The world economy desperately needs more productive investment: to create jobs, to increase productivity and to meet critical global goals like combating climate change. But instead of more productive investment, we are getting rising stock markets. Sadly too many policymakers and journalists don’t know the difference.

The greatest puzzle today is that since the global crisis financial markets see so little risk, with asset prices rising everywhere in response to zero interest rates and quantitative easing, while companies that invest in the real economy appear see so much more risk. What can be happening?

OECD Ministers have endorsed updated guidelines to help national governments and regional groups create the right conditions to attract domestic and foreign investment.

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

Responsible business conduct (RBC) is an essential part of an open international investment climate. The activities of multinational enterprises often span multiple countries and many cultural, legal, and regulatory environments.

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.

This chapter from the 2015 OECD Business and Finance Outlook examines the potential impact of an environment of protracted low interest rates on pension systems and life insurance companies. It describes the mechanisms through which prolonged low interest rates can affect the solvency position of these institutions and uses available data to assess potential impacts.

In a historic visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to the OECD in Paris, the People’s Republic of China today decided to enhance longstanding collaboration with the OECD and to join the OECD Development Centre.

In 2009, Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo published her book, “Dead Aid”, which shocked much of the international development community by claiming that ‘traditional’ systems of official development assistance (ODA) to Africa were not delivering, and arguing why we must find alternatives. This article looks at where we are at today.

Addis Ababa - Part of the 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development, this event explored strategies to leverage Africa’s pension funds and other sources of private financing to develop Africa’s infrastructure. Ways to improve the investment climate in Africa using the recently updated Policy Framework for Investment were also be addressed.

Long-term savings and investments (LTSI) by individuals enhances their financial security while also supporting growth and financial development. Evidence shows that financial knowledge and skills are positively related to LTSI behaviour, and indicates a strong correlation between levels of financial literacy and retirement wealth accumulation.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: This Symposium addressed cutting-edge issues to further integrate financial education and financial consumer protection policies with a view to enhancing financial well-being and to address the challenges and identify solutions in delivering effective financial education.

The OECD presented today the final package of measures for a comprehensive, coherent and co-ordinated reform of the international tax rules to be discussed by G20 Finance Ministers at their meeting on 8 October, in Lima, Peru.

Public and private finance mobilised by developed countries for climate action in developing countries reached USD 62 billion in 2014, up from USD 52 billion in 2013 and making an average of USD 57 billion annually over the 2013-14 period, according to a new OECD study in collaboration with Climate Policy Initiative (CPI).

The reforms to the pensions system in Mexico, especially the introduction of a system of individual defined contribution accounts, have significantly improved the system’s financial sustainability.

As part of continuing efforts to support market confidence and business integrity, the OECD has launched in Asia a new set of corporate governance principles that were endorsed at the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in September 2015.

Taking place in Berlin on 29-30 October, the 2015 Global Forum will explore current trends in global private pension systems and the ways in which pension regulatory and supervisory authorities are managing and reacting to the evolution of these systems.

This stocktaking report profiles the tax treatment of funded private pension plans across all OECD and EU countries. The information refers to 2015 or the latest year with available data and covers all types of funded private pension plans in each country.

29 October 2015, Paris - Resilient cities and SMEs are critical to reducing the economic disruption from climate-related disaster events. In the run up to COP21, these remarks by Adrian Blundell-Wignall at the AXA-UNEP-PSI Conference on Climate Resilience address the importance of building resilience to climate change risks at the level of cities and SMEs.

This taxonomy maps out the investment options available to private investors and the instruments and incentives available to attract private sector investment in infrastructure.

SMEs are important engines of innovation, growth, job creation and social cohesion. However, they can only reach their full potential if they obtain the finance necessary to start, sustain and grow their business. These voluntary principles provide broad guidelines on how to enhance access by SMEs to finance to help increase the contribution of SMEs to resilient and inclusive growth.

The OECD has produced assessments of country-specific investment strategies in G20 countries in order to improve the investment ecosystem, foster efficient infrastructure investment and support financing opportunities for SMEs. This booklet reproduces the highlights of these assessments which have been transmitted to G20 leaders for consideration at their Summit in November 2015..

This document outlines the objectives and key components of the framework, and presents the flexible, outcome-based, core competencies framework itself. The framework is designed to be applicable to youth aged 15 to 18, describing the basic level of financial literacy that is likely to be needed by this group to fully and safely participate in economic and financial life.

Financial literacy has become a key life skill for individuals as well as micro and small businesses. Today, 59 economies worldwide are implementing national strategies using guidance from the OECD/INFE High-level Principles on National Strategies for Financial Education. The Policy Handbook describes the experiences of these economies and addresses challenges that countries have faced in implementing the Principles.

Paris, 19-20 November 2015: Bringing together senior executives representing the world’s largest institutional investors, senior policy makers and regulators, debates focused on issues affecting long-term investment, including: asset allocation concepts; regulation; governance; energy and natural resources; and, brownfield and greenfield infrastructure.

2 December 2015 - The global financial and economic crisis of 2008 left the international monetary system with vulnerabilities caused by volatile capital flows and spillovers from national policy responses. The current policy environment has moved multilateral co-operation, openness and transparency to the top of the capital flow policy agenda.

This event explored the potential contribution of the (re)insurance sector to climate change mitigation and adaptation, including: the role of the insurance sector in a climate change agreement; managing the financial risks of extreme events in a changing climate; investing in the transition to a low-carbon economy; and the role of regulators in addressing climate change risks.

OECD's Adrian Blundell-Wignall explains why clean energy projects are not attracting investors despite the availability of fund for investment. This paper was presented at a high-level breakfast event on institutional investors and the low-carbon transition hosted by the OECD Secretary-General during COP21 on 9 December 2015.

This paper reviews currency-based measures (CBMs) directed at banks in 49 countries between 2005 and 2013. These measures apply a discrimination, such as less favourable treatment, on the basis of the currency of an operation, typically foreign currencies. The new data shows that CBMs have been increasingly used in the post-crisis period, including for macro-prudential purposes.

This OECD-UNEP COP21 session will explore whether the governance of institutional investments, including in particular any applicable fiduciary standards, adequately considers climate change-related risks and green finance opportunities, and whether guidelines may be needed in this area to support investment decision-making.

This brochure looks at how financial education can contribute to longer term policies aimed at facilitating the integration of refugees. The provision of financial education, as a complement to supply-side financial inclusion initiatives as well as other education and health support, can support refugees and migrants by facilitating social and labour market inclusion as well as improve their (financial) well-being.

Climate change is a major political and economic challenge. This paper sketches out its relevance for the financial sector. Necessary low-carbon investments imply a significant yet manageable financing gap. Beyond capital mobilisation that has attracted most attention until now, the main challenge is ensuring a transition-consistent capital reallocation.

This article addresses the potential implications of climate change for the financial management of disaster risks. It outlines the contribution of insurance to reducing the economic disruption of disaster events and policy approaches to supporting the penetration of disaster insurance coverage and the capacity of insurance markets to absorb disaster risks.

This article on public equity financing for SMEs complements earlier OECD work on market-based finance for SMEs. The development of this market segment could promote investment in SMEs and, together with securitisation and other non-bank debt financing instruments, encourage an enhanced allocation of risk and risk taking, and thus support growth.

4-5 February 2016 - Mumbai, India‌‌: This seminar addressed emerging frameworks for financial consumer protection across Asia; financial markets and better outcomes for consumers; improving policy by analysing consumer complaints data; technology and alternative delivery channels and promoting financial consumer protection, inclusion and investor education.

When I was interviewing 200 bankers and banking staff working in Europe's financial centre the City of London, perhaps the most telling was the language. Not so much the profanities– though there were many of those–nor the technical stuff and three-letter acronyms (TLAs). Most striking were terms that seemed designed to sidestep any possibility of ethical discussion.

Amsterdam, 20-21 April 2016: This symposium addressed the challenges of financial resilience throughout life and the importance of financial education.

Singapore, 25 April 2016: This roundtable focused on key themes related to G20 work, in particular the views of the private sector on current work developed by the OECD for the G20 Presidency toward promoting more diversified and innovative infrastructure financing.

28 April 2016, Paris - OECD, IOPS and the World Bank are joining forces to expand the reach of the OECD’s Global Pension Statistics database and annual Pensions Markets in Focus report. This collaboration with the World Bank will help bring data from emerging and developing economies that are not currently included in the database.

Jakarta, 1-2 June 2016: This seminar addressed the importance of financial literacy and financial education for empowering micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

What is blocking business investment and productivity growth? OECD Business and Finance Outlook 2016 will focus on fragmentation at all levels of the global economy: heterogeneous policies, rules, laws and industry practices that create perverse incentives and block business efficiency.

This publication applies the lessons from the OECD’s analysis of disaster risk financing practices and the development of guidance to the specific case of floods. This report provides an overview of the approaches that economies facing various levels of flood risk and economic development have taken to managing the financial impacts of floods.

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.

Public policy has an important role to play in promoting research and development (R&D) and the development, diffusion, and use of new knowledge and innovations. Fiscal incentives, including tax policies, should be directed at specific barriers, impediments or synergies to facilitate the desired level of investment in R&D and innovations.

One of the puzzles of the post-crisis period is low observed aggregate productivity growth. This report dissects the problem using the company and sector value-added data of more than 11,000 of the world’s largest listed non-financial and non-real-estate companies, taken from 20 different industry sectors.

This report provides estimates of the costs associated with bank resolution both in terms of the expected costs that might arise should a bank fail (i.e. as "ex-post" costs), as well as the cost associated with the likelihood that a solvent bank might fail (i.e. as "ex-ante" costs) over the next year.

This document outlines the objectives and key components of the framework, and presents the flexible, outcome-based, core competencies framework itself. The framework is designed to be applicable to adults aged 18 and over, describing the basic level of financial literacy that is likely to be needed by this group to fully and safely participate in economic and financial life.

Leaders of the G20 countries meeting at their Summit in Hangzhou, China, have called on the OECD to help develop an agenda to build a stronger, more innovative and inclusive world economy.

12/10/2016 – Adults in many countries around the world display low levels of financial knowledge, fail to engage in financial behaviours that could improve their financial security and have financial attitudes oriented towards the short-term, as shown in the OECD/INFE International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy Competencies released today.

This report contains the results of an international data collection survey that measured the financial literacy and financial inclusion of adults. A total of 51,650 adults aged 18 to 79 from 30 countries and economies participated in the survey.