Since the start of the Great Recession, labour productivity growth has been weak in the United Kingdom, weaker than in many other OECD countries.
Greater international integration has modified the transmission channels and the impact that external shocks have on domestic economies via increased trade openness and exposure to global financial developments.
This study explores the impact of export shocks on firms and re-aggregates results to derive distributional effects on sectors and regions.
Tentative signs of easing growth momentum in the OECD area
This paper exploits a new database that is unique in its scale and scope containing detailed information on over two million projects carried out by one million firms that benefited from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund in 25 EU member countries during the multi-annual financial framework 2007-2013.
The discussion about a fiscal stabilisation capacity as a way of providing more fiscal integration in the euro area has strengthened in the aftermath of the European sovereign debt crisis.
The paper examines the possible design and macroeconomic stabilisation properties of a euro area unemployment benefits re-insurance scheme using annual historical data from 2000 to 2016.
The euro area sovereign debt crisis has exposed important flaws in the design of the Economic and Monetary Union, especially when it comes to dealing with macroeconomic shocks.
OECD annual inflation up to 2.8% in June 2018, driven by energy and food prices
This paper reviews empirical research on finance and labour markets.
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?
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.
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.
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.
This paper provides robust empirical evidence that government effectiveness is a key determinant of sovereign defaults.
This paper investigates the effect of structural characteristics on debt limits of middle income countries.
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.
Europe’s economy is finally growing robustly. These positive developments provide an opportunity to renew efforts to meet the long-term challenges facing the European Union (EU).
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.
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.
This paper examines an industry whose economic activity uses a natural capital on which its profit also relies.
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.
Turkey’s business sector exhibits one of the highest investment rates among OECD countries.
Despite numerous headwinds and adverse shocks, Turkey's real GDP has grown by more than 34% over the past 5 years, faster than any other OECD country except for Ireland and only slightly less than China and India.
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.
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.
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.
Structural Policy Indicators Database for Economic Research (SPIDER)
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.
Policy choices made today can have important positive effects on future living standards, according to new long-term economic scenarios released by the OECD.
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.
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).
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?
Stable growth momentum in the OECD area
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.
Owing to past structural reforms, Costa Rica has enjoyed robust GDP growth and productivity levels are gradually converging towards the OECD average.
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.
With still large government debt and interest payments in many OECD countries, actively adjusting debt maturity can help to minimise debt servicing costs.
This paper summarises earlier OECD work aimed at quantifying the impact of structural reforms on economic outcomes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Poland’s catch up with other OECD country has been largely based on productivity growth resulting from restructuring towards more productive sectors and foreign technology absorption.
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.
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.
Since the early 2000s, the investment rate has declined, driven by the decrease in business investment.
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.
The European economy is growing robustly, helped by accommodative monetary policy, mildly expansionary fiscal policy and the global acceleration. The current economic expansion should be used to speed up implementation of reforms to the euro area architecture and EU policies that would support greater European integration and ensure stronger, more inclusive long-term growth, according to two new reports from the OECD.
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%.