Entrepreneurial activity appears to be recovering from the crisis as new data show that the number of new businesses created has been rising in most OECD countries.

A modest recovery is under way in the global steel market but structural imbalances remain acute amid sluggish demand growth expected in the long-term demand, the OECD Steel Committee said at the end of its meeting this week.

The OECD welcomes the outcomes of today's Ministerial meeting of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity, and congratulates Germany on this important achievement on the last day of its G20 Presidency. The Global Forum was created by G20 Leaders, at their Hangzhou summit in September of last year. The OECD is honoured to be serving the Global Forum as its Facilitator and to contribute to its achievements to date.

Weak productivity growth is a major problem afflicting most societies. It curbs growth in incomes and endangers the sustainability of social security systems. An important, but often ignored, source of the productivity slowdown is the increasing prevalence of weakly productive firms and, among them, “zombie firms” – in essence firms that would typically exit or be forced to restructure in a competitive market.

This paper presents new cross-country descriptive evidence on innovative start-ups and related venture capital investments drawing upon Crunchbase, a new dataset that is unprecedented in terms of scope and comprehensiveness. The analysis employs a mix of different statistical techniques.

Inconsistent penalties, insufficient checks on small parcels, and a lack of information on shipments in free trade zones allow criminal networks to traffic billions of dollars worth of fake and prohibited goods each year. Today, the OECD introduced a new phase in its efforts to help governments counter these enforcement gaps and better protect consumers and businesses.

The OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría called on the governments of steel-producing economies to address the root causes of today’s steel crisis through multilateral approaches, and in particular through the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity.

The OECD Steel Committee Chair statement was issued today by Lieven Top, Chairman of the OECD Steel Committee, following a meeting of the Committee in Paris on March 5-6, 2018.

Rapid growth in free trade zones – where economic activity is driven by reduced taxes and customs controls, light regulation and limited oversight – is unintentionally fostering growth in counterfeit goods trafficking, according to a new report by the OECD and the EU’s Intellectual Property Office.

The consultation on appointing authorities and the selection of arbitrators in investor-state dispute settlement paper and comments received are being made available in order to foster informed public and inter-governmental debate.

The OECD Due Diligence Guidance is being used as the basis and benchmark by many industry initiatives created to ensure the responsible sourcing of minerals. This report presents the findings of a pilot alignment assessment of five industry programmes against the recommendations of the OECD Guidance to gauge the coherence, effectiveness and credibility of these initiatives.

Many governments seek to promote and facilitate inward investments that they expect will benefit their economy. This paper looks at the merits of an international framework to facilitate investment in support of sustainable and inclusive growth.

This paper examines the implications of digitalisation and digital technologies for international investment and investment policy, with a particular focus on digital policies relating to national security and digital policies directed at business operations.

Ministers from OECD and developing economies have committed to step up their efforts to promote responsible business conduct by companies in order to drive more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

This study explores the role of the National Contact Points in dealing with cases relating to the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises with a particular focus on labour issues and social dialogue.

Global trade in fake Italian goods such as luxury handbags, watches, foodstuffs and car parts is taking a bite out of Italy’s economy equivalent to around 1-2% of GDP in terms of lost sales, according to a new OECD report.

Weak labour productivity growth continues to mark the world’s advanced economies and risks compromising improvements in living standards, says a new OECD report.

As only a tiny proportion of new firms eventually grow, policy makers face two alternatives: target specific firms predicted to be highly innovative in the future, or foster experimentation among firms and streamline both entry and exit. The Italian "Start-Up Act" combines these two approaches with an eclectic mix of policy tools.

Considerato che solo una minima parte delle nuove imprese riesce a svilupparsi, i decisori pubblici si trovano di fronte a un'alternativa: concentrarsi sulle imprese che presentano un alto potenziale di innovazione, o favorire la sperimentazione e semplificare sia l'ingresso che l'uscita delle imprese dal mercato. Lo "Startup Act" combina i due approcci con un mix eclettico di strumenti di policy.

The world’s consumption of raw materials is set to nearly double by 2060 as the global economy expands and living standards rise, placing twice the pressure on the environment that we are seeing today, according to a new OECD report.

Business and government should work more closely together to reduce inequality and foster inclusive growth. To help achieve this, at the Paris Peace Forum, Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff, G7/G20 Sherpa and leader of the OECD’s Inclusive Growth Initiative, and Emmanuel Faber, Chairman & CEO of Danone, launched the Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) Platform.

This joint OECD-UNIDO report identifies investment and related policies to enhance linkages between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia and multinational enterprises (MNEs) and their impacts on SME outcomes in Southeast Asia.

The Steel Committee held in-depth discussions on global and regional steel market conditions, steel trade policy developments, the continuing challenge of excess capacity, technological developments contributing to sustainable practices in the steel sector, and OECD work on subsidies and other forms of government support that contribute to excess capacity in the steel sector.

Low growth prospects for the global economy, slowing demand for steel and virtually unchanged steelmaking capacity are driving severe and persistent excess capacity in the steel sector, the OECD Steel Committee said at the end of its meeting this week. The Committee reiterated the need for capacity reductions in relevant economies and for the removal of subsidies and other support measures that are distorting steel markets.

This paper presents a framework for measuring the digital transformation of manufacturing industries, and maps the impact of digital technologies across these several dimensions: firm productivity growth, business dynamism, industry concentration, firm mark-ups and mergers and acquisition activity.

Employment is rising in OECD countries but most jobs continue to be created in relatively low-productivity, low-wage activities, says a new OECD report.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been a significant driver of employment growth in recent years, mainly through the creation of new firms, including in high-growth sectors such as information and communication technologies (ICT).

This report provides an inventory of existing practices among IPAs in eight southern Mediterranean (MED) economies: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, and Tunisia. Each MED country has one national IPA with the exception of Tunisia, where three agencies have investment promotion functions.

Governments participating in the OECD Steel Committee consider excess capacity as being one of the main challenges facing the global steel sector today. This data portal makes data on steel projects in OECD countries fully accessible for the first time.

A group of major international companies has pledged to tackle inequality and promote diversity in their workplaces and supply chains as part of an initiative sponsored by the French Presidency of the G7 and overseen by the OECD.

This joint EU-OECD programme supports Mediterranean governments to attract quality investment for job creation, local development, economic diversification and stability.

At its 26-27 September 2019 session the Steel Committee held in-depth discussions on challenges facing the global steel industry and policy approaches to encourage adjustment and ensure a level playing field in the sector.

This report provides an inventory of existing practices among IPAs in eight southern Mediterranean (MED) economies: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, and Tunisia. Each MED country has one national IPA with the exception of Tunisia, where three agencies have investment promotion function

This report provides an inventory of existing practices among IPAs in eight southern Mediterranean (MED) economies: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, and Tunisia. Each MED country has one national IPA with the exception of Tunisia, where three agencies have investment promotion function

This report presents a new set of indicators that measure the sustainable development impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI) in host countries. The new metrics focus on five clusters derived from the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): productivity and innovation; employment and job quality; skills; gender equality; and, the carbon footprint.

This highlights booklet presents a new set of indicators that measure the sustainable development impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI) in host countries. The new metrics focus on five clusters derived from the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): productivity and innovation; employment and job quality; skills; gender equality; and, the carbon footprint. This study is an important element of the OECD Action Plan on the SDGs.

Governments in OECD and emerging economies are betting heavily on robotics to safeguard the competitiveness of their manufacturing industries. This paper examines the importance of industrial robotics as a driver of production and trade quality.

Powered by the OECD, spearheaded by Danone, and driven forward at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Biarritz in August 2019, B4IG, the ambitious initiative against inequality sponsored by French President Emmanuel Macron, is a coalition of leading multinational enterprises committed to tackling inequalities and promoting inclusive growth: economic growth that is distributed fairly across society and creates opportunities for all.

G20 Leaders are firmly committed to open trade and investment and to resisting protectionism in all its forms. They have mandated WTO, OECD and UNCTAD – the leading international organisations in the area of international trade and investment policies – to monitor policy developments and report publicly on these commitments.

Postponed until further notice - The 6th annual OECD Investment Treaty Conference will explore how governments are integrating policies relating to business responsibilities into their trade and investment treaties, and potential policy options.

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.

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.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed today Hungary’s steps to strengthen international tax co-operation after it became the 61st signatory to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published today 9 new peer review reports, including a Phase 1 Supplementary Report for Switzerland, demonstrating continuing progress toward implementation of the international standard for exchange of information on request.

Hungary has become the 30th member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the leading international forum for bilateral providers of development co-operation.

Hungary has made progress in greening its economy and cutting emissions, but it needs to speed up efforts to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, improve energy efficiency in buildings and promote sustainable transport, according to a new OECD Review.

The Working Group is concerned that Hungary has not commenced any foreign bribery investigations or prosecutions in over nine years since the Phase 3 evaluation of implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

A group of major international companies has pledged to tackle inequality and promote diversity in their workplaces and supply chains as part of an initiative sponsored by the French Presidency of the G7 and overseen by the OECD.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Biarritz on 25-26 August 2019 to attend the G7 Leaders’ Summit.

Around one in five adults in France are obese. While this is below the OECD average, obesity still has a significant impact. The French live on average 2.3 years less due to overweight. Overweight accounts for 4.9% of health expenditure; and lowers labour market outputs by the equivalent of 671 thousand full time workers per year. Combined, this means that overweight reduces France’s GDP by 2.7%.