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

Australia | Austria | Belgium | Brazil | Canada |  Chile | China I Czech Republic | Denmark | European Union | Finland | France | Germany I Greece | Hungary | Iceland | India | Indonesia | Ireland | Israel | Italy | Japan | Korea I Luxembourg | Mexico | Netherlands | New Zealand | Norway | Poland | Portugal I Russia | Slovak Republic | South Africa I Spain I Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey I United Kingdom | United States

 

 

Australia

Economy

  • Angel of OECD approves bank rescue - Marc Moncrief, Business Day
    06/08/2008 - The world's lenders would lose up to $4 trillion if central banks were not moving to help them through the US subprime crisis, according to one of the world's foremost economic diplomats. Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the OECD  told BusinessDay that the OECD estimated banks would have lost $400 billion in hard capital during the crisis.
  • Aussie economy ready for turmoil: OECD - The Age
    06/08/2008 - Australia is ready to "face the music" of global economic turmoil, according to the chief of the OECD. Angel Gurria said Australia had been reforming its economy and fiscal situation for the best part of 20 years, which was now paying off.
  • 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 wants Australia to lead on climate - The Age
    05/08/2008 - Australia should be leading the way in fighting climate change and can influence other countries to join in, according to the head of the OECD. Angel Gurria, who is in Melbourne for meetings, said Australia had a particular responsibility to face up to climate change
  • 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

Environment

Brazil

  • Education woes haunt Brazil's economic revival - ABC News
    Among the so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries of leading emerging economies, Brazil's literacy rate at 89 per cent of the adult population lags Russia's 99 per cent and China's 91 per cent... The latest education survey published by the OECD ranks Brazilian high school students 53rd and 51st out of 57 countries for their mathematics and reading proficiency, respectively.

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

  • El debate que viene sobre la educación superior - José Joaquín Brunner, El Mercurio
    24/08/2008 - ¿Hacia dónde deben apuntar las reformas de nuestro sistema universitario? Un revelador informe de la OCDE entrega pistas. Un voluminoso informe de la OCDE sobre la educación terciaria vuelve a poner de relieve su importancia para el desarrollo de los países. El propio informe es el mayor esfuerzo de síntesis realizado durante la última década sobre este sector.
  • 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

Fighting corruption

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

Employment

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

Education

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.
  • Back 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.

Information technologies

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

  • Deutschland fällt bei Spitzenausbildung zurück - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
    09/09/2008 - Deutschland verliert bei der Ausbildung von hoch qualifizierten Nachwuchskräften international weiter an Boden. Dies zeigt der am Dienstag veröffentlichte Bildungsbericht 2008 der OECD, der die Entwicklung der Bildungssysteme in den 30 wichtigsten Industrienationen der Welt miteinander vergleicht. (OECD report)
  • Deutschland fällt bei Akademikerausbildung zurück - Die Welt
    09/09/2008 - Das deutsche Bildungssystem bringt immer weniger Nachwuchs- und Spitzenkräfte hervor. Das belegt der Bildungsbericht 2008 der OECD. (OECD report)
  • „Mehr Geld für die Schulen bringt wenig“ - Lisa Becker, FAZ.net
    22/08/2008 - Wenn in Deutschland über die Verbesserung der schulischen Bildung diskutiert wird, sind sich alle wenigstens in einem Punkt einig: Wir müssen erheblich mehr Geld ausgeben...Schon der Blick auf internationale Statistiken der OECD macht stutzig.
  • 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.

Employment

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

Hungary

Economy

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

Indonesia

Economy

  • OECD seeks more active dialogue with Indonesia - Angel Gurria, The Jakarta Post
    25/07/2008 - The OECD is publishing its first comprehensive Economic Assessment of Indonesia. This initiative is important because it is linked to our efforts to strengthen cooperation with a number of important non-member countries.

Ireland

Economy

  • Urgent need for public service reform - The Sunday Times
    27/09/2008 - ...Nothing, of course, can be done until the task force that was appointed to deliberate on a report into the public service commissioned by the government last year and carried out by the Paris-based OECD makes its findings known.
  • 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)

 

Israel

Economy

  • Bank of Israel expects stable foreign investment - Sharon Wrobel, The Jerusalem Post
    19/08/2008 - Israel's admission to the OECD and its possible reclassification from emerging market to developed market is not expected to have a negative impact on foreign investment, the Bank of Israel said Monday.

Italy

Education

Economy

Migrations

Japan

Development assistance

Economy

Employment

Information technologies

  • Japan tops world broadband study - BBC News
    12/09/2008 - ...The study focused on countries in Europe, North America, the OECD, Brazil, Russia, India and China (Brics).

Korea

  • S. Korea Ranks Bottom in No. of Foreign Laborers - KBS
    24/08/2008 - A new report finds that the number of foreign workers in the nation accounted for less than one percent of all laborers. The proportion is one of the lowest among member states of the OECD. According to the report, released by OECD Sunday, the number of foreigner laborers in South Korea, excluding overstayers, amounted to 198-thousand as of 2005, or eight-tenths of a percentage point of total employment.
  • Foreigners make up less than 1 pct in S. Korean labor market: OECD report   - enews.mcot
    24/08/2008 (Yonhap) - The ratio of foreigners in South Korea's labor market remained far below the average of other advanced nations due mainly to the country's strict regulations on the entry of foreign workers, a report showed Sunday. According to the report compiled by the OECD, a total of 198,000 foreigners were employed in South Korea at the end of 2005, accounting for 0.8 percent of total employees
  • Korean workers producing more but earning less - The Hankyoreh
    ... It has been revealed that Korea had the lowest wage increase compared to increases in labor productivity in the OECD... According to the results of the OECD’s survey of unit labor costs of its 26 member states, announced by the OECD on August 18 (KST), Korea’s first-quarter unit labor cost in the industrial sector fell 7.3 percent from the first quarter last year. (OECD report)
  • 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

Education

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

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

  • NZ economy in better shape than most - OECD - Radio New Zealand
    31/07/2008 - OECD secretary general Angel Gurria is in New Zealand to talk to the government about the pressures on the global economy, and the Government's responses to the turbulence.
  • 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

  • Norway urged to extend pension reform - Keren Holland, Global Pensions
    20/08/2008 - ... In its latest Economic Survey of Norway, the OECD said over the next 10-20 years, public finances in Norway were in relatively good shape, partly because of increasing revenues in the Government Pension Fund – Global, but also because the effects of the ageing population were coming later in Norway than other countries. (OECD report)
  • OECD report: Norway must continue careful use of its oil income - The Norway Post
    The OECD says in its latest survey that the restrictive use of Norway's oil income is positive for the nation's economy. However, the OECD underlines the importance of completing the public pension reform, in order to encourage more people to stay longer on the job.
    These are the two main points in OECD's economic survey of Norway which was presented Wednesday. (OECD report)
  • Norway Should Mull Higher Rates to Quell Overheating, OECD Says - Tasneem Brogger, Bloomberg
    20/08/2008 -...  ``The continuing strength of the economy in early 2008 is certainly a reminder that the danger of overheating will not recede immediately and interest rates may need to go higher,'' the Paris-based OECD said in an e-mailed report released today. ``In view of ongoing inflationary pressures, it is too early to say whether monetary policy has been successful in stabilising inflation close to the target,'' the OECD said. (OECD report)
  • OECD says Norway set for slowdown but monetary policy will need to remain tight - Forbes
    20/08/2008 - ... 'The strong growth performance that the Norwegian mainland economy recorded in the last few years is coming to an end. Weaker global demand and lower consumer borrowing will cause a significant slowdown both in 2008 and 2009,' the OECD said in a report on the country's economy. (OECD report)

Environment

Poland

Economy

 

Portugal

Economy

Russia

  • Russian membership of global clubs at stake: U.S. - Reuters
    12/08/2008  - ... a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday : "Russia is going to have to ensure its integration into the WTO, and OECD and the G8 and institutions like that," the U.S. official told reporters, referring to plans by the government of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to join important global clubs.
  • EE.UU. estudia castigar a Rusia con su exclusión de organismos internacionales - LaVanguardia
    12/08/2008 - (EFE) - EE.UU. y sus aliados están evaluando, como castigo por los ataques contra Georgia, impedir la entrada de Rusia en organismos internacionales como la OMC y la OCDE, y excluirla del G8, según fuentes estadounidenses.
  • 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

  • The cost of euro adoption: one good meal - The Slovak Spectator
    OECD says average household price rise will be Sk504... The impacts of the cash changeover scheduled in 2009 will be manageable for society and its effects are likely to be small in aggregate, though it might lead to significant price increases in a number of sectors, most notably tourism and recreational activities, the OECD said.
  • 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

  • Trevor Manuel on tax reforms - Cape Times
    28/08/2008 - Reforming tax administration is crucial to addressing poverty... Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told the opening of the Tax Africa inaugural conference, that the challenges facing the continent included finding ways to escape the dependence on foreign assistance and indebtedness...Deputy secretary general of the OECD, Pier Carlo Padoan, agreed that dialogue by tax administrations in Africa was essential.
  • South Africa unemployment falls to 23.1 pct in Q2 2008 - Reuters
    28/08/2008 - South Africa's jobless rate was at 23.1 percent of the labour force in the second quarter of 2008 from 23.5 percent in the first quarter, a revamped quarterly labour report showed on Thursday... In July the OECD singled out unemployment as a key challenge to South Africa's economic development.
  • South Africa: Growth and the State - allAfrica.com
    21/07/2008 - ...The OECD, in an assessment of SA released last week, criticised the government's plan to spur growth through industrial incentives, saying the plan risked preserving the apartheid-era pattern of protecting national champions insulated from foreign competition and enjoying high mark-ups. (OECD report)
  • 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

 

  • España en la nueva OCDE - Ángel Gurría, El Pais
    08/09/2008 - ...La importancia que España le otorga a la OCDE, y su propia contribución a la resolución de los desafíos globales son para nosotros motivo de gran satisfacción y orgullo.

Economy

  • La caída del precio de los pisos se acelera - El Pais
    13/08/2008 - El ajuste es especialmente acusado en la costa mediterránea, que baja el 6,2%...
    ...Con ser importantes, los expertos consideran que estas disminuciones de precios todavía no son suficientes como para reanimar un sector en estado de coma. Organismos tan respetables como el Fondo Monetario Internacional o la OCDE han avisado en los últimos meses de que la vivienda en España está sobrevalorada entre un 20% y un 30%.

 

Education

  • El modelo finlandés se implanta en España - Noelia Hernández, Gaceta.es
    20/08/2008 - ... El país nórdico lidera el ránking de los 28 que analiza la OCDE, al obtener la mejor puntuación en las tres materias que se evalúan —Matemáticas, Ciencias y Lectura—. A gran distancia se queda España, que ocupa el puesto 24, por debajo de la media de los países de la OCDE  y superada por República Checa, Irlanda, Polonia, Suecia, Eslovenia, Hungría...

Environment

  • Regadíos contra el medio ambiente - María García de la Fuente, Público.es
    17/08/2008 - Un informe de la OCDE advierte de la falta de control sobre las extracciones de agua subterránea para agricultura en España, el aumento de la contaminación en algunos puntos y los problemas de erosión... La agricultura utiliza el 59% del suelo y el 75% del agua, a pesar de que la superficie agraria disminuyó en un 3,5% entre 1990 y 2004, según un reciente informe de la OCDE sobre el Comportamiento medioambiental de la agricultura en la OCDE desde 1990


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

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

Economy

Environment

 

Turkey

Economy

  • OECD report guides the path from - Turkish Daily News
    15/08/2008 - Evaluating OECD's latest review of the Turkish economy, Rauf Gönenç said the organization identified three main areas for action.(OECD report)
  • 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

 

United Kingdom

Fighting corruption

  • Scandals worsen Britain's image in corruption league table - Rob Evans, The Guardian
    24/09/2008 - ...Britain's record on foreign bribery will come under renewed scrutiny in October when the OECD, which enforces the 1997 convention, reports the outcome of its investigation into the UK's compliance with the treaty.
  • OECD slams Britain's corporate bribery record: report - AFP
    17/08/2008 - OECD member-states have written to Britain criticising London's failure to deal with corporate bribery, the Financial Times said Sunday...The Paris-based OECD sent a team of anti-bribery experts to Britain in April to compile a report on London's corruption-fighting efforts, which is due to be completed in October.
  • 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.

Economy

  • Bank set to cut interest rates to prevent slump - Sean O'Grady, The Independent
    02/10/2008 - ...Angel Gurria, the secretary general of the OECD, the international club of developed economies, said yesterday: "We are facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."
  • Grim backdrop to UK rate decision - BBC News
    04/09/2008 - ...The OECD has forecast that the UK economy will contract in the current quarter and the next - meeting the official definition of a recession.
  • OECD says UK is worst placed in G7 to withstand global downturn - Sean O'Grady, The Independent
    03/09/2008 - Britain is the worst placed among the world's major econ-omies to withstand the impact of a global slowdown – and the only one forecast to be in recession this year, according to the respected OECD.
  • Economy: OECD predicts UK recession this year - Ashley Seager, The Guardian
    02/09/2008 - ...The Paris-based OECD, releasing its latest set of economic forecasts, said the ongoing effects of the credit crunch and weakening housing market will cause the British economy - the world's fifth largest - to shrink by 0.3% in the current quarter and by 0.4% in the October to December period.
  • Britain will fall into recession this year - Angela Jameson, The Times
    02/09/2008 - ...Jorgen Elmeskov, acting head of the economics department of the OECD, said that economic activity in the UK was expected to remain "broadly flat".
  • UK recession this year, OECD says - Steve Schifferes, BBC News
    02/09/2008 - The UK economy is likely to fall into recession this year, according to the OECD.

Education

  • Brown prepares for make-or-break speech - The Independent
    23/09/2008 - ...The PM will cite OECD research suggesting having a computer at home can add as much as two terms' worth of progress to students' achievements.
  • Britain fares poorly in international schools league table - Nicola Woolcock, The Times
    09/09/2008 - ...Andreas Schleicher, head of analysis for the OECD education directorate, said the UK had improved but that “the world has moved much faster”. (OECD report)
  • OECD education report: UK slipping in graduate league table - Graeme Paton, The Daily Telegraph
    09/09/2008 - ...The OECD said that university graduates in the UK aged 25 to 64 earned 59 per cent more than other people – well above the international average. They also have a much better chance of finding good jobs. (OECD report)
  • Student growth risks widening gap - BBC News
    09/09/2008 - Each year the OECD publishes an Education at a Glance guide to international trends in school and university in more than 30 countries, showing how industrialised economies compare in terms of spending and results in education. (OECD report)
  • British class sizes among highest in world - Jessica Shepherd, The Guardian
    09/09/2008 - ...Only Japan, Korea and Turkey have more crowded classrooms in their primary schools, the OECD found in its annual report comparing education across the world. (OECD report)
  • UK headteachers 'best paid' in the world - Anthea Lipsett,  The Guardian
    29/08/2008 - However, schools around the world are in danger of being overburdened by bureaucracy and the demands of testing, and will struggle to find headteachers as a result, found the OECD's school leadership study.
  • English pupils 'among the most tested in the world' - Aislinn Simpson, Daily Telegraph
    29/08/2008 -... The report by the OECD says the level of regulation imposed on schools risks backfiring and emphasises concerns about Ofsted inspections and league table

Employment

  • Skilled workers fear for future as jobless figures point to recession - Kathryn Hopkins, The Guardian
    13/08/2008 - Unemployment figures out today will add to fears that the UK is about to enter recession for the first time since the early 1990s... The OECD predicted last month that UK unemployment was likely to rise by more than 100,000, sending the jobless rate up to about 5.8% by the end of next year. (OECD report)
  • Warning of recession risk for UK - Richard Blackden, Daily Telegraph
    20/07/2008 - ...While forecasts for the UK labour market are getting gloomier - the OECD expects unemployment to rise by over 100,000 within two years - job cuts so far have been largely confined to the construction, retail and banking industries. (OECD report)
  • 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)

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

  • An older population demands new thinking - James Forsyth, Daily Telegraph
    24/08/2008 - ... According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics there are now more pensioners than under-16s in this country and by the end of decade there will be 12 million pensioners, one in five of the population... The OECD projects that the ratio of the inactive population over 65 to the total workforce will go from 31 per cent to 51 per cent between now and 2030.
  • 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

  • US Corporate Taxes Now 50% Higher Than OECD Average - Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com
    15/08/2008 - A new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has shown that the United States is effectively moving backwards in terms of corporate tax competitiveness with its continued failure to lower rates.
  • "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.

 

Top of page

OECD Videos

Interview with Jeffrey Owens, Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration

OECD Model Tax Convention: 50 years of promoting a business-friendly tax environment
More OECD audio and video