Chicago is at a tipping point: despite economic strengths, it faces considerable challenges to compete in the “Premier League” of world-class cities, warns the OECD’s review of the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Region.

The transition from education to work is not easy for many young people, particularly when it comes to finding sustainable employment with progression opportunities. Recently established national policies to support youth will be only effective if implemented in a coordinated way at local level.

This paper is part of the regional development working paper series covering water governance in Latin America and the Carribbean (LAC) countries.

This book examines the gains that might be made by a territorial approach to policymaking that integrates sectoral policies, fosters value-added in rural activities, and links SME-development and FDI-attraction policies as well as innovation capacities and applications.

The Institute for Competitiveness India, the National Skill Development Corporation India and the OECD LEED Programme in collaboration with the ILO are joining forces to discuss local skills strategies for job-rich and inclusive growth in India.

Korea has weathered the shocks triggered by the global recession and its economy is recovering more quickly and vigorously than most other OECD countries.

This report compares urbanisation trends on the basis of a common methodology which helps cross-country comparison of the socio-economic and environmental performance of metropolitan areas in 28 OECD countries.

The Negev region has the potential to deliver real and tangible benefits for regional development, green growth and social inclusion. The report explains how the region can exploit its existing strenghts and competitive advantages, including a niche in research, demonstration and testing in renewable energies and water efficiency.

This seminar was part of a three-year programme of cooperation between the European Commission and the OECD LEED Programme to monitor and report on entrepreneurial activity in Europe and related public policies and actions.

Skills and educational development for inclusive and sustainable growth are becoming significant drivers in OECD countries.

This book examines regional innovation in central and southern Denmark, looking at its role in the economy, its governance and policy context and regional strategies for innovation driven growth.

The Regional Growth Core Schönefelder Kreuz and the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau in partnership with the OECD Local Economic and Employment Development Programme (LEED) are working on defining and collecting measurable indicators at the regional/ local level that can inform over time of transition to low-carbon economic and industrial activities.

This publication is the follow-up to the forum held in March 2012. It offers proposals to counter the effects of the earthquake shock, to secure the sustainability of the local economy.

Russia: Innovation and Modernising the Rural Economy

This project aims to support the Slovak Republic as it seeks to create a clear rationale for the Regional Development Agencies Integrated Network which currently comprises 38 agencies.

This new publication looks at how renewable energy can bring the greatest benefits to host regions.

This report provides the main findings and recommendations of a case study review of entrepreneurship education and business start-up support in Tunisian universities and universities of applied sciences as part of a series of reviews on Skills and Competences for Entrepreneurship carried out by the LEED Programme of the OECD.

The Australian state government of Queensland developed a set of Skills Formation Strategies as a new way to respond to skill shortages and mismatches.

In Latin American and Caribbean countries the population is growing faster than the world average, intensifying land use and increasing urbanisation. The region is also prone to the negative impact of climate change and natural disasters, putting further pressure on natural resources.

Three world experts discuss the future of cities in the current context of rapid urbanisation. This meeting was held in Paris on 4 December 2012.

Vibrant and dynamic urban centers are among the main drivers of national growth and employment, but OECD’s new report Promoting Growth in All Regions highlights that even less wealthy regions have the potential to bolster stronger, greener, and more inclusive economies.

The conference discussed the results of the project as well as policy recommendations on training and skills development for the creation of an innovative and competitive SME sector in OECD countries.

This paper looks at a study carried out among 80 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in two Canadian cities, Montréal and Winnipeg, based on a survey and case studies, which show the importance of innovation among Canadian SMEs. These innovations in turn create new demands for skill development, both through formal training and in informal activities.

Entrepreneurship and the development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are key drivers of economic growth and job creation. The OECD review series on Boosting Local Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation, of which this study is a part, examines the capacity of local economies to support successful new enterprise creation and the growth of small enterprises.

Mexico’s river basins are under severe water stress. The quality of rivers, lakes and aquifers is declining and floods, droughts, and hurricanes are more frequent. These are some of the alerts signaled in OECD’s Making Water Reform Happen in Mexico.

The London Apprenticeship Campaign was launched in 2010 to boost the number of apprentices in London. It was developed as part of an ongoing policy focus to tackle long-standing skill shortfalls in the city, shortages which have been constraining employment, social opportunity and productivity.

This publication looks at regional innovation in Wallonia, Belgium, by examining the political context, governance issues and the role of innovation in the economy, along with regional innovation strategies to promote growth.

Through the example of Abruzzo, whose capital L’Aquila was destroyed by an earthquake four years ago, a new OECD report recommends policies that can speed the recovery of regions hit by natural disasters, making them more attractive to residents, tourists and investors.

The OECD LEED Delivering Local Development work stream examines the local and regional framework conditions and instruments for intervention to achieve successful local economic development in participating countries and localities. It covers strategic themes encompassing finance and investment, building the knowledge base, delivery vehicles and economic strategies (including the local development impacts from global events).

Brazil’s economic growth has been supported in recent years by important government investment and social programmes that mobilise resources across the country. These programmes could help Brazil to meet its goals of sustaining economic growth and fostering social development, while reducing regional disparities.

Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre 23 – 24 May

This working paper assesses national policy and governance mechanisms that can influence green growth in Chinese cities.

This paper discusses the results of the 2011-2012 OECD LEED study of measuring green growth in the Benelux countries (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg). The study paid particular attention to the challenges of measuring the transition to a low-carbon economy in cross-border areas as they have additional levels of complexity when it comes to measuring and monitoring their low-carbon transition.

How to stimulate growth and support job creation are two critical challenges that countries and localities confront and limited resources require lateral thinking about how actions in one area, such as employment and training, can have simultaneous benefits in others, such as creating new jobs and better supporting labour market inclusion.

Mexico regularly faces a wide range of natural hazards, including earthquakes, tropical storms and floods. Over the years, the National Civil Protection System has improved its institutional and operational preparedness to manage these disruptive events. But more can be done to avoid future losses and at the same time support sustainable economic development.

This workshop is to discuss the policy relevance of inequalities in the access to services in regions and cities, including the institutional and territorial organization for service delivery.

The creation of innovative new firms and the development of SME innovation are strongly influenced by the extent to which localities offer environments that favour the transfer of knowledge to local business and provide the other resources required for innovative firm development, including skills, finance, advice, and supply chain partners.

As part of the OECD LEED project on university support for entrepreneurship in eastern Germany, undertaken in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Regional Development, this handbook presents highlights of results of a series of case studies and a university survey.

Climate change combined with rapid population increases, economic growth and land subsidence could lead to a more than 9-fold increase in the global risk of floods in large port cities between now and 2050.

Water shortages and floods illustrate the risks posed by too little, or too much, water. By 2050 more than 40% of the world’s population will live under severe water stress and nearly 20% could be exposed to floods.

Many areas like Manisa suffer from a local lack of sophisticated demand in terms of expressed SME requirements. This leaves considerable scope for demand and supply side initiatives set within KOSGEB’s framework that will assist in shaping intervention and promoting a coherent approach to SME development.

Ireland’s economy is now showing encouraging signs of recovery from the financial crisis, but more must be done to reinvigorate growth and create the jobs that will get the country back to full health, according to the OECD.

This book focuses on the role of employment and training agencies in contributing to job creation and productivity in Northern Ireland. It explores how Northern Ireland is implementing labour market and skills policy and putting measures in place at the local level to stimulate quality employment, inclusion and growth.

Newsletter on regional development for autumn 2013.

Endorsing the OECD’s Action Plan for Youth at the OECD’s annual Ministerial Meeting in Paris in May 2013, ministers underlined the need to focus attention on the most disadvantaged youth.

This report provides a framework to understand the changing relationships between urban and rural areas. Specifically, it documents the characteristics of these partnerships and the factors that can hinder as well as enable rural-urban co-operation.

The 9th OECD Rural Development Policy Conference in Bologna, on 23-25 October 2013, will launch the publication "Rural-Urban partnerships: an integrated approach to economic development".

This report examines cross-border collaboration on innovation, building on case studies of cross-border areas that include the following countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom and Ireland.

The economic crisis has hit certain regions and cities harder than others in the OECD area, calling for better regional policies across levels of governments to foster an inclusive and sustainable recovery, according to two new OECD reports.

The facts are simple: the bulk of people live in cities and an overwhelming percentage of economic activity originates in cities. So we must find ways to empower cities to set positive trends and lead the way toward stronger, more resilient and inclusive growth.