Tackling the financial and economic crisis

The global economic crisis is affecting families and communities across the planet. Restoring stability, confidence and growth is the priority: the OECD is working with the world’s governments and other organisations to get economies moving again.

OECD’s Taxing Wages shows small reduction in taxes on individual wage earners in 2008

12-May-2009

Taxes on wage earners fell slightly in 2008 in many OECD countries, with Poland and Turkey showing the biggest drop for an unmarried person earning the average wage, according to the OECD’s annual Taxing Wages publication. But the situation for 2009 remains unclear as fiscal stimulus packages often include tax measures.

African Economic Outlook 2009

11-May-2009

The 2009 edition of the African Economic Outlook (AEO) covers 47 African countries, up from 35 last year. The report finds the region gravely affected by the global economic downturn. Following half a decade of above 5 per cent economic growth, the continent can expect only 2.8 per cent in 2009, less than half of the 5.7 per cent expected before the crisis.

OECD unemployment rate rises to 7.6% in March 2009

11-May-2009

The unemployment rate for the OECD area was 7.6% in March 2009, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.0 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

Composite Leading Indicators continue to indicate strong slowdown in the OECD area but the pace of the deterioration is easing

11-May-2009

OECD composite leading indicators (CLIs) for March 2009 continue to point to a strong slowdown in the OECD.

Society at a Glance reveals evolving social trends in OECD countries

04-May-2009

The French spend more time sleeping than anyone else in OECD countries. They also devote more time to eating than anyone else and nearly double that of Americans, Canadians or Mexicans. These are some of the insights into the differing ways in which OECD countries use that most fundamental of resources, time, in the latest edition of Society at a Glance.

Ensuring food security for the world’s poor: Questions and Answers

on 06-May-2009

The number of malnourished people around the world is estimated to rise to nearly one billion this year as the economic crisis takes its toll on developing countries. How to ensure food security for the world’s poor was the subject of a high-level meeting organised jointly by the OECD and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Trade flows collapse in Q4 2008 but signs of falls easing in early 2009

30-Apr-2009

Merchandise trade volumes of the Group of Seven (G7) took an unprecedented drop in the last quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter. However, provisional monthly data for January and February 2009 measured in value terms suggest a slowing down of the rate of decline.

OECD Economic Survey of France 2009

28-Apr-2009

How is France affected by the global economic crisis and how can it eliminate the budget deficit? Can it raise employment rates for youth and older workers and should private research and development be supported by public funding? The Economic Survey looks at the policies needed to help pull the country out of the  recession and restore sustained growth.

Tax haven crackdown will benefit developing countries, says OECD’s Gurría

24-Apr-2009

A crackdown on tax havens and cross-border tax evasion will help developing countries to raise more revenues to pay for much-needed schools, roads and hospitals, according to OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. In an article published on the OECD’s website ahead of the 2009 spring meetings in Washington of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Gurría said improving the effectiveness of developing countries’ tax systems is the “new frontier” in development policy.

Schools must do more to motivate tomorrow’s scientists, OECD study shows

28-Apr-2009

Across OECD countries, close to 40% of high-school students who come top in science subjects have no interest in pursuing a science-related career, while almost 45% do not want to continue studying science, according to a new OECD report.