This article summarises discussions from an OECD Financial Roundtable on reducing bank dependence in financing small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and non-bank debt financing alternatives.

Low growth, low interest rates and low returns on investment linked to the slow global economy are now compounding the problems of population ageing for both public and private pension systems, according to a new OECD report.

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.

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.

Adopted by the OECD Council on 23 February 2017, this Recommendation provides high-level policy guidance for designing a strategy for addressing the financial impacts of disasters on individuals, businesses and sub-national levels of governments, as well as the implication for public finances.

24 May 2017: PISA 2015 Results (Volume IV): Students’ Financial Literacy explores students’ experience with and knowledge about money and provides an overall picture of 15-year-olds’ ability to apply their accumulated knowledge and skills to real-life situations involving financial issues and decisions.

Globalisation has failed to create a level playing field in trade, investment and corporate behaviour, being one of the factors contributing to a backlash against openness in many countries and a decline in confidence in government institutions.

The global economy is expected to pick up moderately but greater efforts are needed to ensure that the benefits from growth and globalisation are more widely shared, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.

21 June 2017, Paris: Co-organised by the International Network for Pensions, Aging, and Retirement Research (INPARR), the OECD and IOPS, this seminar provided a window into the latest thinking and research that sheds light on where pension plans and designs are headed in the future and challenges to their future sustainability and efficiency.

Riding the wave of technological innovation in finance, the robo-advice model has emerged as one potential solution to increase the accessibility and affordability of getting help to invest savings for retirement. OECD's Jessica Mosher looks at the potential benefits, risks and challenges.

This publication compiles a series of articles that focus on the impact of digitalisation and technology in the areas of financial markets, insurance, and private pensions. It also discusses the tools and policies needed to ensure that the challenges posed by digitalisation result in better outcomes and better management of the risks involved.

25-26 April 2018, Tokyo - This event will bring together key stakeholders from the Asia Pacific region to discuss policy issues relevant to the sound development of insurance and private pensions markets.

The digitalisation of financial products and services, and the consequent need to strengthen digital financial literacy has become an important component of the global policy-making agenda. This guidance aims to identify and promote effective initiatives that enhance digital and financial literacy in light of the unique characteristics, advantages, and risks of digital financial services and channels.

Existing Home Sales in the United States decreased to 5270 Thousand in March from 5760 Thousand in February of 2020. Existing Home Sales in the United States averaged 3981.63 Thousand from 1968 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 7250 Thousand in September of 2005 and a record low of 1370 Thousand in March of 1970. Existing Home Sales occurs when the mortgage is closed. Mortgage closing usually takes place 30-60 days after the sales contract is closed. . This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Existing Home Sales - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Existing Home Sales in Spain decreased to 35.32 Thousand in February from 38.44 Thousand in January of 2020. Existing Home Sales in Spain averaged 23.73 Thousand from 2007 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 50.23 Thousand in January of 2007 and a record low of 11.54 Thousand in October of 2011. This page provides - Spain Existing Home Sales- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

GDP From Services in Nepal increased to 131079 NPR Million in 2018 from 118204 NPR Million in 2017. GDP From Services in Nepal averaged 81820.42 NPR Million from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 131079 NPR Million in 2018 and a record low of 61837 NPR Million in 2001. This page provides - Nepal Gdp From Services- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Korea tops a new OECD PISA survey that tests how 15-year olds use computers and the Internet to learn. The next best performers were New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong-Kong China and Iceland.

Belgian companies, mutualities and employment services should be more proactive in helping people with mental health problems stay in the workplace or find a job, according to a new OECD report.

Fighting foreign bribery is not a priority in Belgium. Together with the flagrant lack of resources for Belgian law enforcement authorities, this has resulted in very few foreign bribery investigations and prosecutions. In the 14 years since the entry into force of the foreign bribery offence in Belgium, only one case of bribery of foreign public officials has been concluded.

Note summarising the performance of Belgium in PISA 2012

The Belgian economy has returned to growth and continues scoring well on broader measures of well-being, but further reforms will be needed to secure fiscal sustainability while promoting employment and competitiveness, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Belgium 2015.

This country note presents student performance in science, reading and mathematics, and measures equity in education in Belgium. The interactive charts allow you to compare results with other countries participating in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

This note presents marginal effective tax rates (METRs) that summarise the tax system’s impact on the incentives to make an additional investment in a particular type of savings. By comparing METRs on different types of household savings, we can gain insights into which assets or savings types receive the most favourable treatment from the tax system.

The Sales Tax Rate in Isle Of Man stands at 20 percent. In Isle Of Man, the sales tax rate is a tax charged to consumers based on the purchase price of certain goods and services. The benchmark we use for the sales tax rate refers to the highest rate. Revenues from the Sales Tax Rate are an important source of income for the government of Isle Of Man. This page provides - Isle Of Man Sales Tax Rate | VAT - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Imports from Saudi Arabia in Turkey increased to 142.04 USD Million in March from 123.19 USD Million in February of 2020. Imports from Saudi Arabia in Turkey averaged 173.72 USD Million from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 263.96 USD Million in July of 2014 and a record low of 111.64 USD Million in July of 2016. This page includes a chart with historical data for Turkey Imports from Saudi Arabia.

The Sales Tax Rate in Cyprus stands at 19 percent. Sales Tax Rate in Cyprus averaged 16 percent from 2000 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 19 percent in 2014 and a record low of 10 percent in 2001. In Cyprus, the sales tax rate is a tax charged to consumers based on the purchase price of certain goods and services. The benchmark we use for the sales tax rate refers to the highest rate. Revenues from the Sales Tax Rate are an important source of income for the government of Cyprus. This page provides - Cyprus Sales Tax Rate | VAT - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

International migration fell in 2009, reflecting lower demand for workers in OECD countries for the second consecutive year after a decade of growth, according to a new OECD report.

The Brazilian economy has made a rapid recovery from the global economic crisis, but further reforms are necessary to boost long-term growth, spur investment and further reduce poverty, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Brazil.

The Czech economy’s export-driven recovery is slowing as weak activity Europe curbs exports. Swift implementation of new reforms is needed to ensure sustainable, inclusive long-term growth and better resilience to external shocks, according to the latest Economic Survey of the Czech Republic.

Switzerland has made a broadly balanced recovery from the economic crisis, but slower activity in Europe and pressures on the Swiss franc weigh on the near-term outlook, according to the latest Economic Survey of Switzerland.

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.

The pace of reform has accelerated in those OECD countries where it is needed most, says the latest Going for Growth report. It identifies the specific action needed to help governments steer their economies out of the crisis, stimulate growth and create jobs.

Swift action is needed to stabilise the Hungarian economy and put growth on a sound footing for a durable recovery, according to the latest Economic Survey of Hungary. Strengthening the credibility and predictability of domestic policies and undertaking much-needed fiscal consolidation will be key.

Euro area finance ministers meeting this week need to boost the firepower of the European stability funds to at least one trillion euros in order to restore market confidence, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said today.

The global economy is recovering, but confidence is extremely uneven across different regions, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook. European governments must take greater action to ensure that the crisis in the euro area does not derail the recovery.

Economic policy should be better designed to bring about more inclusive growth, ensuring that the benefits of increased prosperity are shared more evenly across society, according to a new report from the OECD and the World Bank.

The global economy has slowed, with key European countries entering a recession that is now impacting worldwide, the OECD said in its latest Interim Economic Assessment.Interim Economic Assessment

Ce document présente les principales recommandations de l'OCDE pour la France dans des domaines essentiels tels que la croissance et l’emploi (efficacité des services publics, système financier, innovation, fonctionnement des marchés des produits et du travail, éducation, retraites, réforme fiscale, croissance verte et agriculture) et la justice sociale (santé, logement, famille, jeunesse, intégration).

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomes the Spanish government's budget and the economic policy measures announced yesterday.

Estonia recovered forcefully from the global economic crisis but growth has since slowed, highlighting the need for further reforms that reduce exposure to external shocks and ensure against future boom/bust cycles, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Estonia.

A major step forward towards putting the measurement of well-being at the heart of policy-making was taken at a four-day international conference which ended in New Delhi today.

The President of the French Republic, Mr. François Hollande, met the Heads of international economic organisations at the OECD on Monday 29th October.

The balance of economic power is expected to shift dramatically over the next half century, with fast-growing emerging-market economies accounting for an ever-increasing share of global output, according to a new OECD report.

Latin American governments must act now to strengthen growth and development and counter these risks, according to the 2013 Latin American Economic Outlook, jointly produced by the OECD Development Centre and ECLAC.

Palabras de Angel Gurría,Secretario General OCDE, Lanzamiento del Informe Perspectivas Económicas de América Latina 2013: Transformación de la Estructura Productiva y Papel de las PYMES en el Desarrollo Regional

This paper uses household level data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) over the period 1991 to 2008 to analyse the driving factors of movements in the German household savings rate.

The global economy is expected to make a hesitant and uneven recovery over the coming two years. Decisive policy action is needed to ensure that stalemate over fiscal policy in the United States and continuing euro area instability do not plunge the world back into recession, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.

Spain is immersed in a prolonged recession that has been compounded by the continuing crisis in the euro area. The path to recovery has been launched, but will require full implementation of reforms and some additional measures to restore confidence in the financial sector, redress public finances and bring down high unemployment, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Spain.

The Slovak Republic recovered strongly from the global economic crisis and is weathering well the storm that has struck its main European trading partners. The challenges going forward will be restoring public finances while driving down unemployment and fostering long-term inclusive growth, says the latest Economic Survey.