The global economic crisis is entering a new phase amid signs of a return to positive growth in many countries. But unemployment is likely to remain high and much still needs to be done to underpin a durable recovery. The OECD is working with the world’s governments and other organisations to get economies moving again.
Following the Pittsburgh G20 Summit, OECD Employment Ministers met to discuss ways to help workers and low income households weather the storm of the crisis.
Ministers from 40 countries, representing 80% of the world economy, discussed the crisis at the OECD's annual ministerial meeting in June, ahead of the G8 Summit. OECD countries and other leading economies are looking to "Green growth" as the way forward out of the current crisis, opening up new prospects for climate-change negotiations ahead of the 15th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15) in Copenhagen in December.
Tax evasion
The global economic crisis and recent tax evasion scandals have spurred calls for fairness and transparency of the tax system. Removing practices that facilitate tax evasion is part of a broader drive to clean up one of the more controversial sides of a globalised economy. The OECD advocates exchange of information between tax authorities on request in cases of specific tax inquiries to better equip tax authorities to tackle tax evasion.
To be sustainable and equitable, growth must also be supported by good governance, with strong coordinated initiatives to promote corporate responsibility and financial education, fight bribery and corruption, promote transparency and ethics in business and government, and a clean and level playing field for investment.
The key to restoring long-term growth is our ability to innovate. By investing smart, governments can buffer the downturn, accelerate recovery and lay the foundation for strong and sustainable growth.
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