the OECD are progressing towards stronger, more sustainable and more resilient economies and societies. The publication provides a unique comparative picture in a number of aspects connected to economic development, health, well-being and net zero-carbon transition across regions and cities in OECD and selected non-OECD countries. In the light of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the report analyses outcomes and drivers of social, economic and environmental resilience.This edition provides several new features. First, an extended set of health-related indicators, including excess mortality, morbidity rates, and air quality. Second, novel indicators on the potential of regions and cities to remote working, as well as on trade openness and access to digital infrastructure enrich the economic chapter. Third, the report offers a number of new climate-and environment-related indicators, including on sustainable electricity production and related carbon emissions. The report shows population trends in over nine thousands cities and metropolitan areas across the entire world. Finally, the last chapter presents new indicators on spending and revenues capacity of regional governments in OECD countries.
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27/11/2020
Report
OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2020
The OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2020 examines trends and analyses emerging opportunities and challenges in the digital economy. It highlights how OECD countries and partner economies are taking advantage of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet to meet their public policy objectives. Through comparative evidence, it informs policy makers of regulatory practices and policy options to help maximise the potential of the digital economy as a driver for innovation and inclusive growth.This third edition of the OECD Digital Economy Outlook provides a holistic overview of converging trends, policy developments and data on both the supply and demand sides of the digital economy. It illustrates how the digital transformation is affecting economies and societies. Finally, it provides a special focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic is amplifying opportunities and challenges from the digital transformation.
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23/11/2020
Report
Job Creation and Local Economic Development 2020
The impact of COVID-19 on local jobs and workers dwarfs those of the 2008 global financial crisis. The 2020 edition of Job Creation and Local Economic Development considers the short-term impacts on local labour markets as well as the longer-term implications for local development. Chapter 1 explores the immediate local employment impacts of the crisis, the divides within and across local labour markets even prior to the pandemic, and the likely diverging recovery patterns. Chapter 2 considers the underlying trends that COVID-19 will accelerate (digitalisation, the automation of jobs and polarisation of skill profiles; a transition to greener jobs) or slow down (reconfigured global supply chains, concentration of the high skilled in largest cities). Chapter 3 explores local action in the recovery. It highlights the strategies to strengthen local employment services and training providers to meet the increased demand for job placement and skills upgrading, particularly for the most disadvantaged workers (youth, low-skilled, women) or business development to serve the hardest hit firms and sectors (tourism, culture, hospitality). It also considers strategies and tools to “rebuild better” by rethinking local development futures, taking advantage of the changing geography of jobs due to remote working or other opportunities such as the social economy. Individual country profiles are available online.
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23/11/2020
Policy response
Building a coherent response for a sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery
The world is facing an unprecedented multidimensional crisis that demands coherent policy responses. The COVID-19 crisis has further highlighted the vulnerability of several of our basic systems, including healthcare, social protection, education, value chains, production networks, financial markets, mass transit systems and ecosystems. This makes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) even more relevant today as they aim to transform the systemic conditions that perpetuate the vulnerabilities of our societies and economies. Yet, the human, social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may reverse the progress made in achieving the SDGs. As such, sustainable recovery, aligned with the SDGs, requires cross-sectoral actions and mechanisms to manage unavoidable trade-offs between short and long-term priorities, and between economic, social and environmental policy goals. This brief presents a policy coherence roadmap to support governments in ensuring a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis that does not come at the expense of progress towards the SDGs.
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19/11/2020
Policy response
The impact of COVID-19 on student equity and inclusion: Supporting vulnerable students during school closures and school re-openings
A holistic approach to education – that addresses students’ learning, social and emotional needs – is crucial, especially in times of crisis. School closures related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic mean that students from diverse backgrounds who are more at risk of increased vulnerability are less likely to receive the support and extra services they need, and the gap between students that experience additional barriers and that do not might widen. Closures can also have considerable effects on students’ sense of belonging to schools and their feelings of self-worth – these are key for inclusion in education.This Policy Brief describes OECD Member Countries’ initiatives to address the different needs of vulnerable students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond school closures, it also examines the issue of school re-openings by presenting countries’ current measures and providing policy pointers aimed to ensure that the pandemic does not further hinder the inclusion of vulnerable students in education systems.
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18/11/2020
Policy response
Getting goods across borders in times of COVID-19
This note updates Trade facilitation and the COVID-19 pandemic from April 2020 with insights into the evolution of new border protocols and trade facilitation measures impacting traders since COVID-19 and exploring what more can be done to prepare for the next stages of the pandemic as uncertainty persists. It highlights the importance of transparency and availability of timely trade-related information in mapping bottlenecks and risks, as well as the importance of trade facilitation measures in supporting business recovery and resilience across different goods sectors. Finally, it provides some preliminary insights for trade facilitation with respect to the distribution of vaccines.
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17/11/2020
Paper
Exploring policy options on teleworking
This paper explores and classifies some of the most common policy options adopted by national, regional and local policy makers in the context of or prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to enable, encourage and make the most of teleworking. It also considers efforts to foster the attraction and retention of remote workers and entrepreneurs in particular places. The current crisis represents, among other things, a mass experiment in teleworking, unprecedented in size and scope. A shift towards large-scale, long-lasting teleworking would have profound implications for the geography of local employment. However, SMEs may be less equipped than larger firms to face this change. Public policy can play an important role in turning teleworking into an opportunity for all, to minimise the potential of widening pre-existing disparities between people, places and firms.
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09/11/2020
Report
Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development 2021
The Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development 2021 calls for collective action to address both the short-term collapse in resources of developing countries as well as long-term strategies to build back better following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The financing gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries was estimated at several trillions of dollars annually before the pandemic. The report demonstrates that progress to leave no one behind has since reversed, and the international community faces unprecedented challenges to implement the holistic financing strategy set out in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA). The report finds that trillions of dollars in financial assets held by asset managers, banks and institutional investors are contributing to inequalities and unsustainable practices. It highlights the need to enhance the quality of financing through better incentives, accountability and transparency mechanisms, integrating the long-term risks of climate change, global health, and other non-financial factors into investment decisions. The report concludes with a plan of action for all actors to work jointly to reduce market failures in the global financial system and to seize opportunities to align financing in support of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
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06/11/2020
Report
Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised by Developed Countries in 2013-18
This report is an update with 2018 figures to the previous publication Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised by Developed Countries in 2013-17. It provides insights on the evolution of the following four components of climate finance over the period of 2013-2018: bilateral public climate finance, multilateral climate finance (attributed to developed countries), climate-related officially supported export credits, and private finance mobilised by developed countries public finance interventions. Building on past work, the report deepens the analysis by providing not only aggregate figures but also a further breakdown in terms of recipients and characteristics of climate finance commitments.
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26/10/2020
Report
Multilateral Development Finance 2020
As the “Decade of Action” begins, the world needs an effective multilateral development finance system to deliver on the promises of the 2030 Agenda and support the recovery of developing countries from the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Even before the crisis, the system, torn between high expectations and growing criticism of its perceived lack of accountability and effectiveness, was showing signs of stress.This report looks at recent trends in the multilateral development system in order to provide the clearest possible picture to those deciding on its future. It presents the evolution of multilateral inflows and outflows, and analyses the strategic implications of the contributions by members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The report looks at the activities that multilateral organisations finance, and explores their respective strengths. This year’s edition is supplemented by a series of policy briefs, as well as online statistics on DAC members’ multilateral contributions, available in the Development Co-operation Profiles.
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22/10/2020
Paper
Do all students have equal opportunities to learn global and intercultural skills at school?
Many education systems seek to create an open, diverse and tolerant society, as education can play a significant role in countering racial, ethnic and national prejudice among children and adolescents. Education for living in an interconnected and diverse world could also contribute to forming generations of citizens who care about global and intercultural issues and who are able and willing to take action for sustainable development and collective well-being.In its 2018 assessment, PISA assessed the competences needed to live in an interconnected and diverse world. Global competence is defined in PISA 2018 as a multi-dimensional capacity that encompasses the ability to: 1) examine issues of local, global and cultural significance; 2) understand and appreciate the perspectives and worldviews of others; 3) engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions across cultures; and 4) take action for collective well-being and sustainable development. This PISA in Focus examines the equity of the learning opportunities for global and intercultural skills.
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22/10/2020
Report
Governance for Youth, Trust and Intergenerational Justice
Global transformations – from population ageing to digitalisation, rising inequalities and climate change – have created profound uncertainties for young people and future generations, despite unprecedented access to information, education and technology. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing challenges in youth’s mental well-being and employment, while raising concerns about the sustainability of public finances.This report provides the first comparative assessment of the policies, laws, institutional capacities and governance tools put in place by 42 national governments and the European Union to promote youth empowerment and intergenerational justice. It sets benchmarks for cross-country comparisons in three main areas: 1) Supporting youth’s transition to an autonomous life, 2) Enhancing youth’s participation and representation in public life as well as trust in government, and 3) Delivering fair policy outcomes for all generations. Finally, it provides practical insights for policy makers, civil society and young people seeking to build a present and future that leaves no generation behind.
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