The recession in Italy, which began early this year, is likely to extend through much of 2009, as in many other OECD countries. Global financial turmoil hit an economy already weakened by several years of low productivity growth, deteriorating competitiveness and high public debt, though solid job creation and falling unemployment had been bright spots. Recovering confidence towards the end of 2009 should allow output to accelerate significantly during 2010.

Climate change is a pressing challenge, requiring leadership and determined action. At the same time, people are concerned that policies do not put them at an economic disadvantage or unnecessarily undermine their welfare.

Can governments balance these concerns? The OECD’s Environment Policy Committee meets at ministerial level on 28-29 April 2008 under the theme of global competitiveness. Some non-OECD developing countries will also participate, as will stakeholders from business, labour and civil society.

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.

GDP slowed in the first half of 2007, as export growth weakened, rebounded in the third quarter but may weaken again in the fourth. Growth over the course of 2008-09 is projected at near its potential rate of just under 1.5%. Unemployment, which continued to fall through the first half of 2007, should decline further, but at a slower rate. The recent pickup in price inflation may persist into 2008 and 2009.

“A beacon for globalisation” is how Secretary-General Angel Gurría described the role of the OECD in his address to the Foreign Relations Commission in Rome on 22 February. In this, his first official visit to Italy since becoming secretary-general in 2006, Mr Gurría met with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Romano Prodi (on the right in photo), as well as other officials in Rome and Milan. He addressed the Foreign Relations Commission and spoke at a dinner hosted by the Italian minister of foreign affairs. With globalisation and the necessity for reforms as the focus of his talks, Mr Gurría emphasised that “globalisation has not been an inclusive process. We have to produce the instruments to make it so”.