Achieving strong growth in the global economy remains elusive, with only a modest recovery in advanced economies and slower activity in emerging markets, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook.

Cities can generate growth and jobs while becoming greener – this is the message of the OECD’s new Green Growth in Cities report. Drawing on case studies of Paris, Chicago, Kitakyushu and Stockholm, the report identifies green policies that can respond to urban growth priorities and suggests how to implement and finance them.

A moderate recovery is underway in the major advanced economies, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Assessment. Growth is proceeding at encouraging rates in North America, Japan and the UK. The euro area as a whole is out of recession, although output remains weak in a number of countries.

The OECD was born transatlantic since its very origins as the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation in 1948, established in the immediate post-war period to manage and distribute Marshall Plan aid to reconstruct Europe. The centre of gravity of the world economy is now shifting and will continue to do so but this does not mean that the Transatlantic Partnership has a lesser role to play on the global stage, said Angel Gurría.

The enduring idea that the rising tide of economic growth lifts all boats is no longer a universal truth. In the US, even before the Great Recession, the poorest were steadily losing ground. Between 2000 and 2012 the average disposable income of the bottom 10% in the US fell by 14%, underlined the OECD Secretary-General.

Gains made towards slowing health expenditure growth in the United States in recent years could be negated by price increases associated with the continuing economic recovery unless more efforts are made to contain spending, says a new OECD paper published in The Lancet.

A moderate expansion is underway in most major advanced and emerging economies, but growth remains weak in the euro area, which runs the risk of prolonged stagnation if further steps are not taken to boost demand, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Assessment.

Going for Growth 2015: Key findings for United States

In his speech delivered at the Brookings Institute, OECD Secretary-General Gurría explains that OECD’s numbers tell a clear-cut story of how our traditional economic growth agenda has neglected inclusiveness. Yet to begin to tackle this problem, we have to understand that inequality is not just about money. It touches every area of people’s lives.

Achieving strong growth in the global economy remains elusive, with only a modest recovery in advanced economies and slower activity in emerging markets, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook.

Mayors from cities across the United States, Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America gathered in New York to launch a global campaign to address rising inequalities and foster inclusive growth in their cities, in their countries and worldwide.

The global economy is stuck in a low-growth trap that will require more coordinated and comprehensive use of fiscal, monetary and structural policies to move to a higher growth path and ensure that promises are kept to both young and old, according to the OECD’s latest Global Economic Outlook.

The US economy is making one of the strongest comebacks in the OECD, but there are risks on the horizon, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of the United States.

Governments should treat the opioid epidemic as a public health crisis and improve treatment, care and support for people misusing opioids. Overdose deaths continue to rise, fuelled by an increase in prescription and over-prescription of opioids for pain management and the illicit drugs trade, according to a new OECD report.

This note is taken from Chapter 2 of Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth 2012.

Going for Growth 2015: Key findings for New Zealand

The New Zealand economy has performed well in recent years, but bottlenecks in housing and urban infrastructure, inequalities in living standards and rising environmental pressures all pose challenges for sustaining robust growth and high levels of well-being over the long term, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of New Zealand.

This note is taken from Chapter 2 of Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth 2012.

A moderate recovery is underway in the major advanced economies, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Assessment. Growth is proceeding at encouraging rates in North America, Japan and the UK. The euro area as a whole is out of recession, although output remains weak in a number of countries.

To tackle rising inequalities we need to reassess the way in which our economies grow. By placing inclusiveness at the heart of the growth debate we can open up opportunity so that every citizen can realise their potential, to contribute to, and benefit from, more equitable economic growth, said OECD Secretary-General.

Canada has experienced solid economic growth since the global crisis, allowing it to reverse recession-induced job losses and put federal public finances on a sound footing, says the OECD. Growth is expected to accelerate from 2.5% this year to 2.7% in 2015.

A moderate expansion is underway in most major advanced and emerging economies, but growth remains weak in the euro area, which runs the risk of prolonged stagnation if further steps are not taken to boost demand, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Assessment.

Going for Growth 2015: Key findings for Canada

Achieving strong growth in the global economy remains elusive, with only a modest recovery in advanced economies and slower activity in emerging markets, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook.

Canada is one of the OECD economies delivering the best outcomes for its citizens, especially in regards to self-reported well-being, personal security and health status. Canada is also undertaking several programmes to foster inclusive growth – with respect to childcare benefits, gender equality and social housing.

Governments should treat the opioid epidemic as a public health crisis and improve treatment, care and support for people misusing opioids. Overdose deaths continue to rise, fuelled by an increase in prescription and over-prescription of opioids for pain management and the illicit drugs trade, according to a new OECD report.

The centre of economic gravity is moving from the advanced to the large emerging economies, particularly Brazil, China and India. For many years, OECD countries accounted for around 70% of global GDP. Today, this share has shrunk to around 60% and it is set to fall further.

This note is taken from Chapter 2 of Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth 2012.

This paper discusses the results of the 2011-2012 OECD LEED study of measuring green growth in the Benelux countries (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg). The study paid particular attention to the challenges of measuring the transition to a low-carbon economy in cross-border areas as they have additional levels of complexity when it comes to measuring and monitoring their low-carbon transition.

The Netherlands is gradually emerging from a double-dip recession with strengthened public finances and reforms on track to improve the labour and housing markets and the health care and pension systems. These reforms are paying off, says the OECD. Growth is expected to reach 1% this year and 1.3% in 2015.

Going for Growth 2015: Key findings for the Netherlands

This year’s OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, which we are honoured to chair, will address the issue of investment. The timing could not be better. Growth prospects have improved, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Investment has been hit especially hard since the crisis started and has yet to recover.

This note is taken from Chapter 2 of Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth 2011.

This note is taken from Chapter 2 of Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth 2012.

Turkey’s economy will grow stronger in the coming years, but remains overly dependent on domestic consumption funded by foreign finance, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Turkey.

Going for Growth 2015: Key findings for Turkey

The GGKP’s second annual conference will be held at the OECD Headquarters in Paris on 4-5 April 2013. The discussion will be framed around two headline themes: Greening global value chains and Measurement and reporting for green growth.

Improving France’s competitiveness is essential to boost the economic growth needed to create jobs and allow citizens and businesses to develop their full potential, according to a new OECD report.

Third Annual Conference on the theme of "Fiscal Policies and the Green Economy Transition: Generating Knowledge – Creating Impact" held at the University of Venice from 29 through 30 January 2015. The press release is available.

The OECD’s Annual Meeting at Ministerial Level reinforced member governments’ support across a broad range of key OECD work.

Turkey’s manufacturing sector has expanded considerably but not efficiently and competitively enough.

This publication puts forward a research agenda that advocates the importance of market competition, effective market regulation, and competition policies for achieving inclusive growth and shared prosperity in emerging and developing economies. It is the result of a global partnership and shared commitment between the World Bank Group and the OECD.

Can both less income inequality and more growth be achieved? A recent OECD study sheds new light on the link between policies that boost growth and the distribution of income.

Public debt in the OECD area passed annual GDP in 2011 and is still rising. This paper was prepared for the Reserve Bank of India Second International Research Conference 2012: “Monetary Policy, Sovereign Debt and Financial Stability: The New Trilemma”, 1-2 February, 2012 in Mumbai, India

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has just completed peer reviews of 11 jurisdictions. This brings to 70 the number of peer review reports completed since March 2010.

The fiscal and taxation reforms will be more than ever necessary in China to ensure that growth becomes more inclusive. So far, China has had a major success in reducing the poverty. But additional tax reforms will be needed to reduce further inequality in disposable income and across regions, as well as to help reduce the rural-urban divide.

This study proposes a structured approach to selecting instruments of fiscal consolidation that are consistent with growth, equity and global-rebalancing objectives, which is then illustrated with a particular application.

Building an international tax system that is transparent, efficient and fair, will serve our economies, our governments and our citizens, said OECD Secretary-General at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg.

The shares of the richest 1% in total pre-tax income have increased in most OECD countries over the past three decades. This rise is the result of the top 1% capturing a disproportionate share of overall income growth over that timeframe: up to 37% in Canada and 47% in the United States, according to new OECD analysis.

The G20 needs to go structural, social, and green! With fiscal and monetary policy room nearly exhausted, structural reforms are the best choices, sometimes the only choice. The OECD battle cry in this regard has been unchanged since 2008: “go structural!”.