OECD appoints Laurence Boone as new Chief Economist

The U.S. economy is experiencing one of the longest expansions on record, but the scars left by the Great Recession, as well as challenges posed by globalization and automation shocks, remain visible across the country, according to a new report from the OECD.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Berlin on 11-12 June 2018 to attend a meeting with Chancellor Merkel and Heads of International Organisations. While in Berlin, the Secretary-General will also present the 2018 OECD Economic Survey of Germany.

1st Joint IMF-OECD-World Bank Conference on Structural Reforms

Después de un largo período de débil crecimiento, la economía mundial finalmente está creciendo alrededor del 4%, cercano al promedio histórico de las últimas décadas.

Slight easing of G20 GDP growth in first quarter of 2018

Slow productivity growth in advanced economies holds back income gains and therefore improvements in well-being.

Network sectors (energy, transport and communications) have undergone a process of liberalisation in Greece in more than a decade.

The German economy is undergoing a robust expansion, with record-low unemployment and real wage gains underpinning domestic demand while strong exports are driving business investment. The strong fiscal position will offer opportunities for funding structural reforms and public investment to meet future challenges, according to a new report from the OECD.

Global trade imbalances narrowed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. They have remained at a lower level but are still of concern to policy makers because of the risks they pose to individual economies, as well as globally.

Stable growth momentum in the OECD area

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, was in Madrid 13-15 June 2018. The Secretary-General delivered remarks at the event organised by the Consejo Iberoamericano para la Competitividad y Productividad: "Innovación gubernamental para un Estado al servicio de la Sociedad".

The economic expansion in the United States is now one of the longest on record, although it has been sluggish in comparison with previous recoveries. While job growth has reduced the unemployment rate to historically-low levels, many people still remain on the sidelines of the labour market, as shown by the low participation rates of prime age workers.

In the past decade, overdose deaths have surged, particularly as (illicit) synthetic opioids have become more available. Opioid-related deaths touch urban and rural communities alike and are spreading to affect all demographic groups.

As discussed in the latest OECD Economic Outlook, the prolonged undershooting of inflation targets, despite massive monetary policy stimulus and stronger economic growth and lower unemployment, raises issues about the appropriateness of current inflation targeting frameworks in advanced economies. While the frameworks differ in detail and implementation, they are principally based on medium-term inflation objectives of 2%.

Short-term prospects for the Korean economy are good, with an uptick in world trade and fiscal policy driving growth, but productivity remains relatively low and the country faces the most rapid population ageing in the OECD area, according to a new report from the OECD.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in The Hague on 2 July 2018 to present the 2018 OECD Economic Survey of The Netherlands. While in The Hague, the Secretary-General will hold bilateral meetings with several Ministers and high-level officials of The Netherlands.

Tunisia’s trade, Tunisia's openness and its integration into global value chains has improved significantly since the mid-1990s, reflecting the country's comparative advantages.

Poland’s productivity has grown strongly over the past two decades. However, the public and private capital stock is weak, and investment remains focused on the adoption of existing technologies, which weighs on future productivity gains and innovation.

In 2016 the Polish government introduced a large new child benefit, called "Family 500+", with the aim to increase fertility from a low level and reduce child poverty.

The Netherlands is experiencing vibrant economic activity, with gross domestic product (GDP) at about 8% above its pre-crisis peak and the unemployment rate below 4%. Growth picked up to above 3% in 2017, which was well above the euro area and OECD averages.

Economic performance in The Netherlands is vibrant and growth is expected to remain robust, underpinned by sound public finances, healthy job creation and high levels of confidence. The current economic expansion should be used to speed up implementation of reforms to ensure future stability and support more inclusive labour markets, according to a new report from the OECD.

This paper summarises earlier OECD work aimed at quantifying the impact of structural reforms on economic outcomes.

With still large government debt and interest payments in many OECD countries, actively adjusting debt maturity can help to minimise debt servicing costs.

Consecutive years of primary deficits have led to mounting public debt of almost 50% of GDP, one of the fastest increases in Latin America over the last decade.

Owing to past structural reforms, Costa Rica has enjoyed robust GDP growth and productivity levels are gradually converging towards the OECD average.

Lithuania’s economy has grown faster than most other OECD economies over the past 10 years, unemployment continues to fall and public finances have stabilised after a long period of deficits and rising debt.

Stable growth momentum in the OECD area

Low interest rates prevailing in many advanced economies in recent years have already helped to lower the debt servicing burden, but government debt and interest payments remain large in many OECD countries. Could a further reduction in interest payments be attained by "locking-in" current low interest rates?

The Netherlands is likely to be one of the European countries that is going to be significantly affected by the United Kingdom’s planned departure from the European Union (Brexit).

The average standard of living of the Tunisians has been steadily increasing for several decades, while poverty and inequality have been greatly reduced by the implementation of many social programs.

Policy choices made today can have important positive effects on future living standards, according to new long-term economic scenarios released by the OECD.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Prague on 16 July 2018 on an official visit. He will present the 2018 OECD Economic Survey and the Environmental Performance Review of the Czech Republic.

Structural Policy Indicators Database for Economic Research (SPIDER)

The Czech economy is thriving, with robust employment, expanding exports and falling government debt. Efforts should now focus on boosting workforce skills and innovation to improve labour supply and productivity, further reduce poverty and inequality, and green the economy, according to two new OECD reports.

This paper presents country-specific effects of structural reforms. It discusses how sizeable and interesting country-specific effects can be identified in a panel setting by conditioning the impact of individual policies on their own level or on the stance of other policies and institutions.

Income inequality has increased in most OECD countries over the past two decades. This has come about both because incomes before taxes and transfers have become more unequally distributed, and because the extent of redistribution through taxes and transfers has fallen.

The Irish economy has experienced a decline in productivity growth over the past decade. This has mostly reflected the poor performance of local firms, with the large productivity gap between foreign-owned and local enterprises having widened.

This paper examines an industry whose economic activity uses a natural capital on which its profit also relies.

Canada is one of the OECD economies delivering the best outcomes for its citizens, especially in regards to self-reported well-being, personal security and health status. Canada is also undertaking several programmes to foster inclusive growth – with respect to childcare benefits, gender equality and social housing.

Growth, driven by both internal and external demand, has been accelerating since 2013 and at 4.6% in 2017 it was more balanced than in previous years. Household consumption is supported by income growth, a declining savings rate as confidence is high, and by rising credit.

The euro area sovereign debt crisis highlighted important weaknesses in the euro area design. Fiscal policy did not build sufficient buffers before the crisis, which forced some countries to tighten fiscal policy too rapidly during the downturn to restore market confidence in sovereign borrowing.

This paper investigates the effect of structural characteristics on debt limits of middle income countries.

This paper provides robust empirical evidence that government effectiveness is a key determinant of sovereign defaults.

This paper uses a novel data set of digital technology usage covering 25 industries in 25 European countries over the 2010-16 period to explore the drivers of digital adoption across two broad sets of digital technologies by firms, cloud computing and back or front office integration.

Canada has long taken in more immigrants relative to its population than most other countries. Immigration policy in Canada aims to promote economic development by selecting immigrants with high levels of human capital, to reunite families and to respond to foreign crises and offer protection to endangered people.

The current Canadian government has declared itself feminist and has taken a number of steps to improve labour market outcomes for women. In terms of employment and labour force participation, Canadian women do much better than the OECD average.

Governments today need to balance the policy goals of boosting economic growth and improving equity when making budget decisions. How can public spending choices promote inclusive growth? What can be learned from previous spending decisions in times of crisis?

This paper reviews empirical research on finance and labour markets.

OECD annual inflation up to 2.8% in June 2018, driven by energy and food prices