- Unequal growth, unequal recession?
The world has seen recent decades of rapid growth. This has been most obvious in newly-industrialising countries, notably China and India, but has been shared by OECD countries. Yet the fruits of this economic growth have not been equally divided–either between countries or within countries. As it is put in the introduction to a new OECD report, Growing Unequal?, “there is widespread concern that economic growth is not being shared fairly” (page 15, see references). A rising tide does not necessarily raise all boats. Or, to use another liquid metaphor, we cannot rely on trickle-down.
(1517 words) - Migration, globalisation and gender:
Some key lessonsJust how significant is international migration in the light of other globalisation developments? One obvious starting point for answering the question is to ask how many of the current world population of 6.7 billion people are international migrants, defined as persons living outside their country of birth.
(1171 words) - Problems of scale
Fisheries may be an ancient economic activity, but nowadays they are at the forefront of globalisation. First, there is the trade itself: a blue hake caught off the coast of New Zealand by a Japanese vessel may be processed in China before being flown to a market in London or Paris.
(410 words) - Bright continent: African jobs
The gloomy image that has for so long hung over the world’s largest continent may at last be lifting.
Conflict and disease remain a bane, and there are challenges in areas like governance and transport, but as we reported in our last issue (No 255, May 2006), the OECD Development Centre’s latest African Economic Outlook is upbeat about future economic growth there.(346 words) - Heads together
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts a special conference with heads of international organisations on “Fair Ground Rules for a Socially Equitable and Open Global Economy,” Berlin, 19 December 2007. To Ms Merkel’s right are Angel Gurría (OECD), Pascal Lamy (WTO) and Juan Somavia (ILO), and to her left are Germany’s labour minister, Olaf Scholz, Robert Zoellick (World Bank) and Dominique Strauss-Kahn (IMF).
(68 words) - New directions
Both the size and the relative incidence or frequency of the foreign-born population have increased in all OECD countries since 1995. So while there have been large increases in traditional migration countries such as the US and New Zealand, there have also been sharp rises in Denmark, Korea, Ireland, Italy, Norway and Spain, where inward migration has recently taken off.
(237 words) - Ensuring a smoother flight
If Shakespeare was right, and the world is a stage, then “Gathering Storm” could be the title of the play as we enter 2008. With a US economy flirting with recession, the euro area losing stamina under a strong euro, a barrel of oil close to $100, international food and commodity prices reaching record levels and climate change intensifying, it looks like we are heading into a turbulent zone.
(807 words) - Africa: an emerging markets frontier
Something new is happening in Africa. Once talk of investment in the continent’s countries was dismissed as idealism. Now global investors are turning their eyes–and their funds–to a new investment frontier. Is this short-term euphoria?
(1345 words) - Beyond the ivory towers
Centres of higher learning often exude a rarefied air. From the spires of Oxford to the lanes of Bologna, a remoteness from local communities and disdain for the commercial world are still a common characterisation, if not a tradition.
(357 words) - Urban business
City managers are important economic players, handling as they do billion-dollar budgets and thousands of employees. In its second territorial review in a series on competitive cities, the OECD explains that in the last few decades, city managers have recognised that inner city problems could not be resolved by throwing more money at them.
(333 words)
Are you confident that governments can help avoid a global depression?
- Who pays the highest income tax?
- The income taxes people really pay
- Financial crisis and the economy
- Bullying at school: tackling the problem
- Unequal growth, unequal recession?
- From the financial crisis to the economic downturn
- Transfer pricing: Keeping it at arm’s length
- Santé to the French health system
- The brain drain: Old myths, new realities
- Immigration in the European Union: problem or solu...