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The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the deepest economic recession in nearly a century, threatening health, disrupting economic activity, and hurting well-being and jobs. Extraordinary policies are required to walk the tightrope towards recovery, which will shape the economic and social prospects of the coming decade.

This page features the latest OECD data, recommendations and policy advice regarding the economic impact of COVID-19, as well as a curated collection of earlier OECD economic content.

 

Key insights

09/07/2021

Government at a Glance 2021

During the pandemic, governments went remote and substantially increased public employment to cope with the crisis.

This report analyses how trust, and a breadth of other indicators, reflect government performance in the wake of COVID-19.

Locking in the lessons learned from the pandemic will require scale and speed to ensure adaptability and resilience to future shocks, tackle disinformation, and strengthen public finances and equity.

> Read the report
07/07/2021

OECD Employment Outlook

Although steep challenges still lie ahead, this moment also brings a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild more resilient labour markets, addressing long-standing structural issues that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.

Sustainable economic recovery depends on boosting the employment landscape, by funding reskilling (especially green and digital skills), targeting measures for the most vulnerable groups, and ensuring adequate social protection and job quality.

> VIEW THE DIGITAL REPORT

OECD Employment Outlook

30/06/2021

Perspectives on Global Development

This report examines how discontent has shaped developing economies throughout the last decade.

Despite economic growth, middle-income earners still find themselves in a precarious position faced with rising inequality, and lack of social protections linked to informal economies.

This report discusses the need for citizen agency, and examines where political systems are failing to meet demands for change.

> READ THE REPORT

Perspectives on Global Development

The OECD Economic Outlook

Navigating the recovery

31/05/2021 - Prospects for the world economy have brightened, but the recovery is likely to remain uneven. Public health strategies, the speed of vaccine rollout, fiscal and monetary support, and the importance of hard-hit sectors , are driving the differences between countries.

While advanced economies are expected to benefit from quicker access to vaccines and strong fiscal support, some countries with large tourism revenues like Iceland and Spain face a longer route to achieving recovery.

Asia-Pacific countries like China and Australia implemented effective containment measures and will continue to recover as they vaccinate.

In Latin America, Chile’s rapid vaccine rollout and an increase in export prices are fuelling one of the fastest economic rebounds among emerging-markets, while high unemployment, stagnant wages and inflation are expected to prolong Argentina’s recovery.

Emerging economies face the most challenges coping with COVID-19 outbreaks because of lower resource capacity and slower vaccine rollouts.

As long as a large proportion of the world’s population is not vaccinated and the risk of new outbreaks remains, recovery will remain vulnerable to fresh setbacks.

Learn more about the Economic Outlook

See our latest policy advice

This new series brings together data, analysis and recommendations on a range of topics related to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the global economy.

Access to all policy responses

Tax administration: Towards sustainable remote working in a post COVID-19 environment

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a significant shift among most tax administrations to remote working by many of their staff. As tax administrations consider the shape of the workplace post-pandemic, many are examining the options for...
19/07/2021
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How will COVID-19 reshape science, technology and innovation?

This policy brief discusses the effects that the COVID-19 crisis could have on the future of science, technology and innovation (STI) and its policies. Factors shaping the future of STI include the unequal effects of...
23/06/2021
> read

The territorial impact of COVID-19: Managing the crisis and recovery across levels of government

The regional and local impact of the COVID-19 crisis is highly heterogeneous, with significant implications for crisis management and policy responses. This paper takes an in-depth look at the territorial impact of the COVID-19 crisis...
10/05/2021
> read

Tax Administration: Digital Resilience in the COVID-19 Environment

During the COVID-19 crisis, many tax administrations had to close offices and move to almost full or partial remote working. For many, this has also coincided with the peak filing season and an increase for...
21/04/2021
> read

OECD weekly GDP tracker

Tracking GDP growth in OECD and G20 countries

‌The weekly tracker of GDP growth provides a real-time indicator of economic activity using machine learning and Google Trends data.

The tracker provides estimates of year-on-year growth rates in weekly GDP. It applies a machine learning model to a panel of Google Trends data for 46 countries and aggregates, with information about search behaviour related to consumption, labour markets, housing, trade, industrial activity and economic uncertainty.

Click to access the tracker

Discover other original data visualisations related to the COVID-19 crisis in Data Insights

Explore key topics and broaden your knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Browse SDGs

Browse all related resources

This inventory focuses on the global economy, pulling together analysis and data directly and indirectly related to the broad and far-reaching economic challenges arising in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19). From productivity and income redistribution to tourism and SMEs, this collection brings together a broad range of policies to promote sustainable economic growth and build resilience for an inclusive and green recovery.

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22/07/2021
Paper
COVID-19, Productivity and Reallocation: Timely evidence from three OECD countries
The longer run consequences of the pandemic will partly hinge on its impact on high productivity firms, and the ongoing process of labour reallocation from low to high productivity firms. While Schumpeter (1939) proposed that recessions can accelerate this process, the nature of the COVID-19 shock coupled with a policy response that prioritised preservation (over reallocation) raises questions about whether job reallocation remained productivity-enhancing. Using novel, near-real-time data for Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, this paper shows that while labour turnover fell in response to the pandemic, job reallocation remained connected to firm productivity – that is, high productivity firms were more likely to expand and low productivity firms were more likely to contract. The pandemic coincided with a temporary strengthening of the reallocation-productivity link in Australia – but a weakening in New Zealand – which appears related to the design of job retention schemes. Finally, firms that intensively used Apps to manage their business were more resilient, even after controlling for productivity. Thus, while policy partly suppressed creative destruction, the nature of the shock – i.e. one where being online and able to operate remotely were key – favoured high productivity and tech-savvy firms, resulting in a reallocation of labour to such firms. The use of timely, novel data to investigate the allocative effects of the pandemic marks a significant advance, given that the seminal paper on productivity-enhancing reallocation during the Great Recession arrived some six years after Lehman Brothers collapsed.
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21/07/2021
Report
Revenue Statistics in Asia and the Pacific 2021
Revenue Statistics in Asia and the Pacific is jointly produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTP) and the OECD Development Centre (DEV) with the co-operation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Pacific Island Tax Administrators Association (PITAA), and the Pacific Community (SPC) and financial support from the governments of Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. This edition includes a special feature on the the emerging challenges for the Asia-Pacific region in the COVID-19 era and ways to address them. It compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for Australia, Bhutan, People’s Republic of China, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tokelau, Vanuatu and Viet Nam ; and comparable non tax revenue statistics for Bhutan, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Maldives, Mongolia, Nauru, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, Thailand, Tokelau, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. The model is the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending the OECD methodology to Asian and Pacific economies enables comparisons about tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among Asian and Pacific economies and with OECD, Latin American and Caribbean and African averages.
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21/07/2021
Paper
Measuring telework in the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 crisis created a sudden need for businesses and their employees to take up or increase working from home. By facilitating teleworking, digital technologies have been crucial in allowing economic activities to endure and in enabling a significant portion of individuals to continue earning income. This paper brings together information on how teleworking has evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, it looks at which businesses and individuals have been able to leverage it to keep working. It also presents the definitions and survey vehicles underlying the statistics presented.
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19/07/2021
Policy response
Tax administration: Towards sustainable remote working in a post COVID-19 environment
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a significant shift among most tax administrations to remote working by many of their staff. As tax administrations consider the shape of the workplace post-pandemic, many are examining the options for some degree of continued remote working for employees on a longer-term basis. Such a shift needs careful consideration as it touches many aspects of an organisation, from information technology through to employment policy and organisational culture. This note explore some of the key issues that tax administrations may wish to consider in designing remote working policies, processes and guidance to help ensure that longer-term remote working is sustainable for both the tax administration as a whole as well as individual employees. This note does not provide recommendations for particular measures as the circumstances of each administration will vary. Instead, the intention is that the information in this note will help to stimulate thinking in tax administrations as to where changes or additions to existing strategies could be needed, which is brought to life through examples of actions taken or planned by Forum on Tax Administration members.
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13/07/2021
Report
Strengthening Economic Resilience Following the COVID-19 Crisis
The crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been unlike any other the world has experienced, requiring social distancing and restrictions on mobility, and rendering some economic activity impossible. This publication explores and compares the characteristics that have affected the ability of firms, workers and consumers to maintain production, employment and consumption during the COVID-19 crisis, across industries and countries. It takes an analytical forward-looking perspective, considering a broad collection of indicators and evidence to guide policies. The aspects covered centre around topics of business dynamics; productivity; innovation and digital technologies; interconnectedness; inclusiveness; and skills.The report incorporates both a short-term perspective – analysing the supply restrictions and lockdowns that have characterised containment responses – and a medium- to long-term view, focusing on changes in demand that have arisen through recessionary effects and changes in preferences.The purpose of this publication is to provide insights to policy makers in three ways. First, by providing an overview of the different channels through which the crisis has affected firms differently across industries; then, by identifying country characteristics which may mediate these channels and mitigate or amplify the impacts of this and future shocks on the economy; and finally, by exploring systematic differences in the impact across population subgroups and the implications for policy.
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09/07/2021
Report
Government at a Glance 2021
The 2021 edition includes input indicators on public finance and employment; process indicators include data on institutions, budgeting practices, human resources management, regulatory governance, public procurement, governance of infrastructure, public sector integrity, open government and digital government. Outcome indicators cover core government results (e.g. trust, political efficacy, inequality reduction) and indicators on access, responsiveness, quality and satisfaction for the education, health and justice sectors. Governance indicators are useful for monitoring and benchmarking governments’ progress in their public sector reforms.
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07/07/2021
Report
OECD Employment Outlook 2021
The 2021 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook focusses on the labour market implications of the COVID‑19 crisis. Chapters 1-3 concentrate on the main labour market and social challenges brought about by the crisis and the policies to address them. Chapters 4-5 cover long-standing structural issues but also discuss their relevance and implications for the COVID-19 crisis. More specifically, Chapter 1 monitors the impact of the crisis on the labour market, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups in the medium and long term. Chapter 2 provides a preliminary assessment of the role of job retention schemes in preserving jobs during the COVID-19 crisis. Chapter 3 analyses how active labour market policies and public employment services have responded to the challenges posed by the crisis. Chapter 4 assesses the extent and consequences of domestic outsourcing for the labour market in general, and for low-wage occupations in particular. Chapter 5 provides a detailed review of statutory and negotiated regulations governing working time – including teleworking – as well as an overview of trends in working time patterns and time use across OECD countries and socio-demographic groups.
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07/07/2021
Report
OECD Economic Surveys: Iceland 2021
Iceland’s economy is recovering from a deep COVID-19 recession. Fisheries and intellectual services exports are on the rise and foreign tourists are starting to come back as travel restrictions are gradually eased. The health crisis has been relatively mild so far, thanks to a smart testing and tracking strategy and a well-functioning health system. After a sharp rise during the pandemic, unemployment is declining fast, and inflation hovers above target. Appropriate macroeconomic policy coupled with structural reforms are needed for a sound recovery and sustainable growth. The central bank should remain vigilant and fiscal support should continue to target vulnerable groups. Reducing stringent regulation, especially in tourism and construction, would help shift resources to more productive firms and jobs. Strengthening vocational education and training, and linking part of university funding to labour market outcomes would reduce labour shortages and skills mismatch. Offering better-targeted support for business R&D, encouraging the adoption of digital technologies and facilitating knowledge transfer would boost innovation and productivity. Submitting all economic sectors to carbon pricing – either a carbon tax or an emission trading system – while redistributing the proceeds to households and firms will be key for a cost-efficient and equitable transition to a low-carbon economy.SPECIAL FEATURES: INNOVATION; CLIMATE CHANGE
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05/07/2021
Report
OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030
The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, prepared with input from Member governments and international commodity organisations. It provides a consensus assessment of the ten-year prospects for agricultural commodity, fish and biofuel markets at national, regional and global levels, and serves as a reference for forward-looking policy analysis and planning.The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030 presents the trends driving food and agricultural markets over the coming decade. While progress is expected on many important fronts, in order to realize the 2030 Agenda and achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), concerted actions and additional improvements will be needed by the agricultural sector.More information can be found at www.agri-outlook.org.
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05/07/2021
Report
Competitiveness in South East Europe 2021
The future sustainable economic development and well-being of citizens in South East Europe depend on greater economic competitiveness. Reinforcing the region’s economic potential in a post-COVID-19 context requires a holistic, inclusive and growth‑oriented approach to policy making. Against the backdrop of enhanced European Union (EU) accession prospects and a drive towards deeper regional integration, the governments of the six Western Balkan (WB6) economies have demonstrated a renewed commitment to enacting policy reforms.The third edition of Competitiveness in South East Europe: A Policy Outlook comprehensively assesses policy reforms in the WB6 economies across 16 policy dimensions crucial to their competitiveness. It leverages a highly participatory assessment process, which brought together the views of OECD experts, WB6 policy makers and local non-governmental stakeholders to create a balanced and realistic depiction of their performance. The report seeks to provide WB6 policy makers with a multi-dimensional benchmarking tool, enabling them to compare performance against regional peers as well as OECD good practices, and to design future policies based on rich evidence and actionable policy recommendations.Economy-specific profiles complement the regional assessment for the first time in this edition of Competitiveness in South East Europe: A Policy Outlook, and provide each WB6 economy with an in-depth analysis of their competitive potential as well as policy recommendations tailored to their specific challenges to inform their structural economic reforms and sustainable development agenda.
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30/06/2021
Report
Perspectives on Global Development 2021
Since its first edition in 2010, the OECD Development Centre's Perspectives on Global Development report has tracked development trends and policy priorities in developing countries. This new report examines the phenomenon of discontent. Between the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, discontent surged around the world. It was especially evident in middle-income countries and was often most acute amongst the middle classes that have emerged in developing countries over recent decades. The report explores the economic, political and sociological drivers of discontent and argues that building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries will require approaches that simultaneously improve citizens' well-being, promote productive transformation and strengthen social cohesion. The report concludes by examining the international dimension of discontent and demonstrates how weaknesses and imbalances in the present multilateral system are eroding humankind's capacity for collective action in the face of global threats, notably the climate crisis. The rise in discontent has exposed failings in prevailing economic, social and political models at all levels: addressing discontent means fixing these systems, and doing so in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
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30/06/2021
Paper
Measuring progress in agricultural water management
Measuring policy progress on agriculture and water policies is essential to help decision makers identify necessary policy changes and understand how further progress may be achieved to improve agricultural water management. A thorough review of existing evaluations of agriculture and water policies suggests three types of progress to be measured: policy design, policy implementation capacity and policy results. The quality and robustness of these measures of policy progress depends upon three main factors. First, assessment of policy design requires matching policy alignment with cross cutting objectives or with a reference text. Second, assessment of progress in implementation capacity requires gauging evolution towards predefined capacity needs or identified governance gaps. Third, evaluation of policy results requires clearly defined objectives, timelines and scales for assessments. Seven practical options are identified for applying these principles to agriculture and water policies, illustrated by applying them to assessing progress in the sustainable management of water for irrigation under climate change and in controlling diffuse nutrient pollution.
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28/06/2021
Report
OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs have been hit hard during the COVID-19 crisis. Policy responses were quick and unprecedented, helping cushion the blow and maintain most SMEs and entrepreneurs afloat. Despite the magnitude of the shock, available data so far point to sustained start-ups creation, no wave of bankruptcies, and an impulse to innovation in most OECD countries. However, government support has been less effective at reaching the self-employed, smaller and younger firms, women, and entrepreneurs from minorities. Countries were not all even in their capacity to support SMEs either. As vaccine campaigns roll out and economic prospects brighten, governments have to take the turn of a crisis exit and create the conditions to build back better. The OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021 brings new evidence on the impact of the crisis and policy responses on SMEs and entrepreneurs. It reflects on longer-term issues, such as SME indebtedness or SME role in more resilient supply chains or innovation diffusion. The report contains country profiles that benchmark impact, factors of vulnerability, and sources of resilience in OECD countries, and give a policy spotlight on liquidity support and recovery plans for SMEs.
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23/06/2021
Policy response
How will COVID-19 reshape science, technology and innovation?
This policy brief discusses the effects that the COVID-19 crisis could have on the future of science, technology and innovation (STI) and its policies. Factors shaping the future of STI include the unequal effects of the crisis on research and development (R&D) across sectors, the accelerated adoption of digital tools and techniques, and changes in the openness, inclusiveness and agility of research and innovation ecosystems. STI policy could see fundamental changes as resilience, environmental sustainability and inclusiveness become more prominent objectives on policy agendas. The crisis could also spur experimentation with new tools, policy approaches and governance models.
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22/06/2021
Report
Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2021
This annual report monitors and evaluates agricultural policies in 54 countries, including the 38 OECD countries, the five non-OECD EU Member States, and 11 emerging economies. The report includes country specific analysis based on up-to-date estimates of support to agriculture that are compiled using a comprehensive system of measurement and classification – the Producer and Consumer Support Estimates (PSE and CSE) and related indicators. This year’s report focuses on policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and analyses the implications of agricultural support policies for the performance of food systems.
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16/06/2021
Report
OECD Economic Surveys: Netherlands 2021
Structural and institutional strengths, a strong crisis response and a high level of digitalisation have helped the Netherlands to weather the COVID-19 crisis with so far limited economic damage compared to many OECD countries. Several long-standing challenges are set to affect the strength of the recovery and its long-term sustainability. Non-standard employment is high, driven to a large extent by lower labour costs for the self-employed and other non-standard workers than for regular employees. Women are overrepresented among non-standard workers and typically work shorter hours. Households’ balance sheets, inflated by tax-subsidised housing debt and mandatory pension savings, create macroeconomic vulnerabilities and underpin inequality of assets. Landmark court rulings limiting nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions are set to speed up a necessary green transition and led to earlier than planned closures of polluting economic activities, but have slowed down investments in infrastructure, buildings and agriculture. Embracing digitalisation is key to raise living standards further, but the social costs of skill-biased structural change, in many cases accelerated by COVID-19, must be handled firmly, notably by boosting skills and ensuring equal access to social protection.SPECIAL FEATURE: DIGITALISATION AND PRODUCTIVITY
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03/06/2021
Paper
Preparing the tourism workforce for the digital future
Embracing digitalisation throughout the tourism ecosystem will help to drive the ability of business to build resilience in a post-COVID-19 era. This will include exploiting the opportunities digitalisation opens up for marketing, product and destination development, as well as investing in human capital and skills to retain and develop a skilled workforce. To support the digital transformation of the sector, this report examines: i) the role of digital technology in tourism and its impact on work organisation; ii) how digitalisation affects the demand for skills in the sector; and iii) the role of government in creating the conditions to support the digital transformation of tourism business models, and preparing the tourism workforce for change. Acknowledging that national policies will need to be responsive to needs across a diverse sector, with varying levels of digital maturity amongst enterprises (and people), the report presents a selection of policy considerations to prepare the tourism workforce for the digital future.
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31/05/2021
Report
OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2021 Issue 1
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast a long shadow over the world’s economies. The OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2021 Issue 1, highlights the improved prospects for the global economy due to vaccinations and stronger policy support, but also points to uneven progress across countries and key risks and challenges in maintaining and strengthening the recovery.This issue includes a general assessment of the macroeconomic situation, and a chapter summarising developments and providing projections for each individual country. Coverage is provided for all OECD members as well as for selected partner economies.
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31/05/2021
Report
OECD Secretary-General's Report to Ministers 2021
This edition of the OECD Secretary-General's Report to Ministers outlines the main achievements of the OECD in 2020, notably the Organisation’s efforts to help manage the COVID-19 crisis and pave the way towards a stronger, more inclusive, resilient and green recovery. It describes the OECD’s work across major policy areas, with a focus on health, employment, inequalities, economics and tax, education, and the environment, among others. The report outlines the activities of the Secretary-General and his office, as well as those of OECD directorates, the Secretariats of Entities within the OECD family and OECD Social Partners.The OECD works on finding evidence-based solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges, promoting “Better Policies for Better Lives”. The OECD is one of the world’s largest and most trusted sources of comparable statistical data and research. The OECD serves as not only a pathfinder for new narratives and new initiatives at the global level, but also as a ‘do’ tank ready to support members and partners with our data, standards and evidence-based policy advice.
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27/05/2021
Report
OECD Economic Surveys: Spain 2021
The Spanish economy entered a deep recession in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A strong government response has protected jobs and firms. However, the crisis has exacerbated long-standing structural challenges, such as high unemployment, inequalities and regional disparities. The national recovery plan will help the near-term recovery and should also be used to promote long-term growth potential. A durable and inclusive recovery will require improving the quality of jobs via lower labour market segmentation, better skills and enhanced support for job seekers. Reforms to secure the pension system’s sustainability will be key to address medium-term fiscal challenges. Spain is improving on digitalisation, but there is room to improve the uptake and use of digital technologies to boost productivity growth.Enhancing digital diffusion requires addressing remaining gaps in digital infrastructure and enhancing capabilities of firms and people to take full advantage of digitalisation via higher investment in innovation and skills.SPECIAL FEATURE: ENHANCING DIGITAL DIFFUSION FOR HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY
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