Despite large and growing investments in knowledge and innovation, productivity growth in many countries has slowed in recent years. At the same time, the urgent need for more rapid innovation (including its uptake and diffusion) in several key areas, such as in environment. This joint OECD-NBER workshop on 25-26 September 2014 will bring together academic experts to consider these challenges.

Advanced economies are pushing up carbon emissions, traffic congestion and air pollution by under-taxing company cars and diesel fuel, according to new OECD research.

The overarching theme of the 2014 Global Forum, held in Tokyo on 2 and 3 October, was data-driven innovation for a resilient society. The event focused on the collection and use of data throughout the economy and society for enhanced growth and well-being.

Organised by the OECD Development Centre in partnership with the African Union, the 2014 Africa Forum will focus on the pan-African agenda of economic and social transformation.

Korea has made significant progress towards decentralising the management of employment and training programmes, but can still do more to create stronger links with employers at the local level, according to a new OECD report.

The study assesses the role of feed-in tariffs (FITs) and renewable energy certificates (RECs) in creating incentives for cross-border investments and for investments in particular technological portfolios via M&A. The analysis explores the dataset on M&As in alternative energy sources worldwide over 2005-2011.

This public consultation was held to gather interested stakeholders' comments on the draft chapters of the Policy Framework for Investment currently being updated. The consultation ran until 31 December 2014.

This meeting provided the opportunity to review and discuss implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, the ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism, and other initiatives to enable responsible mineral supply chains. Issues pertinent to the tin, tantalum and tungsten (3Ts) and gold supply chains were also addressed during the Forum.

Global FDI flows collapsed with the global financial crisis in 2008 and remain 40% below pre-crisis levels. A major reason for this is the EU. While FDI flows in the rest of the world recovered by 2010, the EU continues to struggle due to structural factors that are undermining the quality of the EU’s investment environment. The paper analyses why and puts forward policy options. It is part of the Investment Insights series.

Squeezed R&D budgets in the EU, Japan and US are reducing the weight of advanced economies in science and technology research, patent applications and scientific publications and leaving China on track to be the world’s top R&D spender by around 2019, according to a new OECD report.

This review underlines some important points of strength with respect to Italian SMEs and entrepreneurship, notably for medium-sized firms that very often excel in their market niches, have a strong propensity to business collaboration, as well as favourable access to finance.

U.S. employers are demanding skilled workforces, but are not always able to find a local supply, says a new OECD study looking at Job Creation and Local Economic Development.

This conference showcased ASEAN’s regional investment integration achievements and efforts. Practitioners highlighted policy reforms at the national and regional levels and considered practical measures to enhance integration. Ways to successfully attract investment that will strengthen ASEAN supply chains were identified.

Excess capacity in steel as growth in investment projects outpaces demand will pose risks for the sector for the foreseeable future, according to industry and government officials at the OECD’s Steel Committee meeting in Cape Town on 12 December 2014. The risk of trade conflicts in the industry also appears to have increased of late, they said, and Committee members discussed options for closer co-operation to try and prevent disputes.

The Korean shipbuilding industry is one of the top global players, leading by value and second only to China by volume. However, the global economic crisis has dented its finances and it now faces serious challenges to set itself back on a solid footing.

The German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), supported by the OECD, has initiated a study to assess the contribution of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to due diligence for responsible mineral supply chains. To gather information for this study, SMEs were invited to take part on a confidential survey of due diligence activities by SMEs.

This public consultation was held to gather comments on the draft FAO-OECD guidance for responsible agricultural supply chains which is designed to help enterprises observe standards of responsible business conduct along their agricultural supply chains. The deadline for comment was 20 February 2015.

This paper examines the extent, reasons and impacts of excess capacity in the global steel industry, as well as the implications of new investment projects that continue to take place at a rapid pace in many parts of the world. By focusing on new investment projects, this study intends to help governments and industry better understand the extent to which global steelmaking excess capacity may evolve in the future.

This online public consultation was held to gather interested stakeholders' comments on the draft Policy Framework for Investment currently being updated. The consultation ran until 25 February 2015.

Paris, 16 March 2015: Organised by the OECD-hosted Freedom of Investment Roundtable, this conference assessed opportunities and challenges associated with investment treaties and how the system can be improved.

Integrity Week is an annual event organised by the OECD and its CleanGovBiz Initiative to actively support governments and organisations in their efforts to strengthen integrity, build trust, and fight corruption.

The project provided recommendations to the city of Medellin and Antioquia to support the development of the local economy and includes a focus on how the innovative environment can be strengthened to support inclusion, entrepreneurship, SME, and local developmentto and how to better coordinate and integrate its policies with the national level.

Climate change and, more generally, environmental damage have quantifiable economic and health costs, which weigh on long-term growth and well-being. If left unchecked, climate change is projected to decrease global GDP by 0.7 to 2.5 % by 2060. At the same time, the costs to society of air pollution already appear substantial–equivalent to some 4% of GDP across OECD countries and even higher in some rapidly developing economies.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are fundamental for inclusive growth and jobs, but they need to broaden their sources of finance in order to reduce their vulnerability to volatile credit market developments, according to two new OECD reports.

Chairman's statement of the OECD Steel Committee's 78th session, Paris, 11-12 May 2015.

With a focus on the Asia-Pacific region, this conference addressed what the Sustainable Development Goals will mean for business and how business sustainability strategies can be aligned to support their implementation.

Social entrepreneurs and governments speak different languages. However, understanding each other is essential to achieve quality of life through the businesses we start, grow and scale.

Protectionism and local content requirements are holding back investment in clean energy and thus undermining the fight against climate change. This Investment Insights puts forward policy options for mobilising investment in clean energy and restoring order and confidence in international markets.

The current low interest rate environment poses a significant risk for the long-term financial viability of pension funds and insurance companies, as they seek to generate sufficient returns to meet promises, according to a new OECD report.

Patent data provide an increasingly used means to analyse innovation performance worldwide including in countries with incomplete data coverage, such as some developing countries. This paper discusses the specific issues associated with using patent data for measuring and analysing innovation in narrow technological fields, such as many environment-related technologies.

Most of the projections of the cost of meeting climate change mitigation targets hinge crucially upon assumptions made about the cost and timing of the development of breakthrough technologies. This paper seeks to uncover attributes of inventions – as reflected in patent data – which serve as "leading indicators" of subsequent technological and market development in climate change mitigation technologies.

Luis Videgaray, Mexico’s Minister of Finance and Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General will co-host this event in Mexico City on 6-7 July 2015, with a welcoming by the President of Mexico. Participants will share their views on the key factors that will influence future productivity growth and the creation of an OECD Productivity Network.

The report provides a description of start-up dynamics exploiting the richness of the recently collected DynEmp v.2 database. The contribution of new firms in terms of new jobs to the existing workforce can be expressed as a combination of four different elements: the start-up rate; the average size of firms at point of entry; the survival rate; and the average growth rate of survivors.

The slowdown in productivity over the past decade has added to concerns about the long-term economic outlook. But new OECD research shows that policy reforms can revive the diffusion of innovation and make better use of human talent to clear the path for higher and more inclusive productivity growth.

There has been increasing global concern from policy makers over the lack of access to finance for young innovative firms. As a result, governments in many OECD countries have sought to address the financing gap and perceived market failures by supporting the seed and early stage market.

Business start-up rates in OECD countries have generally risen since the crisis - particularly in Australia and the United Kingdom - but they remain below pre-2008 levels in many Euro area economies.

SMEs form the vast majority of businesses in most countries and contribute strongly to employment and economic growth, but they face particular challenges, particularly as concerns access to finance. Governments have a range of policy levers, including tax policies, that can and should be used to support the growth and development of SMEs, according to a new OECD report.

The Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) is a comprehensive and systematic tool for improving investment conditions. The pocket edition of the PFI contains the full text of the 2015 update minus the supplemental questions and reference lists. Find the integral text and other tools online at www.oecd.org/investment/pfi.htm

This public consultation is being held to gather comments on the draft Chinese Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains. They are intended to align Chinese company due diligence with international standards and allow for mutual recognition with existing international initiatives and legislations.

Thanks to robust skills and investment in R&D, Korea is leading in the development of frontier technologies with potential to transform production processes, stimulate the entry of new firms, and the launch of ground-breaking products and applications, according to a new OECD report.

Focused mainly on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this report takes stock of 5 years of implementation of national and international programmes and initiatives designed to operationalise the recommendations of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance on Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa.

Encouraging entrepreneurship among disadvantaged groups can help boost jobs and tackle social exclusion, according to a new joint report by the OECD and European Commission.

Immediate action is needed to address the challenge of excess global steel capacity, according to industry and government officials at the OECD’s Steel Committee meeting in Paris on 30 November and 1 December 2015.

This meeting will provide the opportunity to discuss the role of governments, international partners and businesses in promoting responsible mineral supply chains from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. Participants will learn first hand about international standards and approaches, and be able to ask questions to experts in supply chain due diligence implementation.

Achieving green growth requires ambitious transition management policies in key sectors such as energy, transport, water and agriculture. Provided that the pace of innovation in a number of these key areas is growing faster than ever before, the Forum examined how to foster the "next industrial revolution" by harnessing the potential of systems innovation policies to support green growth.

The news that companies in OECD economies are increasingly bringing manufacturing activities back home has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. But considerable disagreement exists about how important this trend actually is for economies in particular the number of jobs that reshoring is supposed to bring back.

This update report by the IMF and the OECD was delivered to G20 in February 2016.

Concerns have been raised about the current health of the steel industry, amidst a context of global excess steelmaking capacity. This paper shows that, notwithstanding considerable firm-level heterogeneity, the steel industry’s financial situation is on average weaker than it has been in years, worse than during the last steel crisis of the late 1990s.

Data from the Japanese government suggest there are currently over 1 000 shipyards in Japan. Some of these yards are privately owned individual enterprises, while others form part of larger private or public companies that operate multiple yards. Japan’s shipbuilders exist within a wider maritime cluster that provides crucial upstream and downstream products and services.

11 March, Paris, France: This high-level launch event included a panel discussion that addressed the potential impacts of companies operating in agricultural supply chains on human, labour and tenure rights.