Roundtables on Investment and Sustainable Development

Scheduled regularly, these roundtables focus on identifying major policy challenges and themes on investment for sustainable development. Download the agenda from the 2018 roundtable. 

G20 agrees Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policymaking

10/7/2016 - G20 Trade Ministers reinforced their "determination to promote inclusive, robust and sustainable trade and investment growth" with the endorsement of the G20 Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policymaking. Read more

OECD Ministers launch new framework to boost sustainable investment

4/6/2015 - The updated Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) was released at the 2015 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris.

News release

Download the OECD Council Recommendation

Using the PFI: From Advice to Action

Background to the update

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Download the text in English | French | Spanish

Download the pocket edition of the Policy Framework for Investment

Using the PFI: From Advice to Action

BLOGS

The long-term investment challenge, Angel Gurría

Financing for development? Show me the money, Gabriela Ramos

The Policy Framework for Investment: What it is, why it exists, how it’s been used and what’s new, Stephen Thomsen

Regional investment: Time to cooperate, Carole Biau

Sectoral adaptations

The Policy Framework for Investment in Agriculture

Policy Guidance for Investment in Clean Energy Infrastructure
 

About the Policy Framework for Investment

The Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) is the most comprehensive and systematic approach for improving investment conditions ever developed. In response to new forces reshaping the global investment landscape and the numerous lessons learnt through its use over the years, the PFI has been updated to reflect new global economic fundamentals and to incorporate feedback from the international investment policy community.

The PFI looks at 12 different policy areas affecting investment: investment policy, investment promotion and facilitation, competition, trade, taxation, corporate governance, finance, infrastructure, developing human resources, policies to promote responsible business conduct and investment in support of green growth, and lastly broader issues of public governance. These policy areas are widely recognised, including in the Monterrey Consensus, as underpinning a healthy environment for all investors, from small- and medium-sized firms to multinational enterprises. But while the PFI looks at policies from an investor perspective, its aim is to maximise the broader development impact from investment and not simply to raise corporate profitability.

The PFI is neither prescriptive nor binding. It emphasises the fundamental principles of rule of law, transparency, non-discrimination and the protection of property rights but leaves for the country concerned the choice of policies, based on its economic circumstances and institutional capabilities. It helps governments to design and implement policy reforms to create a truly attractive, robust and competitive environment for domestic and foreign investment.

Although addressed to governments, the PFI needs to be seen in the broader context of other converging international initiatives to improve the investment climate, including the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Who uses the PFI?

With its broad horizontal approach, the PFI assists governments engaged in domestic reform, regional co-operation or international policy dialogue on investment. It also serves as a reference point for investment promotion agencies, donors as they assist recipient country partners in improving the investment climate, and businesses, trade unions, and NGOs in their dialogue with governments.

In the context of OECD Investment Policy Reviews (IPRs), the PFI has been used by close to 30 countries at varying levels of development and across all continents, as a tool for assessing investment and business climates, and for designing reforms to improve them.

The PFI also provides a basis for support on regional investment policy dialogue. Established regional economic communities are currently using the PFI to promote peer learning on regional investment policy and policy harmonisation among their members. Examples include the NEPAD-OECD Africa Investment Initiative, the ASEAN-OECD Investment Programme. the Latin America and Caribbean Investment Initiative , the Investment Compact for Southeast Europe and the Middle East and North Africa Competitiveness Programme.

‌Documents and links

OECD Investment Policy Reviews

OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

Background to the 2015 update of the Policy Framework for Investment

2006 edition of the PFI English French Chinese Japanese Polish Spanish

Policy Framework for Investment: A Review of Good Practices, 2006 EN | FR

How the 2006 PFI was developed