OECD in the news (articles by country) - L'OCDE dans les médias (articles par pays)

Australia

Economy

• OECD marks Australia top as open economy - Tim Colebatch, The Age
  06/03/2008 - An OECD study has rated Australia the most open economy in the Western world in terms of light-handed market regulation, undercutting the prominence the Rudd Government is giving to regulatory reform. (OECD report)

Education

• Coalition offers pensioners $4b poll incentives - Ben Packham and Gerard McManus, Herald Sun
  23/10/2007 - ...The debate between Mr Howard and Mr Rudd became heated a number of times, most pointedly in an exchange on an OECD report about education funding.
• Global versus nationalistic - The Sydney Morning Herald
  15/10/2007 - ...The OECD's recently released Education at a Glance report showed that in 2005 only 3.9 per cent of international students in Australia were in research programs compared with 15.7 per cent in the United States and 11.5 per cent in Britain. (OECD report)
  

Employment

• Welfare reforms 'not enough' -  David Uren, The Australian
  03/01/2008 - Disability pension recipients who are able to work at least part-time should be required to seek a job, according to the OECD.

Environment

• OECD reports set further challenges for Australia - Mary-Lou Considine, ScienceAlert
  04/05/2008 - Is Australia on the road to a sustainable future? Yes and no, depending on which of two recent reports released by the OECD you read. (OECD report)
• Water is too cheap in Australia - Peter Williams, Herald Sun
  19/03/2008 - The OECD's Environmental Performance Review of Australia says water is being wasted because it is too cheap.  It says the move would help conserve water and encourage investment in alternative supplies. (OECD report)
  

Austria

Ageing

• Pensionen: OECD-Kritik an Österreich - Die Presse
  07.06.2007 - Wer länger arbeitet, wird bestraft – System zu teuer, Reformen „dringend geboten“.
  Die „Entschärfung“ der schwarz-blauen Pensionsreform wurde erst am Mittwoch vom Nationalrat in Wien beschlossen. Nur einen Tag später kommt von der OECD  deutliche Kritik an Österreich. (OECD report)
• OECD-Rüge für die Pensionsreform - Wiener Zeitung
  07/07/2007 - Österreichs Pensionssystem ist vergleichsweise großzügig, kritisiert eine internationale Studie der OECD die gestern in Paris präsentiert wurde. (OECD report)

Education

• Hitziger Streit um Pisa-Studie - Die Presse
  19/11/2007 - Schon mehr als zwei Wochen vor ihrem Erscheinen sorgt die aktuelle Pisa-Studie für Aufruhr in der österreichischen Innenpolitik.
  

Belgium

Economy

• OECD says Belgian economic recovery looks durable - Forbes
  13/03/2007 - AFX - Belgium's economic recovery is likely to prove durable despite an expected slowdown in growth this year from the robust pace of expansion seen in 2006, the OECD said in a report on the Belgian economy. (OECD report)

Environment

• L'environnement en Belgique: bien mais peut mieux faire - Le Vif
  27/03/2007 - Belga - ...Mais les autorités ont encore à relever de nombreux défis, notamment en matière de transport et de politique climatique, relève un rapport de l'OCDE. (Rapport OCDE)
  

Brazil

• OECD countries and Brazil reach aircraft export financing deal - Forbes
  30/07/2007 - .. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria called the deal a 'breakthrough in international trade diplomacy.'

Canada

Economy

• OECD is right and wrong - Calgary Herald
  18/06/2008 - ...In contrast to the advice for the feds, the OECD advice for Alberta is sound: put much more money in the Heritage fund. Here, regrettably, Finance Minister Iris Evans is resisting. (OECD report)
• Canada urged to amass oil wealth - Heather Scoffield, The Globe and Mail
  11/06/2008 - The OECD is pushing Canada to adopt Norway's model for managing oil wealth, an approach Alberta has rejected. (OECD report)

Environment

• Speaking with one voice - Cathryn Atkinson, The Globe and Mail
  22/04/2008 - ...In a recent OECD study that examined 25 key environmental indicators, Canada ranked 28th out of 29 developed nations in its efforts to address environmental issues.
  

Chile

• Gurría cree que ingreso de Chile tardará menos de dos años - La Nacion
  08/11/2007 - Tras reunirse ayer en la Cancillería con el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, Alejandro Foxley, y de Hacienda, Andrés Velasco, el secretario general de la OCDE, Ángel Gurría dijo que "Chile es un país que está mejor preparado hoy de lo que lo estuvo México y Corea en su momento, lo cual sugiere que quizás el período puede ser más corto" que el de esos países, que demoraron dos años desde el inicio formal de su integración.

Economy

• Chile strong performer; sustaining growth over long term is a challenge - OECD - Forbes
  26/11/2007 - The OECD said Chile remains a strong performer but faces the policy challenge of sustaining productivity-driven growth over the long term through continued structural reform initiatives. (OECD report)

Fighting corruption

• Chile reitera compromiso de cumplir obligaciones sobre corrupción - El Economista
  25/10/2007 - El Gobierno de Chile reiteró hoy su compromiso de cumplir las obligaciones de la Convención para evitar la corrupción en las transacciones internacionales, tras haber sido advertido por la OCDE sobre su incumplimiento.

Innovation

• Chile 'should invest more in R&D and innovation' - María Elena Hurtado, SciDev.Net
  15/11/2007 - The review of Chilean innovation policy by the OECD was published last week. It was requested by the government in preparation for Chile's admission into the 30-strong governmental forum of mostly developed nations.
  

China

• China sees the world differently - Alan Wheatley, International Herald Tribune
  31/03/2008 - (Reuters) - ...The problem is that while China participates in a range of OECD activities, it is not a member. And Gurría, though suggesting that China might join other emerging economies in the OECD's Development Center, said Beijing had expressed no particular wish for full membership.
• OECD head says favours strong ties with China - Forbes
  25/03/2008 - OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria called for greater cooperation with China, and even suggested full membership of the organisation, although he insisted talks are not ongoing.

Education

• China earthquake brings faulty school design to the fore - Andrew C. Revkin, International Herald Tribune
  14/05/2008 - In 2004, the 30-nation OECD released a study, "Keeping Schools Safe in Earthquakes," concluding that schools "routinely" collapsed in earthquakes around the world because of avoidable design or construction errors, or because existing laws and building codes were not enforced. (OECD report)

Environment

• OECD urges China to act on pollution - Jamil Anderlini, Financial Times
  18/07/ 2007 - China's air pollution will cause 20m people a year to fall ill with respiratory diseases, the OECD  estimated yesterday. The Paris-based club of industrialised countries said China was not doing enough to combat widespread and serious environmental degradation and should "redouble efforts" to implement its laws and policies. (OECD report)
• OECD Decries China Enforcement of Environment Rules - Planet Ark
  18/07/2007 - China's efforts at environmental protection have been ineffective and inefficient largely because the central government has been unable to implement its policies, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said. (OECD report)

Science and Innovation

• Peking setzt für seine wirtschaftliche Zukunft auf Forschung - Thomas Müller, Neue Zürcher Zeitung
  27/05/2008 - ...In kaufkraftbereinigten Zahlen, wie sie die OECD publiziert, kommt China jedoch wesentlich potenter daher: Danach lag China 2005 nur knapp hinter Japan und erreichte bereits 30 Prozent der amerikanischen Forschungsausgaben.
• China needs innovation, OECD says - International Herald Tribune
  27/08/2007 - ...Better protection of patents and other intellectual property, more cooperation between the government and the private sector and reforms to foster competitive markets are among the top needs the Paris-based OECD outlined in a report issued in collaboration with China's Ministry of Science and Technology. (OECD report)
  

Czech Republic

Economy

• OECD's Gurria sees Czech inflation well-contained, 2008 GDP growth at 4.5 pct - Forbes
  24/04/2008 - ...Presenting the OECD Economic Survey of the Czech Republic in Prague today, Gurria also said inflation is well-contained thanks to persistent inflation targeting. (OECD report)
• OECD warns of complacency - Michael Heitmann, The Prague Post
  12/03/2008 - ...Temporary growth can present a danger to reform efforts, said Angel Gurría, the OECD’s secretary-general, who plans to tout the study’s recommendations for the Czech Republic during a visit late next month.
  

Denmark

Economy

• OECD: Dansk økonomi ved en skillevej - Dagbladet Børsen
  19/02/2008 - ...Det skriver OECD i en rapport, hvor organisationen for førte gang i to år har dansk økonomi som hovedemne. (OECD report)
• OECD says Denmark must give urgent attention to risk of economic overheating - Forbes
  19/02/2008 - Denmark needs to give urgent attention to avoid an overheating of its economy, the OECD said. (OECD report)

Employment

• Flexicurity secures Denmark in globalisation - Copenhagen Capacity
  03/07/2007 - The Danish people is most positive with regards to globalisation and this is mostly a result of the Danish flexicurity system.
  

European Union

Economy

• EU told to transform social security rules - John Thornhill and Scheherzade Daneshkhu, Financial Times
  25/03/2008 - Failure to address labour and product market reforms could hobble Europe for years to come even if the region can escape the worst of the US-led downturn, according to to Angel Gurría, secretary general of the OECD.

Finance

• EU leaders endorse 'necessary' defences against state funds - EurActiv
  14/03/2008 - Nevertheless, leaders insisted that Europe must remain committed to "an open investment environment," saying a voluntary code of conduct for sovereign funds should be negotiated at international level. In this respect, they reiterated the EU's "support for the ongoing work in the IMF and the OECD".
  

Finland

Economy

• OECD patistaa Suomea pikaisiin talousremontteihin - Annamari Sipilä, Helsingin Sanomat
  03/06/2008 -  OECD:n juuri julkaistu Suomi-raportti varoittaa vakavista talous- ja muista vaikeuksista, ellei Suomen hallitus ryhdy pikaisiin remontteihin. (OECD report)
• OECD varnar Finland - YLE
  03/06/2008 -  Organisationen för ekonomiskt samarbete och utveckling OECD varnar för allvarliga konsekvenser för Finlands ekonomi om regeringen inte vidtar omedelbara åtgärder. (OECD report)
• OECD cuts Finland 2008 growth forecast to 2.8 pct from 2.9, cuts 2009 to 2.3 pct - Forbes
  03/06/2008 - The OECD lowered its forecasts for Finnish economic growth, and said wage deals will lead to an acceleration in inflation. (OECD report)

Education

• Never again: a nation works to cure ills that made teenager into a killer - Roger Boyes, The Times
  05/01/2008 - ...The new scheme was designed to cut the dropout rate, apparently one of the few blemishes on a system that regularly turns out top scores in the OECD international performance surveys.
• Finnish teens score high marks in latest PISA study - Helsingin Sanomat
  04/12/2007 - The advance results from the 2006 OECD PISA survey came out on Thursday, indicating that Finnish 15-year-old secondary school pupils have once again scored high marks in a comparison of 57 countries. (OECD report)
  

France

• Is France America's new best friend? - Tom Baldwin and Charles Bremner, The Times
  14/06/2008 - ...In his speech to the OECD in Paris yesterday, Mr Bush heaped more praise on Mr Sarkozy for committing additional troops to Afghanistan and talked about America’s historic ties with France.

Economy

• La dépense qui crée la dépense - Favilla, Les Echos
  12/12/2007 - Le secrétaire général de l'OCDE, Angel Gurria, ne prend pas son rôle à la légère. Auditionné récemment par la commission Attali, il ne s'est pas contenté de répondre aux questions : il est arrivé avec un remarquable opuscule de 190 pages intitulé « Le Pari de la croissance » (consultable en ligne), qui fournit le diagnostic et le traitement de nos maux économiques dans les domaines essentiels, de l'emploi à l'efficacité de l'Etat et de l'éducation à la fiscalité.
• OECD's Gurria says France needs to go much further with economic reforms - Forbes
  22/11/2007 - OECD secretary general Angel Gurria said France needs to go much further in carrying out economic reforms if it is to achieve its full growth potential.
• Französische Wirtschaft im Aufwind - Neue Zürcher Zeitung
  29/06/2007 - ...Mit einem Steuersenkungsprogramm und Anreizen für Überstunden will Sarkozy die französische Wirtschaft weiter ankurbeln. Die OECD bewertet seine Pläne allerdings skeptisch. (OECD report)

Education

• France: Classes are enormous - Alasdair Sandford, The Guardian
  25/09/07 - ...According to the OECD, 21% of those entering university leave without any higher education qualification.
• Bac to school - The Economist
  06/09/2007 - ...Some hard questions remain. France's rigorous system suits able pupils: half of all 15-year-olds match the standards in writing, maths and science of the very best performers in the rich-country OECD.

Informations technologies

• Sarkozy proposes taxing new technology to finance the old - Katrin Bennhold and Victoria Shannon, International Herald Tribune
  09/01/2008 - ..."This could be seen as drawing on new technology to fund old technology," said Taylor Reynolds, economist at the OECD, based in Paris.

Social issues

• French illegal workers' strike puts their value to test - Celestine Bohlen, International Herald Tribune
  27/05/2008 - Bloomberg - ...These workers do jobs the French don't want to do. The hotel and restaurant industries have 35,000 to 40,000 vacancies, employers say, even though the French jobless rate is 7.8 percent, one of the highest in Europe, according to the OECD.
• The Big Question: Why are there so many strikes in France, and will the unions win? - John lichfield, The Independent
  16/11/2007 - ...France works, on average, 617 hours a year per man, woman and child, according to OECD figures, compared to 800 hours in Britain.
• France: A nation in crisis? - The Independent
  14/04/2007 - ...The British "employment rate" - ie. those adults who are in work - is 72 per cent. France's is 58 per cent. France works 617 hours per inhabitant per year, according to the OECD, compared to 800 hours in Britain, 865 in the US, 796 in Denmark.
  

Germany

Economy

• OECD sieht keinen Spielraum für Steuersenkungen - Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung
  05/06/2008 - Die OECD hält Steuersenkungen in Deutschland derzeit nicht für angebracht. „Im Augenblick sehen wir keinen Spielraum dafür“, sagte der Deutschland-Experte der Organisation für wirtschaftlichen Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (OECD), Andreas Wörgötter, am Mittwoch in Paris.(OECD report)
• OECD kritisiert angestaubtes Frauenbild - Die Welt
  09/04/2008 - Die Wirtschaftsexperten der OECD fordern von der Bundesregierung Reformen, damit der Aufschwung anhält. So soll der Staat mehr Frauen die Berufstätigkeit ermöglichen, Real- und Hauptschule zusammenlegen – und Entlassungen erleichtern. Offenbar passt der OECD der deutsche Gesellschaftsentwurf nicht. (OECD report)
• OECD prangert Deutschlands Schulsystem an - Der Spiegel
  09/04/2008 - Arbeitsmarkt, Netzindustrie und Gesundheitswesen: Will die Bundesregierung das hohe Wirtschaftswachstum halten, muss sie auf vielen Gebieten mehr tun. Dies geht aus dem neuen Wirtschaftsbericht der OECD hervor. (OECD report)
• OECD Keeps German Growth Outlook, Urges Bolder Change - Brian Parkin, Bloomberg
  09/04/2008 - The OECD kept its forecast unchanged for economic growth in Germany this year, while urging Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to be bolder in changing policy. (OECD report)
  

Education

• OECD bestraft deutsche Pisa-Forscher - Barbara Gillmann, Handelsblatt
  01/06/2008 - ...Deutsche Bildungsforscher und Bildungspolitiker werden nach Informationen des Handelsblatts vorerst bis Ende 2008 von exklusiven Vorabinformationen der Pisa-Forschung der OECD ausgeschlossen.
• Was gute Bildung kostet - WirtschaftsWoche
  22/04/2008 - ...Der in diesem April erschienene OECD-Wirtschaftsbericht listet gleich 15 Punkte auf, an denen das deutsche Bildungssystem krankt.
• Schulen sind moderner geworden - Die Welt
  06/02/2008 - Bei dem Gedanken an die Pisa-Studie wird so manchem Bildungspolitiker in Deutschland mulmig.
• Nur jeder zehnte Deutsche ist Akademiker - Die Welt
  13/01/2008 - ...Ingenieurwissenschaften ist in Deutschland im internationalen Vergleich sogar noch überdurchschnittlich hoch. Wir müssen jedoch die Abbrecherquoten, die ebenfalls hoch sind, senken und vor allem die absolute Menge der Studenten erhöhen", sagt der Leiter des Berliner OECD-Centers, Heino von Meyer.
• Die Schicksalsfrage der Nation - Walter Wüllenweber, Stern
  02/01/2008 - ...Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt auch die allerneueste Pisa-Studie.
  

Employment

• OECD gibt dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt schlechte Noten - Die Welt
  03/07/2008 - ...Unter den 30 OECD-Ländern wiesen 2007 lediglich Polen und die Slowakei noch höhere Quoten als Deutschland auf, geht aus dem Beschäftigungsausblick der OECD hervor. (OECD report)
• German Unemployment Drops to Lowest in 15 1/2 Years - Rainer Buergin, Bloomberg
  01/04/2008 - ...According to the latest comparable data from the OECD, Germany's jobless rate was 7.6 percent in January, compared with 7.8 percent in France, 3.8 percent in Japan and 4.9 percent in the U.S.

Environment

• Germany to Use Heat-Warning System to Cope With Global Warming - Jeremy van Loon, Bloomberg
  15/04/2008 - ...By 2030, the number of premature deaths worldwide caused by airborne particles will double to almost 400 per million inhabitants, while deaths from ground-level ozone, a condition worsened by higher temperatures, will quadruple, according to the Paris-based OECD.

Fighting corruption

• German corporate scandals now hit Deutsche Telekom - Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Daily Telegraph
  27/05/2008 - ...The German government has in the past seemed to wink at the use of the "black funds" to help gain export contracts abroad. It allowed companies to offset foreign bribes against tax as recently as 2000, three years after an OECD accord prohibiting bribery.

Social issues

• Abstieg von Staats wegen - Dorothea Siems, Die Welt
  20/05/2008 - ...Die OECD hatte im vergangenen Herbst ebenfallsgerügt, dass die Steuer- und Abgabenbelastung in Deutschland im unteren und mittleren Einkommensbereich Spitzenwerte erreiche.
• Mindestlohn und Marmeladenbrot - Der Spiegel
  19/05/2008 - ...Allerdings: Die Steuergesetze allein sind nicht das Problem, wie "Kalix" schreibt: "Es gibt kein Argument, das widerspricht, wenn die 'Reichen' gleich hoch oder niedrig besteuert werden, wie dies innerhalb der OECD üblich ist.

Taxation

• Germany probe casts shadow on Liechtenstein banks - Douwe Miedema, Forbes
  18/02/2008 - ...Liechtenstein, one of only three remaining countries on the OECD's blacklist of uncooperative tax havens, has been trying to burnish its reputation for years, saying its banks offered financial expertise, not ways to evade tax.
  

Greece

Economy

• Greek Prime Minister Karamanlis Wins Re-Election - Harry Papachristou, Bloomberg
  17/09/07 - ...The OECD calls the country's pension system a "fiscal time-bomb."
• Griechenlands Erfolg fehlt es an Beständigkeit - Neue Zürcher Zeitung
  30/05/2007 - Griechenland war im vergangenen Jahrzehnt eines der am schnellsten wachsenden Industrieländer (nach Irland), die der OECD angehören, und hat die Einkommenslücke zu reicheren Mitgliedern immer weiter geschlossen. (OECD report)

Hungary

Economy

• OECD calls on Hungary to stick to economic reform path -  The Earth Times
  09/04/2008 - The OECD called Thursday for Hungary to stick to economic reforms in the wake of a coalition crisis that threatens the former East Bloc nation's attempts to cut its budget deficit. (OECD report)
• Hungary falls behind Slovakia in growth as taxes rise - International Herald Tribune
  11/02/2008 - ...The OECD says Hungary should cut its high social security contributions, mainly those paid by employers, who pay over 30 percent on top of taxes and contributions paid by employees.
• Hungary should cut labour tax to boost growth-OECD - The Guardian
  21/01/2008 - Hungary should cut its social security contributions, mainly those paid by employers, in order to boost growth and employment, a tax expert at the OECD said on Monday.
  

Iceland

Economy

• Iceland may need to raise rates further - OECD - The Guardian
  27/02/2008 - Reuters - Iceland's central bank may need to raise interest rates, currently at a record high 13.75 percent, even further to bring inflation back in line with its target, the OECD said in a report on Thursday. (OECD report)
  

India

Economy

• India's growth could be even better, says OECD - Andrew Buncombe, The Independent
  10/10/2007 - India's already impressive economic growth could improve even more if it further opened its markets and relaxed government controls, according to the OECD. (OECD report)
• OECD urges more reforms to lift India’s annual growth to 10% - Ashling O’Connor, The Times
  10/10/2007 - India could sustain annual economic growth of 10 per cent by 2011 if the Government persists with market reforms, including a removal of the foreign investment cap in the insurance sector, the OECD said yesterday. (OECD report)
• OECD says India's current economic growth sustainable - International Herald Tribune
  10/10/2007 - India's current economic growth — averaging 8.5 percent annually over the past four years — appears sustainable, but the country can do even better by further opening its markets and easing government control, the OECD said Tuesday. (OECD report)
  

Ireland

Economy

• Les ombres sur la prospérité irlandaise profitent aux partisans du «non» - Nathalie Lacube, La Croix
  09/06/2008 - La somme des actifs immobilisés (usines, bureaux, sièges sociaux…) et des capitaux issus de l’investissement étranger en Irlande représente 26 fois son produit intérieur brut annuel, relève l’OCDE. (Rapport OCDE)
• Irish public sector has competitive advantage  - Public Finance 
  29/04/2008 - Ireland’s public services have ‘played a central role’ in ensuring the country’s economic success, according to a comprehensive report on the Irish public sector.The OECD published Ireland: towards an integrated public service on April 28, its first analysis of how a country’s public sector contributes to economic growth and national wellbeing. (OECD report)
• OECD calls for wage restraint to boost export performance - Paul Tansey, The Irish Times
  17/04/2008 - Wage restraint is required in the near term to improve competitiveness and to raise the economy's export performance, the OECD says in its latest economic survey of Ireland, published yesterday. (OECD report)
• Tighten your belts and work until 70 - Austin Hughes, Irish Independent
  17/04/2008 - ...What makes the OECD analysis important is that this two yearly check-up puts current concerns about the Irish economy into a broader context. (OECD report)
  

Italy

Education

• Italy embraces Silvio, again and again - The Economist
  17/04/2008 - ...Education is a mess. Italy does worse than anywhere else in western Europe in the OECD's PISA tests.
  

Economy

• L'Ocse vede nero il futuro dell'Italia: inflazione e deficit - L’Unità online
  05/06/2008 - Non è per niente ottimista sull'Italia, l'Organizzazione per la cooperazione e lo sviluppo economico, che mercoledì ha pubblicato il suo Outlook globale. Al contrario prevede un aumento del carovita, un peggioramento dei conti pubblici e una crescita dei disoccupati. (OECD report)
• L'Ocse riduce le stime del Pil in Italia - La Stampa
  04/06/2008 - L’Ocse lancia un nuovo allarme sui conti pubblici italiani. (OECD report)
• Italian Industrial Output Falls for Fourth Month - Bloomberg
  11/02/2008 - ...The OECD forecast that the euro-region will expand 1.9 percent, indicating that the Italian growth will lag behind that of the euro region for a 13th year in 2008.
  

Japan

Development assistance

• Japan falls to 5th place in OECD's 2007 ODA donor ranking - Thai News Agency
  03/04/2008 - Japan has slipped two ranks to fifth place in the list of official foreign aid donors in 2007 based on calculations by the OECD, falling at a pace faster than expected, government sources said Wednesday. (OECD report)
  

Economy

• Japan nominates new bank governor - BBC News
  07/04/2008 - Japan's economy is expected to grow by 1.6% in 2008, the OECD said on Monday. (OECD report)
• OECD projects 1.5-2.0 pct growth for Japan; urges tax reforms, cut in public debt - International Herald Tribune
  07/04/2008 - The Associated Press - ...The OECD said in its annual economic survey of Japan that the nation's expansion has been largely driven by business investment and strong export to other Asian countries. (OECD report)
• Bank of Japan Should Avoid Raising Rates, OECD Says - Keiko Ujikane, Bloomberg
  07/04/2008 - Japan's central bank should avoid raising interest rates until inflation is ``firmly positive,'' the OECD said. (OECD report)
• OECD: Japan needs reforms to stay a world economic leader - The Earth Times
  07/04/2008 - Japan needs to implement reforms to maintain its position as a leader of the world economy, the secretary general of the OECD said Monday. "Japan is still in the first class in any area, ... very resistent" to current global financial turmoil, Angel Gurria said on a visit to Tokyo. (OECD report)

Employment

• OECD: Japan Wasting Its Female Labor Power - Shu-Ching Jean Chen, Forbes
  03/07/2008 - ...The OECD made the assertion in its first report on the issue of discrimination. (OECD report)
  

Korea

• 4 OECD-Korea Centers Merge to Boost Efficiency, Synergy - Michael Ha, The Korea Times
  07/07/2008 - ...The government officially launched a research and educational center Monday that combines four existing offices working with the OECD.
• South Korea gets serious about reducing its dependence on foreign oil - Sarah J. Wachter, International Herald Tribune
  20/06/2008 - ...That has put pressure on the Korean currency, the won, which by mid-June had lost about 11 percent of its value against the dollar so far this year, adding to the pain of high oil prices, said Randall Jones, an economist at the OECD.

Luxembourg

Social issues

• Luxembourg dismisses low loo tally -  Scotsman
  08/03/2007 - ...The Paris-based OECD, a free-market body with 30 mainly rich member countries, said the figure included in a broad review of living conditions, might be wide of the mark but that its data had been supplied by Luxembourg.
  

Mexico

Competition policy

• Mexico to Begin Antitrust Probe of Slim's Companies - Adriana Arai, Bloomberg
  29/10/2007 - ...Perez Motta reiterated criticism that Telmex and Telcel rates in Mexico are among the highest within the 30 countries in the OECD. Telmex disputes the OECD figures because the study adjusts prices for the purchasing power of each country.

Economy

• Generalizar el IVA, propone la OCDE - El Financiero
  05/10/2007 - La reforma fiscal responde a la necesidad de reforzar las finanzas públicas, pero en el largo plazo México debe considerar la aplicación del IVA en bienes y servicios que ahora tienen tasa cero, planteó la OCDE. (OECD report)
• Sugiere OCDE a México mejorar eficiencia en gasto público - José Manuel Arteaga, El Universal
  04/10/2007 - Una vez que México concretó exitosamente su Reforma Fiscal, ahora debe mejorar la eficiencia del gasto público, aseguró la OCDE. (OECD report)

Education

• Ve OCDE en reforma educativa el paso a un México mejor - Nurit Martínez, El Universal
  15/05/2008 - El anuncio de la reforma educativa puede ser el paso a un nuevo México, de un México mejor, estimó el secretario general de la OCDE, José Ángel Gurría.

Social issues

• México, país de la OCDE con la tasa más alta de pobreza infantil - Patricia Munoz Rios, La Jornada
  30/08/2007 - Entre las naciones de la OCDE, México es el país con la tasa más alta de pobreza infantil, por lo que las acciones de atención a los niños en situación de calle no deben darse por medio de actos aislados, pues es necesario llegar a la conjunción de esfuerzos entre el sector público y las organizaciones sociales.

Territorial economy

• México pierde terreno en el agro ante EU - El Universal
  24/07/2007 - ...Según la OCDE, sólo 10 productos agrícolas de exportación de México representan cerca de la mitad de las ventas al exterior, pero ha habido algunos cambios en la composición de estos productos en los últimos años.

Netherlands

Economy

• Netherlands best prepared for subprime crisis - OECD - Thomson Financial
  31/01/2008 - The Netherlands is the country best prepared to weather the US subprime home loan crisis and will be least affected by the resulting global slowdown, the OECD said. (OECD report)
• OESO pleit voor versoepeling ontslagrecht - Het Financieele Dagblad
  31/01/2008 - De OESO, een organisatie van westerse landen, pleit in het jaarlijkse rapport over de Nederlandse economie voor versoepeling van ontslagrecht en verhoging van de AOW-leeftijd. (OECD report)
• OECD sees risks to Dutch growth from markets, housing - The Guardian
  31/01/2008 - (Reuters) - The Dutch economy is expected to grow above its potential rate this year and next, but faces substantial risks from turbulence on financial markets and potential house price stagnation, the OECD said on Thursday. (OECD report)
• OECD says Dutch economy strong since 2005, but faces labour shortages - Forex TV
  31/01/2008 - The OECD said the Netherlands' economic performance since 2005 has been strong, but labour shortages could impair further growth. (OECD report)

Environment

• Dutch Face Growing Pressures On Rural Land - OECD - Planet Ark
  04/06/2008 - The Netherlands will face conflicting pressures on rural land in coming years as population growth and climate change create new demands for use, according to an OECD report released on Tuesday. (OECD report)

Territorial economy

• Drohender Verkehrsinfarkt in den niederländischen Metropolen - Neue Zürcher Zeitung
  27/02/2007 - In den Niederlanden wird es immer schwieriger, sich im Ballungsgebiet Randstad fortzubewegen. Die Staus werden von Jahr zu Jahr länger, und die Kapazitäten der Bahn gehören zu den am wenigsten entwickelten in Westeuropa. Die Situation ist laut einem Bericht der OECD ernster als in anderen Ballungsräumen des Kontinents.

New Zealand

Economy

• OECD report a cause for concern - Melanie Carroll and Simon Louisson, The New Zealand Herald
  30/04/2007 - ..."What really matters is living standards are quite a lot below the OECD median and they don't seem to be catching up," said Deborah Roseveare, who heads the OECD's New Zealand desk. (OECD report)
• New Zealand Living Standards Lag - Forbes
  23/04/2007 - New Zealand's living standards lag behind those of other developed countries despite its economy being one of the most flexible and resilient after 20 years of wide-ranging reforms, the OECD said Tuesday. (OECD report)

Innovation

• Spending on the future - Anthony Scott, The New Zealand Herald
  24/09/07 - ...As the recent OECD review on New Zealand's innovation policy notes: "The most important economic challenge is to raise income per capita sustainably by boosting productivity growth." That is a research, science and technology challenge. (OECD report)

Norway

Economy

• OECD: Norwegians second richest - Rolleiv Solholm, The Norway Post
  14/01/2008 - New benchmark comparisons based on purchasing power parities (PPPs) show the level of gross domestic product per head has risen closer to the OECD average in a number of countries.

Environment

• Norway’s environmental policy in line with OECD recommendations - The Norway Post
  06/03/2008 - Norway’s environmental policy is in line with OECD recommendations. This is confirmed by the OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030, presented in Oslo Wednesday. (OECD report)
  

Poland

Economy

• OECD report shows growth in excess of 6% of Poland's GDP - Polskie Radio
  12/06/2008 - During the past two years, this country has recorded its best economic performance since the late 1990s, with growth exceeding 6% of its GDP. This data is presented in the latest OECD economic survey of Poland presented in Warsaw. (OECD report)

Portugal

Economy

• Portugal requires improved business environment, flexible labour market - OECD - Forbes
  25/06/2008 - The Portuguese economy requires an improvement in the business environment and a more flexible labour market to reap the benefits of globalisation and head toward a durable decline in unemployment, the OECD said on Wednesday in its 2008 economic survey of Portugal. (OECD report)
• Verhaltenes Lob der OECD für Portugal - Neue Zürcher Zeitung
  25/06/2008 - Die OECD attestiert Portugal Fortschritte beim Abbau des Haushaltsdefizites und lobt verschiedene Reformprojekte der Regierung. Allerdings schöpfe das Land sein Potenzial nicht aus. (OECD report)
  

Russia

• OECD invites Russia in as expansion gets under way - Rory Watson, The Times
  17/05/2007 - The OECD decided to broaden its membership yesterday by inviting Russia to join and holding out the possibility of future expansion to include emerging powerhouses such as China and India.

Economy

• Russia's Economy Looks Good From Davos - Andrew McChesney, The Moscow Times
  25/01/2008 -  ...Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the OECD, also said he saw a double standard when it came to Russia and the stabilization fund. "Why do people want to do business with Gazprom but not with a Russian sovereign wealth fund?" he said at a session Wednesday.

Slovenia

• Minister Discusses Membership, Reforms with Senior OECD Official  - Borza
  24/07/2007 - Development Minister Ziga Turk received Aart Jan de Geus, deputy secretary general of the OECD, on Tuesday, 24 July, discussing with him Slovenia's OECD accession process, the effects of OECD membership on Slovenia and key factors for the success of social reform, the Government Growth Office said in a press release.
  

Slovak Republic

Economy

• OECD tells Slovakia to continue reforms after euro - Forbes
  17/07/2008 - Reuters - Slovakia should use adoption of the euro currency in 2009 to deepen reforms that will boost competition and support economic growth, the OECD said on Thursday.
• Slovakia on track to join euro in 2009, OECD says - International Herald Tribune
  05/04/2007 - ..."Slovakia is well placed to meet the conditions for euro adoption in 2009," the Paris-based group of 30 industrialized countries said in a survey on Slovakia released during a visit of its secretary-general, Angel Gurria, to Bratislava. (OECD report)

South Africa

Economy

• State too dominant in SA’s economy — OECD - Mariam Isa, Business Day
  16/07/2008 - SA must do more to improve competition in its economy, and is giving the state too big a role in tackling the constraints to growth, the OECD has said. (OECD report)
• Growing nowhere slowly - Robert Laing, The Times
  16/07/2008 - Government policies, ranging from its reliance on state-owned monopolies to its accelerated and shared growth initiative and black economic empowerment, were roasted in the OECD’s first analysis of this country. (OECD report)
• South African Regulations, State Curbs Competition - Nasreen Seria, Bloomberg
  15/07/2008 - South African regulations on investment are restrictive and state involvement in the economy is high, undermining competition and economic growth, the OECD said. (OECD report)
• OECD report frankly assesses SA's problems - Evan Pickworth, Mail&Guardian
  16/07/2008 - The OECD secretary general, Angel Gurria, said on Tuesday that in the coming years the OECD will seek active dialogue with South Africa as an enhanced engagement partner. (OECD report)

Spain

Taxation

• Spain wants 'tax haven' Gibraltar blacklisted - Fiona Govan, Daily Telegraph
  17/03/2008 - ...Spanish authorities will this week ask the OECD to list the disputed territory as "uncooperative" because it is failing to help investigate financial corruption.

Territorial Economy

• Madrid, cuarto centro financiero mundial... por encargo - Soledad Alcaide, El Pais
  02/04/2008 - ...En la clasificación de la OCDE, que contempla las 80 ciudades más importantes del mundo, Madrid está en el número 50.
  

Sweden  

Economy

• OECD lauds Sweden's economic strength - People's Daily
  20/02/2007 - Sweden's economy is one of Europe's strongest and is set for further solid growth this year, Radio Sweden reported on Monday, quoting a report of the OECD. (OECD report)
  

Switzerland

Agriculture

• Schweiz subventioniert ihre Bauern weiter stark - Neue Zürcher Zeitung
  23/10/2007 - Die Schweiz gehört immer noch zu den Ländern mit den höchsten Subventionen für die Landwirtschaft. Das hält der jüngste OECD-Bericht zur Agrarpolitik fest. (OECD report)
  

Economy

•  Prognose für Wirtschaftswachstum im 2009 gesenkt   - Cash
  04/06/2008 - Die OECD hat ihre Prognose für das Schweizer Wirtschaftswachstum im 2009 wegen den Turbulenzen an den Finanzmärkten von 2 auf 1,4 Prozent gesenkt. Für das laufende Jahr rechnet sie weiterhin mit 2 Prozent.   (OECD report)
• L'OCDE n'est pas encore satisfaite de l'économie suisse - Swissinfo
  06/11/2007 - Malgré la solide croissance économique enregistrée en Suisse depuis 2004, l'OCDE insiste sur la nécessité d'accélérer les réformes. (Rapport OCDE)

Environment

• Engagement zu Biodiversität gefordert - St.Gallen online
  20/05/2008 - ...Dieses Ziel drohe aber verfehlt zu werden, erklärte Pro Natura und verwies auf eine Studie der OECD. (OECD report)

Turkey

Economy

• OECD calls on Turkey to stick to reform - Zaman
  18/07/2008 - ...In its latest "Economic Survey of Turkey," released yesterday as part of its biannual studies about its 30 member countries, the OECD also recommended launching more supportive structural conditions for the business sector, which is seen as the driving engine of sustainable economic growth. (OECD report)
• OECD: Turkey’s productivity, labor utilization low - Zaman
  05/03/2008 - Governments in many OECD countries have made good but uneven progress over the past 12 months in implementing economic reforms needed to improve living standards, according to the OECD’s “Going for Growth 2008” report. (OECD report)

Fighting corruption

• OECD expresses 'serious concerns' over Turkish anti-bribery efforts - Forbes
  08/01/2008 - (Thomson Financial) - The OECD said it has 'serious concerns' about Turkey's implementation of the OECD anti-bribery convention.

United Kingdom

Fighting corruption

• UK accused of 'lacking political will' to punish bribery - Haroon Siddique, The Guardian
  24/06/2008 - ...Transparency International found the UK to be "lagging" in its enforcement of the 1997 OECD.
• Woolf report into BAE throws a cloak of goodwill over an immoral trade - Carl Mortished, The Times
  04/05/2008 - ...There is an OECD convention (of which Britain is a signatory) that denounces bribery and the US Department of Justice is active in the pursuit of American executive corrupters.
• The fall guy - David Leigh, The Guardian
  18/04/2008 - ...Since then, as the OECD and other critics have pointedly reminded him, he has failed to bring a single prosecution.
• The pressure mounts on Britain to stamp out the brown-envelope culture - David Connett, The Independent
  06/04/2008 - Britain's woeful record in combating bribery and corruption is again in the spotlight after an OECD team arrived in London to examine why we are failing to bring prosecutions against UK firms accused of kickbacks and graft.

Economy

• No quick fix for escalating food prices, Alistair Darling told - Steve Hawkes, The Times
  23/05/2008 - ...An agricultural outlook compiled by the United Nations and the OECD said that prices for cereals, rice and oilseeds were forecast to be between 10 per cent to 35 per cent higher by 2017.
• CBI warns on slow UK growth as Treasury holds its breath - Gary Duncan, The Times
  26/03/2008 - ...Mr Darling will have taken particular heart from last week’s forecasts from the OECD.
• Home-grown problems - Alex Brummer, New Statesman
  08/02/2008 - ...A study by the OECD shows that between 1996 and 2007, 16 countries improved their level of public debt compared with the UK, giving them the headroom to increase spending or lower taxes to offset the threat of a slowdown.

Education

• This Government must find a new direction - Andrew Hargreaves, The Independent
  10/07/2008 - ...Last year, I took an OECD team to Finland: the world's top performer on PISA tests and in economic competitiveness.
• A poor report for inspections - The Times
  27/05/2008 - ...Next month, the OECD will publish a comparison of school leadership in 22 of the 30 developed countries within its remit.
• A beacon of excellence – or just a recipe for confusion? - Fiona MacLeod, The Scotsman
  23/04/2008 - ...A December 2007 report by the OECD backed scrapping Standard grades, saying they are low-level and have little status.
• Majority of nursery staff are poorly qualified - Rosemary Bennett, The Times
  02/04/2008 - ...Research by the OECD shows that highly qualified childcare workers are the decisive ingredient in getting children to behave well, socialise and start to learn before reaching school.

Employment

• Job shortage for unskilled youths - BBC News
  09/07/2008 - ...A report from the OECD shows worsening conditions for poorly-qualified 16 to 24 year olds. (OECD report)
• Unskilled faring worse internationally - Natasha Gilbert, The Guardian
  09/07/2008 - ...But more highly qualified young people find work than their counterparts in many other countries, says the figures in a report from the OECD, out today. (OECD report)
• OECD says UK youth prospects worsen - Andrew Taylor, The Financial Times
  09/07/2008 - ...The youth unemployment rate in the UK is higher than when Labour came to power in spite of government efforts to reduce it, according to a report by the OECD. (OECD report)
• Recession threat as UK jobs vanish - Richard Blackden, The Daily Telegraph
  07/07/2008 - ...This snapshot of the labour market follows hot on the heels of a warning from the OECD that unemployment in Britain will rise by 100,000 over the next two years. (OECD report)
• OECD: Thinktank predicts Britain's unemployment will rise by more than 100,000 - Ashley Seager, The Guardian
  03/07/2008 - Unemployment in Britain is likely to rise by more than 100,000 as a result of the credit crunch and slumping housing market, the OECD said yesterday. (OECD report)

Energy

• 'Entente nucleaire': What, why? - Richard Black, BBC News
  27/03/2008 - ..."The UK is the only country in Europe that could soon be setting up a new nuclear programme with lots of reactors," notes Luis Echavarri, director-general of the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency.

Information technologies

• Britain finally signs up to making government data free for re-use - Michael Cross, The Guardian
  26/06/2008 - ...The commitment to make public sector information free, or charge no more than the marginal cost of maintaining and distributing the extra copy, appears in the Seoul declaration for the future of the internet economy, signed in the South Korean capital last week. The UK was one of nearly 40 countries to endorse the declaration, drawn up by the OECD club of developed nations.

Social issues

• Fair wages are a fantasy in the brutal underside of Cowboy Boss Britain - Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian
  05/05/2008 - ...The OECD puts Britain second only to the US for the lowest levels of employment protection in the developed world.
  

Taxation

• Budget 2008: Labour declares war on the middle class - Iain Martin, Daily Telegraph
  13/03/2008 - ...The OECD revealed on Tuesday that British middle-class families are paying an extra £1,250 a year after enduring the sharpest rise in their tax bill of any leading Western economy in the past five years. Of course, our rivals spent the same period reducing tax burdens. (OECD report)

Territorial economy

• Country may do more good than you thought - Alan Cochrane, The Daily Telegraph
  23/02/2008 - A remarkable report from the OECD on life in rural Scotland was published this week; remarkable for the fact that few of the people who actually live in those parts of the country covered by the report would have recognised its generally positive conclusions.
  

United States

Economy

• "Deepest US housing slump" OECD warns - James Quinn, Daily Telegraph
  21/03/2008 - The United States will come to an economic standstill in the second quarter of this year as it struggles under the weight of what could prove to be the worst housing slump in history, the OECD has predicted.
• US recession looms as growth heads for zero - Gary Duncan, The Times
  21/03/2008 - The US economy is on the brink of recession, with growth grinding to a halt because of what will probably be America’s worst housing slump on record, the OECD said yesterday.
• OECD slashes US growth forecast - BBC News
  20/03/2008 - The OECD says the US economy is "moving sideways".

Informations technologies

• The Sad State of U.S. Broadband - Catherine Holahan, BusinessWeek
  22/05/2008 - ...For the second year running, the U.S. ranked 15th among the 30 members of the OECD in terms of broadband availability.
• Is the U.S. falling behind in broadband? - San Francisco Chronicle
  20/05/2008 - The OECD came out with its latest figures on broadband penetration and the situation appears to be getting worse for the U.S.