Important reforms have been implemented which raised credibility of Slovenia in the financial markets and boosted confidence. But economic recovery has been sluggish, many people are unemployed and living standards still remain below the pre-crisis levels.

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.

Excessive credit growth, poor risk assessment and lax lending standards in the run up to the 2008 global crisis led to unsustainable debt build-up in banks and related corporates.

The United Kingdom (UK) has spent less on infrastructure compared to other OECD countries over the past three decades. The perceived quality of UK infrastructure assets is close to the OECD average but lower than in other G7 countries.

The banking sector in the United Kingdom (UK) was deeply affected by the crisis. Bank credit has collapsed reflecting both weak demand and tighter supply. New prudential requirements have improved the resilience of the banking sector and a number of measures were taken to support credit supply.

Much of the convergence of the Latvian economy needs to come from productivity increases. To achieve this, policy makers should do more to facilitate the integration of the economy into global trade and promote competitive business environment.

New Zealand generally performs well in terms of economic and social inclusion. It has high employment rates, and education and health-care systems work well for most.

In the years before the economic crisis, Portugal had low growth, a decline in export competitiveness and rising imbalances that included a large current account deficit and a strong expansion of the non-tradable sector. Strengthening export performance is therefore one of the principal challenges for Portugal.

France devotes a great deal of resources to vocational training for youths and especially adults, but the system is unduly complex and yields rather poor returns. The basic literacy and numeracy skills of many French adults remain weak in international comparison, with harmful effects on employment opportunities, wages and well-being.

Innovation is key to boosting economic growth in the face of a rapidly ageing population. While Japan spends heavily on education and R&D, appropriate framework conditions are essential to increase the return on such investments by strengthening competition, both domestic and international, and improving resource allocation.

Economic recovery is progressing in the world’s advanced economies, but stagnating world trade and deteriorating conditions in financial markets are curbing growth prospects in many of the major emerging economies, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook.

This survey highlights the key results of the empirical literature concerning the costs of flexibility-enhancing reforms in product and labour markets.

Children are paying a high price for today’s growing inequality, according to a new OECD report.

A further sharp downturn in emerging market economies and world trade has weakened global growth to around 2.9% this year - well below the long-run average – and is a source of uncertainty for near term prospects, says the OECD.

Over the past decade, France has substantially eased the burden of anti competitive regulations and effectively enforced competition law against anti-competitive practices.

A long period of economic expansion in Chile has raised living standards and dramatically reduced poverty, but more needs to be done now to ensure that the country is in a position to move to a stronger, more inclusive and sustainable growth path, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Chile.

Switzerland’s recent economic performance has been impressive, but with growth now slowing new reforms will be necessary to maintain high levels of prosperity and ensure future well-being, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Switzerland.

Austria has a model of "separate gender roles" in work, family and life arrangements which persists despite efforts to better balance these roles.

Costa Rica has made impressive economic, social and environmental progress, but further institutional and policy reforms will be necessary to ensure stronger and more inclusive growth, according to the first-ever OECD Economic Assessment of Costa Rica.

High house prices are being supported by very low interest rates, immigration-fuelled population growth and smaller family units, while demand is being bolstered by mortgage interest tax deductibility and institutional investors.

Policymakers need to deploy broad-based reform plans that incorporate monetary, fiscal, and structural policies to stimulate persistently weak demand, re-launch productivity growth, create jobs and build a more inclusive global economy, according to the OECD’s annual Going for Growth report.

This paper investigates the impact of policies and institutions on health expenditures for a large panel of OECD countries for the period 2000-10.

Boosting economic growth and investment to create jobs, improve the stability of public finances and provide an effective social safety net are crucial to help Greece recover from the profound social costs of the economic crisis, says the OECD in its latest report.

Lithuania has made remarkable economic and social progress, but further policy reforms will be necessary to ensure a more productive and inclusive economy, according to the first-ever OECD Economic Assessment of Lithuania.

Polish economic growth remains solid and unemployment is decreasing, but further investments in infrastructure and skills will be essential to sustain a continuing improvement in living standards, environmental quality and well-being, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Poland.

Germany is in a solid economic position, but ageing and technological change require new investments in people to ensure a stronger and more inclusive society, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Germany.

The data presented in the latest OECD Economic Survey of Ireland suggest that rather than "brain drain" Ireland exhibits "brains exchange", a large proportion of emigrants and immigrants are well qualified.

Norway’s predominately public and tuition-fee free tertiary education system encourages participation and has high attainment rates. However, challenges in spending efficiency, study times, skills demand, inclusiveness and quality remain.

Norwegian policy gives high priority to supporting rural communities, with support for agriculture receiving particular attention. It is broadly successful in terms of maintaining rural communities, and urban-rural gaps in a range of well-being indicators are comparatively narrow.

Promoting competition to enhance productivity at the firm level and resulting income and growth improvement and a lower cost of living is an important economic and social challenge in Israel.

Israel is a young country with still dynamic population growth, but it is already beginning to face the consequences of population ageing.

The Chilean economy has had an extraordinary performance over the last decades with strong growth and declining poverty rates. This paper discusses how to achieve greater social inclusiveness against the background of weaker medium-term growth.

Improving local infrastructure investments in Poland

A UK exit from the EU would immediately hit confidence and raise uncertainty which would result in GDP being 3% lower by 2020, which equates to £ 2200 per household. The OECD states that such costs are already piling up in a new study released today.

Leaving Europe would impose a "Brexit tax" on generations to come. Instead of funding public services, this tax would be a pure deadweight loss, with no economic benefit, said OECD Secretary-General in London.

The Irish economy is growing strongly, but there is a risk many households will be left behind despite robust growth. High joblessness especially among the low-educated and skill-biased wage differentials have induced high market income inequality, among the highest in the OECD.

The Hungarian economy has expanded strongly in recent years, helped by robust exports and firm domestic demand. But incomes are among the lowest in the OECD and structural reforms will be needed to sustain growth over the medium term, strengthen business investment and better match skills to labour market needs, according to a new OECD report.

Denmark’s economic prospects are improving, but further reforms are needed to maintain the country’s high living standards and ensure the well-being of all citizens, according to a new report from the OECD.

Inequality measures in Lithuania (like in Estonia and Latvia) are high. To an important extent this is related to the high risk of poverty for non-working individuals and to the low rewards to work. Therefore, increasing the quality of jobs, ensuring that the most vulnerable have access to employment and providing adequate income support for those that have lost their job are key for making labour markets and the economy more inclusive.

In the past 30 years Costa Rica has grown steadily and social indicators have improved markedly. Well-being indicators are comparable or even above the OECD average in several dimensions, such as health, environment or life-satisfaction. This paper reviews the social progress that Costa Rica has achieved and identifies reducing inequality and poverty as the main challenges.

Advanced economies remain in the doldrums. People’s incomes are rising at a very low pace, especially in the lower half of the distribution. Two global trends–the slowdown in productivity and the rise in inequality–reflect the state of policy, and point to the challenges policymakers face to change prospects for their citizens and the global economy.

Declining productivity growth and rising inequality are two of the biggest obstacles to improved economic performance, according to a new OECD report.

To continue catching up with living standards in other OECD countries Poland needs to invest in higher skills.

Over the last decade, Poland has significantly upgraded its infrastructure network, and public investment has risen rapidly. However, bottlenecks still weigh on productivity growth and environmental and health outcomes, and the perceived quality of transport and energy infrastructure remains lower than in most OECD countries.

The ECB, the Bank of Japan and five other central banks in Europe have applied negative interest rates on commercial banks’ reserves. This additional monetary policy stimulus, following large asset purchases by central banks in some of these areas, should boost the economy and thus raise inflation closer to target.

The European economy is gradually recovering but further policy action will be required to address unresolved legacies of the global economic crisis that are weighing on growth and major new concerns that have emerged, according to two new OECD reports.

The Canadian economy is adjusting to the fall in commodity prices, but additional policies are needed to boost productivity, reduce financial stability risks and make future growth stronger, greener and more inclusive, according to a new OECD report.

The US economy is making one of the strongest comebacks in the OECD, but there are risks on the horizon, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of the United States.

Improving opportunities for women in the United States

A dynamic small business sector can heighten competition and underpin productivity growth, as discussed in the 2016 OECD Economic Survey of Canada and Carey et al. (2016, forthcoming).