“Knowledge breeds gallantry”. This saying was propagated by some eminent scholars in the mid 17th century in order to foster realisations regarding the significance of learning. Many people are trapped with illusions...

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) requesting loans between 2007 and 2010 faced higher interest rates than for large companies. Loan conditions for SMEs included shortened maturities and increased demands for collateral, suggesting that banks considered smaller firms to be a higher risk.

The report takes a comparative look at ADB and OECD experiences, and aims to identify promising policy solutions for creating an SME base that is resilient to crisis, from a viewpoint of access to finance, and which can help drive growth and development.

Young SMEs (firms no more than five years old) have been the most dynamic job creators over most of the past decade and across the 18 countries analysed in the OECD DynEmp project.

Most of the projections of the cost of meeting climate change mitigation targets hinge crucially upon assumptions made about the cost and timing of the development of breakthrough technologies. This paper seeks to uncover attributes of inventions – as reflected in patent data – which serve as "leading indicators" of subsequent technological and market development in climate change mitigation technologies.

This report on climate change disclosure in G20 countries takes stock of mandatory climate change reporting schemes in G20 countries and identifies commonalities and divergences between the various schemes.

When economic shocks occur, economic agents are expected to react to reduce the negative impact or amplify the positive effects. The ability of a country to contain economic losses can be defined as the resilience to economic shocks. Using the OECD Inter-Country Input-Output tables, this paper investigates the relationship between changes in final demand and production structures for 61 economies.

Countries deploy a variety of policy instruments to promote science-industry knowledge exchange. While these instruments are often discussed in isolation, they are implemented collectively and may negatively affect each other or add excessive complexity. This paper develops a conceptual framework to map policy instruments for knowledge exchange and assess interactions.

Drawing on the 2018 update of the OECD’s Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) database, this paper explores the evolution of trade in value added between 2005 and 2015. Changes in international production systems are examined with particular attention given to four key sectors heavily integrated into global value chains: textiles and apparel, chemicals, ICT and electronics, and motor vehicles.

The digital revolution, globalisation and demographic changes are transforming labour markets at a time when policy makers are also struggling with slow productivity and wage growth and high levels of income inequality. The new OECD Jobs Strategy provides a comprehensive framework and policy recommendations to help countries address these challenges.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will participate in the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Chantilly, on 17-18 July 2019.

The digital revolution, globalisation and demographic changes are transforming labour markets at a time when policy makers are also struggling with slow productivity and wage growth and high levels of income inequality. The new OECD Jobs Strategy provides a comprehensive framework and policy recommendations to help countries address these challenges.

Every day one exabyte of data is said to travel over the Internet – enough data to fill 300,000 of the world’s biggest hard disks or 212 million DVDs. And astonishingly, according to a new OECD report on Internet traffic exchange, most of the thousands of networks that exchange this traffic do so without a written contract or formal agreement.

This report focuses on the development of backhaul and cross-border networks, which enable local networks to connect to the wider Internet. To connect their networks to others around the world, operators need access to regional and international high-speed networks. The level of investment required in these networks varies and can be very different from region to region.

In 1964 the writer Isaac Asimov predicted life 50 years on: “Even so, mankind will suffer badly from the disease of boredom....and I dare say that psychiatry will be far and away the most important medical specialty in 2014. The lucky few who can be involved in creative work of any sort will be the true elite of mankind, for they alone will do more than serve a machine”.

More than 110 countries and jurisdictions have agreed to review two key concepts of the international tax system, responding to a mandate from the G20 Finance Ministers to work on the implications of digitalisation for taxation.

This regional seminar in Montevideo, Uruguay, focused on the monitoring and transparency of insurance markets in Latin America through the provision of sound insurance statistics and indicators, regionally and globally.

29 October 2015, Paris - Resilient cities and SMEs are critical to reducing the economic disruption from climate-related disaster events. In the run up to COP21, these remarks by Adrian Blundell-Wignall at the AXA-UNEP-PSI Conference on Climate Resilience address the importance of building resilience to climate change risks at the level of cities and SMEs.

This event explored the potential contribution of the (re)insurance sector to climate change mitigation and adaptation, including: the role of the insurance sector in a climate change agreement; managing the financial risks of extreme events in a changing climate; investing in the transition to a low-carbon economy; and the role of regulators in addressing climate change risks.

This report provides a series of policy recommendations aimed at enhancing the contribution of the cyber insurance market to managing this increasingly prevalent risk. The report examines the current state of the market and the obstacles that are impeding the market from reaching its full potential

Governments should urgently reform their pension systems to ensure that the growing share of workers in temporary or part-time employment can contribute enough during their working lives to receive an adequate income in retirement, according to a new OECD report.

Conference co-organized by the United States Department of Homeland Security and the OECD, Washington, 18 November 2013

Germany is both the OECD’s second-largest country of immigration and one of the main origin countries of emigrants: 3.4 million people born in Germany were living in another OECD country in 2011, says a new OECD report “Talent Abroad: A Review of German Emigrants”.

Since its independence from the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has rather been known as an emigration country, however around 4% of the population was born outside the current national territory and the country keeps attracting new immigrants.

Migration should be better integrated in labour market information and analysis. This could amplify the impact of Ghana’s efforts to enhance the economic contribution of migration, which culminated in 2016 with the adoption of a National Migration Policy aiming to mainstream migration into Ghana’s other development policies.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has released peer review reports assessing the tax systems of 13 jurisdictions for information exchange.

Our economies need a change of engine. The age of carbon is over. Renewable energies are the only future viable source if we want to protect life. Spain must be at the forefront of this transformation, turning the environment and green growth into its new engine of development.

The UN Conference (28 November-9 December 2011) involved OECD experts to focus on green growth and climate change, adaptation and mitigation, carbon accounting, improving transparency (“MRV”), climate finance and technology.

Organised jointly by the OECD and the IEA, this seminar held on 26-27 September 2012 aimed to promote dialogue and enhance understanding between a wide range of countries on technical issues in the international climate change negotiations. This seminar was an informal meeting outside of the UNFCCC negotiations and discussions are non-attributed.

OECD involvement is focussing on climate finance and investment to support low-carbon and climate-resilient growth; design and governance of carbon market mechanisms and the role of institutional investors in mobilising long-term green infrastructure investment.

This event held on 19-20 March 2013 at the OECD is part of a series of seminars, organised by the OECD and the IEA, which aims to promote dialogue and enhance understanding between a wide range of experts on technical issues in the international climate change negotiations. The agenda, presentations and list of participants are now available.

The European Union may be facing some difficult economic challenges, but that's no excuse for not acting now to create an economy based on resource efficiency and low-carbon development. The benefits are potentially enormous, including lower greenhouse gas emissions, more efficient use of energy and resources and rising growth and innovation.

This new data visualisation tool brings over 40 different climate-related data sets to life by using animated plots for the period 1990-2010.

This event held on 18-19 September 2013 at the OECD is part of a series of seminars, organised by the OECD and the IEA, which aims to promote dialogue and enhance understanding between a wide range of experts on technical issues in the international climate change negotiations. The agenda, presentations and list of participants are now available.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría will present a major address on the Organisation’s latest analysis of climate change, investment and energy policies in London on Wednesday 9 October, at 10:30am.

The OECD organised a number of events focused on key aspects of the negotiations: side events on tracking private climate finance, establishing and understanding post-2020 mitigation commitments, and credible policies to achieve climate targets and mobilise private finance. The OECD also convened a High Level Breakfast addressing the issues around long-term investment and green infrastructure.

With headlines of record‑breaking water-related disasters around the world, this blog, written by Kathleen Dominique, OECD Environment Economist, discusses the water impacts of climate change. This post is part of Wikiprogress' series on "water" and the "environment".

This event held on 18-19 March 2014 at the OECD is part of a series of seminars, organised by the OECD and the IEA, which aims to promote dialogue and enhance understanding between a wide range of experts on technical issues in the international climate change negotiations. The agenda, presentations and list of participants are now available.

The latest Climate Change Report from the IPCC argues that human interference with the climate system is occurring, and climate change poses risks for human and natural systems. The report identifies eight major risks with high confidence, and says that each of these risks contributes to one of more of the five “reasons for concern”.

This paper presents a framework to include feedbacks from climate impacts on the economy in integrated assessment models. The proposed framework uses a production function approach, which links climate impacts to key variables and parameters used in the specification of economic activity. The paper pays particular attention to the challenges of distinguishing between damages and the costs of adapting to climate change.

In many areas today, there is no such thing as a “natural” landscape. Thousands of years of farming have selected and encouraged some species, marginalised or eliminated others. The land itself has been altered by ploughing, enclosure, herding and other human interventions. We may feel that we have tamed Nature. Reports like this new one from the OECD remind us of our ignorance and warn us about our arrogance.

Climate change and biodiversity loss have increasingly become the subject of international policy deliberations. It is widely recognised that strong and effective international co-operation is required to address these issues. Co-operation in science and technology between developed and developing countries is considered to be of particular importance.

Reversing the damage is within our grasp, but it will hinge on a strong international climate agreement and policies that make polluters pay. Op Ed by Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General and Nick Stern, Chair of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, The Guardian.

This event held on 16-17 September 2014 at the IEA is part of a series of seminars, organised by the OECD and the IEA, which aims to promote dialogue and enhance understanding between a wide range of experts on technical issues in the international climate change negotiations. The agenda, presentations and list of participants are now available.

Angel Gurría and Michael R. Bloomberg reaffirmed today their commitment to support international cities’ efforts to lead in the global fight against climate change — and called for national support to make this happen.