Hot Topics

Agriculture and trade
www.oecd.org/agriculture

• Trade: protectionism won't solve the crisis (video)
  Ken Ash, Director for Trade warns against protectionism as a reaction to the crisis. He outlines the course of action governments should follow.
• Rising agricultural prices: causes, consequences and responses (pdf 0.18Mb)
  Issues explored includes the causes of the current spike in food prices, what it may mean for prices in the future and how governments can craft policies to cope.
  11/09/2008
• Farm policy reform urgent amid rising world food prices
  The rise in global food prices has made further reform of market-distorting farm policies all the more urgent, says new report.
  26/06/2008
• Aid, development and policy reforms needed to lessen impact of high food prices (pdf 0.25Mb)
  What has caused the recent sharp rises in world food prices? What will be the impact on the poor?
  16/06/2008
• The rising cost of food - Financial Times
  News articles, analysis and interactive features on rising food prices and their impact.
• Rising food prices and developing countries
  "We must engage our knowledge and inventiveness to help the most vulnerable countries in addressing their long-term food security issues, while turning their agricultural sectors, where possible, into genuine engines of development," said Secretary-General Angel Gurría in a speech in Paris.
  21/05/2008
• Trade agreement needed now - article by Angel Gurria - International Herald Tribune
  Governments around the world face weakening economies and soaring food prices.
  26/04/2008 

Climate change and the environment
www.oecd.org/env/cc

• Climate change - the need to act now
  Why an ambitious and comprehensive strategy to curb greenhouse gas is economically rational but postponing tough decisions is short-sighted.
  28/11/2008
• Water for All: A Matter of Good Governance - The OECD Perspective
  Speech by Secretary-General Angel Gurría on the challenge of managing and securing access to water and sanitation for all.
  01/09/2008
• Economics of climate change
  Speech by Secretary-General Angel Gurría on the economics of climate change at Chatham House, UK.
  30/06/2008
• 2008 Environmental Outlook - how much will it cost to address today's key environmental problems?
  Solutions to the key environmental challenges are available, achievable and affordable, especially when compared to the expected economic growth and the costs and consequences of inaction.
  05/03/2008
• Tackling climate change
  Secretary-General Angel Gurría on the need for action.
  22/04/2008
• Science of climate change - Financial Times 
  News articles, analysis and interactive features on the science of climate change.
• Climate change and flooding
  The impact of climate change and urban development could more than triple the number of people around the world exposed to coastal flooding by 2070.

Corruption
www.oecd.org/corruption

• OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions
  Information on the Convention, country monitoring reports and more.
• The need for action (video)
  Ten years after the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention entered into force, OECD legal expert Nicola Bonucci talks about its impact and the challenges ahead in the fight against corruption.
• Mixed messages on fighting foreign bribery, says Transparency International
  A new report on corruption says fewer than half the countries that have signed the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention are taking steps to stamp it out.
  24/06/2008
• OECD work on corruption (video)
  Why fighting corruption is vital for economic and social development.

Development and Africa
www.oecd.org/development

• Development Co-operation Report 2009
  Donors promised to increase funding by some USD 50 billion a year by 2010 compared with 2004, but OECD studies of their budget allocations find a shortfall of some USD 30 billion, and donors must boost their forward spending plans.
  18/02/2009
• OECD calls for Aid Pledge from donor countries
  Secretary-General Angel Gurría and the Development Assistance Committee Chair Eckhard Deutscher have issued a call to the world’s main aid donor countries to stand by their development pledges despite the economic slowdown.
  30/10/2008
• African Economic Outlook 2008
  Africa’s average real GDP grew by 5.7 per cent in 2007 and is expected to rise to about 6 per cent in 2008 and in 2009.
  13/05/2008
• Policy Framework for Investment
  Helping to create an environment that is attractive to domestic and foreign investors and that enhances the benefits of investment to society.
• More OECD work with Africa

Financial crisis
www.oecd.org/crisisresponse

• Global downturn - tackling the crisis
  Reports, analysis and data on the OECD's work to tackle the crisis.
• G20 summit and beyond
  Key OECD data, analysis and recommendations submitted to the G20 in view of the summit, as well as back up references on the economic outlook and international policy instruments and standards, are available online. So are the G20 documents that mention OECD work.
• Private pensions and policy responses to the crisis
  The value of assets held by private pensions funds fell 20% in 2008. This working paper assesses the changes made to private pensions systems since the crisis and makes recommendations for strengthening them.
  21/04/2009
• GDP to plummet 4.3 percent across OECD countries in 2009 as unemployment climbs sharply
  Economic activity is expected to plummet by an average 4.3 percent in the OECD area in 2009 while by the end of 2010 unemployment rates in many countries will reach double figures for the first time since the early 1990s, according to the OECD’s Economic Outlook Interim Report.
  30/03/2009
• Stimulus measures - an overview
  Details of fiscal stimulus packages implemented by OECD countries, including comparisons of their size and impact on tax and spending programmes.
  31/03/2009
• Resist investment protectionism, countries meeting at OECD agree
  Countries participating in a “Freedom of Investment” initiative, which together represent four fifths of the world economy, have pledged to resist discriminatory policies and new forms of protectionism towards investment in the context of the global economic crisis and to continue to monitor measures and commitments.
  30/03/2009 
• Strong competition policy needed to speed recovery
  Governments must resist protectionism and keep markets open to competition as they seek ways to get their economies going again, according to Secretary-General Angel Gurría.
• Fundamentals of global governance: what are the challenges ahead?
  International organisations should more closely together to help build a stronger, cleaner, fairer global economy.
  05/02/2009
• Business ethics and OECD principles: What can be done to avoid another crisis?
  Secretary-General Angel Gurría on why business ethics must be at the center of any new road-map for the global economy.
  22/01/2009
• Banking regulations must be strengthened
  Governments and policy makers must address major failings in risk management, corporate governance and bonus schemes in the financial sector.
  09/01/2009
• OECD’s Gurría launches drive to raise corporate governance standards
  Good corporate governance is one of the keys to healthy financial markets in today’s globalised economy. Amid current market turmoil, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría has called for a new drive to raise standards and performance in this area.
  25/09/2008
• Reform of financial markets
  Fundamental reform of the financial system and its regulation is needed to address the issues highlighted by the current financial markets crisis.
  15/04/2008

Globalisation, education and employment

• Massive rise in unemployment needs fast, decisive response, says OECD’s Gurria
  “Governments need to take quick and decisive action to avoid the financial crisis becoming a fully-blown social crisis with scarring effects on vulnerable workers and low income households,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría told G8 Labour and Employment Ministers in Rome.
  30/03/2009
• Strategic options to finance pensions and healthcare in a rapidly ageing world
  The financial crisis is severely testing the soundness of pension and health care systems in OECD countries and many are not passing the test. At the World Economic Forum, Secretary-General Angel Gurría urged policy makers to act.
  30/01/2009
• Income inequality and poverty rising in most OECD countries
  The gap between rich and poor has grown in more than three-quarters of OECD countries over the past two decades, according to new report "Growing Unequal?".
  21/10/2008
• Tailor immigration policies to future needs
  OECD countries should adapt their labour migration policies more closely to likely future demand for workers in all areas of their economies, opening up to lower-skilled workers as well as to those with high skills, according to OECD's International Migration Outlook 2008.
  10/09/2008
• Soaring student numbers pose funding and quality challenges for universities
  Education at a Glance 2008 shows that with more and more high-school graduates going on to university, governments face tough decisions on funding and quality standards to ensure that their education systems respond adequately to booming demand for degrees.
  09/09/2008
• Labour market discrimination still a big problem in OECD countries
  Women are 20% less likely than men to have a paid job in OECD countries and they earn on average 17% less than men, according to the latest edition of OECD’s Employment Outlook.
  02/07/2008
• Workers of the world on the move - Financial Times
  Articles and interactive map on the growth of the global jobs market.
  24/06/2008
• Embracing globalisation in the 21st century: a dialogue on the Nordic approach
  Secretary-General Angel Gurría talks about the lessons to be learnt from the Nordic approach to globalisation.
  21/05/2008
• Benefits and Wages 2007
  Faced with labour shortages and pressures on pension funding due to ageing populations, one in three OECD countries has cut unemployment benefits in the last six years with a view to encouraging unemployed people to find jobs.
  13/12/2007

Innovation and the Internet economy
www.oecd.org/sti

• Sustainable Manufacturing and Eco-innovation: Towards a Green Economy
  The economic crisis and negotiations to tackle climate change should be seen as an opportunity to shift to a greener economy, according to this report.
  08/06/2009 
• Tough year ahead for IT industry, warns OECD
  The economic downturn will hit the Internet economy hard in 2009, according to the IT Outlook 2008.
  22/12/2008
• Open innovation in global networks
  Analysis on the changing nature of global innovation, including cross-border R&D co-operation and the importance of intellectual property rights.
  13/10/2008 
• Global competition for talent
  Report on impact of increasing migration of highly-skilled workers, with a focus on researchers and scientists.
  10/10/2008 
• OECD ministers agree to make Internet safer, more widely used - Agence France Presse
  Ministers and officials from leading industrial nations agreed Wednesday to make the Internet safer and more accessible, to strengthen its role as a driving force in the global economy.
  18/06/2008
• OECD proposes roadmap for the future of the Internet economy
  OECD is to work with developed and developing countries and international organisations to improve policies for the Internet economy and increase international co-operation on issues such as cybercrime and security.
  18/06/2008
• OECD broadband up 18% in 2007 but new report says more could be done
  Governments need to promote competition and give consumers more choices. They should encourage new networks, particularly upgrades to fibre-optic lines.
  19/05/2008
• Governments and business must tackle Internet address shortage together
  Governments and business must work together more effectively and urgently to meet the growing demand for Internet addresses and secure the future of the Internet economy.
  15/05/2008
• Economic and social impact of Internet in developing countries
  Where will the next billion Internet users will come from and what impact will they have on the Internet as we know it today? Read the online debate held on this issue here.
  14/02/2008

Tax
www.oecd.org/tax

• Tax evasion - an overview
  Reports, analysis, video interviews and frequently asked questions on OECD work on tax evasion.
• Bermuda signs eight new tax information agreements 
  Bermuda has signed 8 new tax information exchange agreements, with 7 Nordic economies – Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands, and with New Zealand, bringing to 11 the number of such agreements it has entered into.
  17/04/2009
• Four more countries commit to OECD tax standards
  At a press conference in Paris held jointly with the EU’s Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, László Kovács, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed commitments to the internationally agreed standard on exchange of information for tax purposes by Costa Rica, Malaysia, Philippines and Uruguay and commented on the OECD’s ongoing drive to combat tax evasion.
  07/04/2009
• Following G20 OECD delivers on tax pledge
  Following the G20 meeting and communiqué, the OECD Secretariat has provided a detailed report on progress by financial centres around the world towards implementation of an internationally agreed standard on exchange of information for tax purposes.
  02/04/2009
• European G-20 nations seeking a crackdown on tax havens - Bloomberg
  European leaders said they will crack down on tax havens as they seek to boost transparency and apply uniform rules governing financial markets to stem the global crisis.
  22/02/2009
• Mobilising resources for development?
  Governments should crack down on tax evasion to raise tax revenues as part of broader efforts to help maintain the flow of aid to developing countries during the global economic downturn, according to Secretary-General Angel Gurría.
  01/12/2008
• Fighting offshore tax evasion (video)
  Grace Perez-Navarro, deputy-director of OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, addresses harmful tax practices, including tax havens, by improving transparency and establishing effective exchange of information.
• Denmark, Sweden still the highest-tax OECD countries
  Denmark is confirmed as the OECD’s highest-tax country, followed by Sweden, while Mexico and Turkey remain the lowest-taxing countries, according to figures in the latest edition of Revenue Statistics.
  15/10/2008

See also:

• Topics: the complete list of key areas of work of the Organisation
• Index: an alphabetical list of topics, resources, key documents and publications.
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