Read what OECD bloggers have to say about topics as varied as air pollution, biodiversity, climate, environmental policies, green growth, investment, waste and water. Join the discussion on our latest blog: Climate - Towards a just transition, with no stranded workers and no stranded communities.

Last night, I and my brother were watching news and suddenly he said…, “leading a luxurious life in our village is much easier than struggling for a simpler life in metro...

There has been an explosion in the usage of mobile phones and smartphones to access travel related websites and portals in India. More and more users are turning to their mobile phones to book tickets for local, national and...

Chapter A

So just what is the Modern Age, and how do we get there? First people need to educate themselves in the sense they have power over the University System. It is not the...

Apart from being one of the most amazing book series, J.K. Rowling has beautifully captured the imagination of a whole generation, giving them lifelong memories!

The power of Fortuner is back as the Japanese auto giant Toyota launches its second generation priced at Rs. 25.92 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The capital city of Karnataka is prepping to host the biggest entertainment event at KTPO Convention Centre in Whitefield on 12-13 November 2016.

Germany recovered rapidly from the 2008-09 recession, with GDP topping pre-crisis rates during 2011 and unemployment falling significantly. Public finances are sound, but further reforms are needed to transform its growth model to thrive as a knowledge-based economy.

Restoring competitiveness is one of the key challenges to bring European economies back on a path of strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Europe could improve its growth prospects by implementing a strategic reform agenda with a broad range of policy reforms to increase productivity, dynamism and employment.

At the Summit, Mr. Gurría will deliver remarks and participate in a Ministers’ Roundtable on "Attracting New Sources of Private Finance to Transport Infrastructure". He will also present an OECD Transport Working Paper: “Mobilising Private Investment in Sustainable Transport: the Case of Land-Based Passenger Transport Infrastructure”.

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

Germans continue to enjoy a high level of health compared to other OECD countries but the government needs to tackle high levels of hospital treatments and address growing pressures on long-term care, according to a new OECD report.

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría welcomes the initiative of President Francois Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel to put forward a structural and ambitious response to the current refugee crisis.

I want to congratulate Deputy Secretary-General Stefan Kapferer on his move to become the head of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW).

The Annual International Transport Forum Summit is the unique platform for a global conversation on strategies for transport in the 21st century. It will take place in Leipzig, Germany from 18-20 May 2016, under the Presidency of Denmark under the theme "Green and Inclusive Transport ".

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 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.

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.

Progress has been made in narrowing the gender gap in pay, especially in employment, over the past decade but much remains to be done in many countries. Women pay a high price for motherhood, with steep childcare costs and taxes deterring many from working more, according to a new OECD report.

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.

This report presents, for the first time a local ‘green growth’ indicator framework. This indicator framework was developed from the OECD ‘green growth’ strategy at the national level, but modified to highlight issues of transition that are most relevant for local areas.

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).

High-growth firms (HGFs) – firms able to grow fast over a short period of time – contribute to most new jobs in advanced economies.

The main purpose of this meeting is to shortly present where the Mental Health and Work project stands and to discuss some good practice examples from the first countries that have been reviewed.

Korea should strengthen its social safety net and improve support for laid-off workers to help them find a new job more quickly, according to a new OECD report.

Income inequality increased by more in the first three years of the crisis to the end of 2010 than it had in the previous twelve years, before factoring in the effect of taxes and transfers on income, according to new OECD data.

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.

This working paper reports on the work undertaken as part of the Tackling Long-term Unemployment Amongst Vulnerable Groups project. It includes the findings of a survey undertaken jointly by the OECD LEED Programme and the World Association of Public Employment Services in 2012, and also case studies and learning models from around the world on innovative practices to support the long-term unemployed into work.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to restoring inclusive growth, jobs and trust. Macroeconomic, structural policies and labour activation strategies are all required. The G20 process can play a pivotal role in helping countries identify effective policies and implement them, said Angel Gurría

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.

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.

Brazil’s strong economic growth has helped cut the youth unemployment rate over the past decade to levels below those of most OECD countries. Increased investment in education and vocational training is also helping young people get a foot in the jobs market, according to a new OECD report.

The last decade has seen considerable policy attention to the social economy and its contribution to employment, in particular as regards the inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable workers and the provision of appropriate working conditions.

This conference on 9 April 2014 will provide an opportunity for a mutual sharing of good practice in fostering the better insertion of youth into the labour market through the development of quality apprenticeships. It would also seek to foster a greater commitment by countries to take action to introduce or strengthen apprenticeship initiatives and to take stock of the progress achieved.

Closer collaboration between local employment, training, and economic development agencies to develop the right skills in jobseekers is crucial to support export-oriented growth in Northern Ireland, according to a new OECD report.

In partnership with the Swedish Public Employment Service, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), Swedish Ministry of Employment and the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES), LEED held the 10th Annual Meeting of the Forum on Partnerships and Local Development in Stockholm 23 April – 25 April, on the theme of ‘job creation just ahead: building adaptable labour markets’.

Canada has experienced solid economic growth since the global crisis, allowing it to reverse recession-induced job losses and put federal public finances on a sound footing, says the OECD. Growth is expected to accelerate from 2.5% this year to 2.7% in 2015.

Reducing income inequality would boost economic growth, according to new OECD analysis. This work finds that countries with lower income inequality grow faster than those with higher inequality.

Education systems have made major strides to close gender gaps in student performance but girls and boys remain deeply divided in career choices, which are being made much earlier than commonly thought, according to a new OECD report.

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.

This expert seminar aims to get a better understanding of the features, limitations and preliminary findings from the use of SIBs, and to a lesser extent, of DIBs in developing countries from a multidimensional and multi-stakeholder perspective.

The OECD’s Annual Meeting at Ministerial Level reinforced member governments’ support across a broad range of key OECD work.

OECD countries are seeing a trend away from traditional employment towards part-time and temporary work and self-employment. However, there are concerns that part-time and temporary work are contributing to inequality and poverty. Policy needs to focus on ensuring that these "non-traditional" jobs are stepping stones to better jobs, not dead ends.

This blog post looks at the importance of assessing and anticipating skill needs as recent empirical literature warns about the negative impact that skills mismatch can have on individuals and economies as a whole.

The fact remains that robots have persistently failed to imitate the most human of skills, such empathy, teamwork, relationship building, etc. While technology may be reducing the demand for some routine skills, it is simultaneously increasing the demand for more difficult-to-automate social skills.

Agreeing on skill needs is fundamental to develop a coherent response to skills imbalances. This can only be achieved if information is disseminated to all stakeholders in a pro-active way. For this, in turn, there is the need for the developers of skills anticipation exercises to engage their audience more effectively

High-skilled jobs as an important driver of overall employment growth in the EU and the impact of high-skill job creation goes beyond the highly educated workforce. If European regions are very unequal in terms of high-skill intensity, they are converging slowly.

The webinars enabled serious discussion on the concept of ‘local economic resilience’ in an informal setting that facilitates interaction and questions. The format featured presentations from policy experts and a roundtable discussion with the audience.

Recent reforms have made pension systems more financially sustainable and pensioners have higher living standards than ever before. But future generations are likely to find their pension entitlements much less generous than today’s and many may face a serious risk of pensioner poverty, according to a new OECD report.