24 April 2014 The Netherlands is gradually emerging from a double-dip recession with strengthened public finances and reforms on track to improve the labour and housing markets and the health care and pension systems. These reforms are paying off, says the OECD. Read more

11 April 2014 Personal income tax has risen in 25 out of 34 OECD countries over the past three years, as countries reduce the value of tax-free allowances and tax credits and subject higher proportions of earnings to tax, according to new data in the annual Taxing Wages publication. Read more

8 April 2014 Development aid rose by 6.1% in real terms in 2013 to reach the highest level ever recorded, despite continued pressure on budgets in OECD countries since the global economic crisis. Donors provided a total of USD 134.8 billion in net official development assistance (ODA), marking a rebound after two years of falling volumes. Read more

4 April 2014 Japan joined the OECD in 1964, the same year it hosted the summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. OECD membership signalled Japan’s successful transition into a fully industrialised economy, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida writes on the 50th anniversary of his country’s accession. Read more

10 April 2014 Colombia’s rich natural heritage as one of the world’s most bio-diverse countries is coming under increasing pressure from extractive industries, livestock grazing, urbanisation and car use, according to a new OECD report. Read more