Homo Economicus: an uncertain guide

As humans, we face a constant internal conflict between immediate gratification and more prudent living. This conflict is also apparent in society. How can we ensure that the homo economicus within us takes the decisions that best affect our lives, and economies?

Return from the dead?

Old ways of thinking won’t bring developed countries back to economic life. Weighed down by the legacy of the crisis, they also face deep challenges like a faltering labour supply and slowing innovation. And growth itself won’t be enough–it must also be stable, inclusive and green. The need for structural reforms has never been greater, but they will require difficult trade-offs.

A recipe for trust

Have the policy errors that contributed to the global economic crisis been rectified? Sharan Burrow shares her vision for building trust and restoring confidence in the countries still suffering from the crisis.

Asia’s Challenges

The forces driving Asia’s rapid growth–new technology, globalisation, and market-oriented reform–are also fuelling rising inequality. Some income divergence is inevitable in times of fast economic development, but that shouldn’t make for complacency, especially in the face of rising inequality in people’s opportunities to develop their human capital and income-earning capacity.

How to get it right: government balances, growth and income inequality

Austerity programmes to restore order to public finances can add to the woes of already struggling economies, leading to more job losses and social hardship. But there are ways for governments to put their fiscal houses in order, while supporting growth and reducing income inequality at the same time.

The euro: A message of solidarity

by Charles Jenkins, Writer, Commentator and former Director of Western Europe Country Analysis, Economist Intelligence Unit, London. The EU’s crisis has as much to do with leadership and solidarity as resolving fiscal and debt problems. It is time to dispense with caricatures and write the next chapter in the EU’s ongoing history. And for that, clear and transparent data will be needed.

OECD and the G20

In 2008, the G20 called on the OECD and other key international organisations to help them respond to the global economic crisis. Since then, the OECD has served as an active participant in G20 meetings and summits, providing analysis, data and policy recommendations on all relevant issues and priorities.

Related Documents

• OECD and the Seoul G20 Summit 2010
• G20 summit in London

How Turkey was able to differentiate itself

“Having left the most difficult years of the global crisis behind, […] Turkey is one of the countries which has managed to put its economy back on the path to strong growth in a short period of time.” Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs of Turkey, and Chairman of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting 2012 explains.

Fiscal Consolidation: How much, how fast and by what means?

The economic crisis has led to a surge in government deficits and pushed public indebtedness to 100% of GDP for the OECD as a whole in 2011. New research shows that bringing debt down to prudent levels will require sustained fiscal consolidation in most OECD countries.

FINANCE: Solving Europe's banking and debt crisis

Europe's sovereign debt crisis has exposed structural weaknesses in economic governance that now threaten the entire euro region. Efforts to reinforce public finances and preserve the currency union must go further than solutions proposed to date.