Executive Summary
The OECD assessment and recommendations on the main economic challenges faced by Belgium are available by clicking on each chapter heading below.
The policy challenge: preparing for population ageing
The OECD Economic Survey of Belgium 2005 identifies the main policy challenges that arise from population ageing and other recent and longer-term economic developments.
of special interest: Trends in working time
Putting public finances on a sustainable path
Consolidation measures should focus on expenditure restraint. Further fiscal consolidation is necessary to put public finances on a sustainable path allowing for population ageing.
Constraining public health expenditure growth
High growth in healthcare expenditures continues to pose a risk to the sustainability of public finances. Recent measures to control the level of aggregate spending should be strengthened.
Increasing the employment rate
The employment rates for older and younger workers are low and high structural unemployment rate in Wallonia and Brussels is high. Fiscal incentives for early retirement should be reduced, job-search requirements for the unemployed should be enforced and labour market barriers for younger workers should be dismantled.
of special interest: Keeping older workers in employment longer
Enhancing the economic impact of migration
The OECD Economic Survey of Belgium 2005 looks at measures to enhance the economic impact of migration in Belgium, notably by improving language capacity and increasing attachment to the labour market of foreigners from non-EU countries.
Increasing productivity growth
The OECD Economic Survey of Belgium 2005 identifies more profitable use of ICT in the finance and distribution sectors, more competition in professional services and the electricity sector, lower administrative costs for businesses, and more private contributions to tertiary education as the main reforms to increase productivity growth.
