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Expanding business start-up support for disadvantaged groups can tackle unemployment and social exclusion

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.




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L'OCSE e il Governo Italiano intensificano la collaborazione su occupazione e sviluppo locale

L'Organizzazione per la Cooperazione e lo Sviluppo Economico (OCSE) e il Governo Italiano hanno intensificato la collaborazione per garantire un'efficace attuazione delle strategie di sviluppo locale per promuovere l'occupazione, incoraggiare l'imprenditorialità e aumentare l'inclusione sociale.




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OECD Steel Committee says immediate action needed to address challenges of excess capacity

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.




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2015 International Workshop on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains

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.




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Input-Output Tables

Input-Output Tables




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Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum 2015 - Enabling the next industrial revolution: Systems innovation for green growth

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.




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Reshoring: Myth or Reality?

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.




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Learning from Firms in East Asian Production Networks - Insights Blog

Slowing growth in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is grabbing the headlines with some suggesting a third wave of the 2008 global financial crisis. While this topic deserves attention because of its global economic implications, there is insufficient analysis of firms in global production networks (GPNs), which were at the forefront of the economic transformation in PRC and the rest of East Asia, and lessons for latecomers to GPNs.




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Co-operation on approaches to macro-prudential and capital flow management measures: Update by the IMF and the OECD

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




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Evaluating the financial health of the steel industry

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.




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Benefiting from the Next Production Revolution

The more governments and firms understand the implications of new technologies for production, the better placed they will be to prepare for the risks, shape appropriate policies, and reap the benefits.




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Peer Review of the Japanese Shipbuilding Industry

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.




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Diagnostic of Chile’s Engagement in Global Value Chains

This OECD report lays an empirical foundation for structuring economic policies to facilitate Chile’s participation in global value chains and to maximise the associated benefits for national firms and workers.




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Active policies needed for a competitive and sustainable tourism sector

The tourism industry in OECD countries continues to grow strongly despite economic weakness in advanced economies, and outperformed tourism globally in 2014. However, active, innovative and integrated policies are needed to ensure that tourism remains a competitive and sustainable sector, says OECD.




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Launch of the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains

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.




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Conference on investment treaties: The quest for balance between investor protection and governments’ right to regulate

Paris, 14 March 2016: Organised by the OECD-hosted Freedom of Investment Round-table, this conference will explore how governments are balancing investor protection and how to improve balance through new institutions.




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Environmental Policy and Technological Innovation in Shipbuilding

This paper examines the relationship between environmental policy and "green" innovation in shipbuilding.




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Lending to SMEs and entrepreneurs is improving, but more diverse forms of financing are needed

Financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has turned the corner from the downswing seen during the global financial crisis, but overall credit conditions remain challenging and access to external finance continues to be much tighter for SMEs than larger firms, according to a new OECD report.




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Outcomes from the High-Level Symposium on Excess Capacity and Structural Adjustment in the Steel Sector

A High-Level Meeting on excess capacity and structural adjustment in the steel sector was convened on 18 April 2016, at the Palais d’Egmont in Brussels, co-organised by the OECD and the Belgian government.




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Global trade in fake goods worth nearly half a trillion dollars a year - OECD & EUIPO

Imports of counterfeit and pirated goods are worth nearly half a trillion dollars a year, or around 2.5% of global imports, with US, Italian and French brands the hardest hit and many of the proceeds going to organised crime, according to a new report by the OECD and the EU’s Intellectual Property Office.




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Local growth and development: An era of new priorities

Not so long ago, “globalisation” was a favourite paradigm in international business. It was a trend that began in the late 1970s and accelerated in the 1980s, when corporate takeovers were the order of the day and multinational companies fixated on maximising short-term profits and boosting share prices. One approach was “global sourcing”, also called outsourcing or offshoring.




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The Routine Content of Occupations

This work proposes a novel measure of the routine content of occupations, built on data from the OECD PIAAC survey of adult skills mirroring the extent to which workers can modify the type and sequence of tasks performed on the job.




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No Country for Young Firms

This paper provides new cross-country evidence on the links between national policies and the growth patterns of start-ups. In particular, it compares for the first time the heterogeneous effects of national policies on entrants and incumbents, within the same country, industry, and time period.




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Inclusive business can help solve the sustainability equation

From the early 2000s, sustainability has emerged as a central policy-making consideration as climate change and population growth have heightened concerns about already-stretched natural resources.




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Report on Due diligence in Colombia's Gold Supply Chain: Overview

This report is the first of a series of assessments on Colombian gold supply chains and aims to develop an initial approach and analysis for how risks outlined in Annex II of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas are relevant in the Colombian context.




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In with the in-crowd

Over the last few years there has been increased interest among start-ups in using Internet-based platforms to crowdsource a wide variety of resources, including funding, labour, design and ideas. Does this approach work?




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10th Forum on responsible mineral supply chains

10-12 May, Paris: The 2016 forum focused on compliance and implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, including how to maximise the positive impacts on livelihoods through due diligence; viable options for trade in artisanal and small-scale mined gold; and identifying and preventing the worst forms of child labour in the mineral supply chain.




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All on board to increase productivity for a more inclusive world

For Chile, it is a great honour and opportunity to chair the 2016 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. It is an opportunity to celebrate Chile’s first five years as a member of the OECD and is yet another demonstration of the increasing relevance of emerging and developing economies, which today account for more than half of world GDP.




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Organising sporting events: Preventing corruption and promoting responsible business conduct

This brochure looks at the corruption, labour, human rights and environmental risks associated with the organisation of large sporting events. It describes how OECD instruments and expertise in implementation of complex projects can help host governments, event organisers and their business partners ensure that the world of sport remains associated with the traditional values of excellence and fair play.




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A new boost to transparency in international tax matters: 6 new countries sign agreement enabling automatic sharing of country-by-country reporting

As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Canada, Iceland, India, Israel, New Zealand and the People’s Republic of China signed today the Multilateral Competent Authority agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports (“CbC MCAA”), bringing the total number of signatories to 39 countries. The signing ceremony took place in Beijing, China.




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The economic empowerment of women for more productive and inclusive societies

This year’s OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM), chaired by Chile, is devoted to productivity. Ministers will discuss what governments, firms and individuals can do to improve productivity with the aim of fostering inclusive growth.




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For an optimistic revolution

The world has seen more than one industrial revolution and another one is already upon us. We should face it as optimists.




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The productivity and equality nexus

Productivity growth has slowed since the crisis and inequality of income and opportunity has been getting worse. Could they be impacting each other?




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It’s up to us all to end child labour

A young boy named Kalu, who had been rescued from a carpet-weaving unit in Bihar, once raised a compelling and very significant question when he met then-President Bill Clinton. In conversation with the President, Kalu politely inquired about his plans and policies with regard to the world’s children and their condition.




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Towards a more productive, inclusive world

Despite nearly a decade of policy efforts, the global economy remains in the repair shop. The legacies of the crisis are still very much present: weak growth, persistently high unemployment in several countries, faltering trade and investment and a profound loss of public confidence and trust. Any prospect of a strong upturn in advanced or emerging economies has dimmed in the past year.




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The MNE Guidelines at 40: Implementation still matters

Four decades after their adoption, the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises have never been more relevant to ensuring that businesses behave responsibly, wherever they operate.




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New OECD indicators trace productivity growth slowdown pre- and post- crisis

Productivity growth – the central driver of rising economic output and material living standards – has been slowing in many advanced and emerging economies in the wake of the crisis, according to new data released today in the OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators.




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The twin challenges of promoting productivity and inclusive growth

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.




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Forging a digital society

Digital innovation is an opportunity—for governments, for business, for the public, and for the way in which they relate to each other.




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How to implement Social Impact Bonds (SIB) in Poland?

The purpose of the seminar is to provide the practical information about how to implement SIBs in Poland using international experiences. The seminar is addressed to the potential applicants interested in the implementation of SIB within the call for proposals planned to be launched by the Ministry of Economic Development.




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New ‘nexus’ approach needed to tackle productivity and inequality challenges, says OECD report

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




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OECD Action Plan on the Sustainable Development Goals

Sound public policies grounded in evidence – and implemented effectively – will be crucial for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This document outlines four broad areas for future action for the OECD, highlighting what it could do more of – or do differently – to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. C/MIN(2016)6.




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International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean

The theme of the 2016 Forum taking place in Paris on 3 June is "New Challenges and Innovative Partnerships in a Shifting World". Key issues on the agenda include redefining partnerships to support inclusive and sustainable growth, and innovative policies to increase productivity and tackle inequalities.




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OECD Report to G7 Leaders on Responsible Business Conduct

This note describes work undertaken by the OECD to support the implementation of the 2015 G7 Leaders’ Declaration in the area of responsible business conduct. Four areas of action are covered: outreach on responsible business conduct (RBC) standards to other countries; development of guidance for supply chain due diligence; monitoring of multi-stakeholder initiatives; and strengthening National Contact Points.




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Tackling policy fragmentation: the key to getting onto a path of rapid and sustainable productivity growth

Further structural reforms are needed to help the business sector boost productivity growth and overcome the key challenges of sluggish investment in advanced economies and excess capacity in emerging economies, according to a new OECD report.




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Inclusive Entrepreneurship Policy

A three-year programme of co-operation between the European Commission and LEED on self-employment and entrepreneurship in Europe.




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15 years of the National Contact Points

Fifteen years after the creation of National Contact Points as a means to improve the implementation of the Guidelines, the OECD has conducted an analysis of the functioning and performance of the National Contact Points.




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G20 agrees Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policymaking

Shanghai, 9-10 July 2016: G20 Trade Ministers reinforced their "determination to promote inclusive, robust and sustainable trade and investment growth" with the adoption of the G20 Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policymaking.




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The Policy Framework for Investment (PFI)

The Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) is a non-prescriptive tool for improving investment policy for development. It helps governments to design and implement policy reforms to create a truly attractive, robust and competitive environment for domestic and foreign investment.




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Annual Report on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 2015

This report covers the activities undertaken to promote the effective implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by governments and National Contact Points from July 2014 to December 2015.