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Growth-promoting policies and macroeconomic stability

This paper looks at a vast array of policy recommendations by the OECD that promote long-term growth – contained in Going for Growth and the Economic Outlook – and attempts to establish whether they underpin macroeconomic stability or whether there is a trade-off.




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Israel’s economy growing strongly but further efforts needed to improve living standards, says OECD

Israel’s economy is in good shape, but further efforts are needed to fight poverty and close the gap in living standards with other leading nations, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Israel.




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OECD Economic Survey of Russia launches in Moscow at the Gaidar Forum on Wednesday 15 January 2014

The OECD will launch its latest Economic Survey of the Russian Federation in Moscow on Wednesday 15 January 2014 during the annual Gaidar Forum.




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New indicators of competition law and policy in 2013 for OECD and non-OECD countries

This paper presents the new OECD competition law and policies (CLP) indicators which measure the strength and scope of competition regimes in 49 jurisdictions (OECD and non-OECD). The indicators cover areas for which there is a broad consensus among member countries on what constitutes 'good' practice for competition regimes.




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Russian economy growing but further reforms needed, says OECD

The Russian Federation’s economy is growing, but further reforms are needed to bolster future growth, improve the business climate and strengthen innovation, according to the OECD.




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OECD appoints new directors for economic policy

The OECD has appointed a former Portuguese economy minister and a high-level German government official to top leadership posts in the Economics Department, reinforcing its commitment to identifying and promoting policies that improve countries’ long-term economic performance.




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Joint OECD and ESRI workshop: Long-term prospects of the world economy up to 2060 and their policy implications

Over the next 50 years, the world economic landscape will be shaped, among other things, by demographic developments, continuing trade and investment integration, a shift of gravity towards emerging economies, the rising role of knowledge-based capital, global environmental pressures and the correction of fiscal and current account imbalances.




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Growth Policies and Macroeconomic Stability

Macroeconomic shocks as severe and protracted as those since 2007 warrant a reconsideration of the role growth-promoting policies play in shaping the vulnerability and resilience of an economy to macroeconomic shocks.




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Economic crisis provides lessons for new approaches to forecasting, says OECD

Extreme volatility during the global financial crisis complicated economic forecasting, leading to large errors that underline the need for better modelling methods and new approaches for making and presenting projections.




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Finland’s economy is on the mend but pushing ahead with reform is key, says OECD

Finland’s economy is gradually picking up, but uncertainty surrounds the recovery. Determined action to implement structural reforms is needed to revive economic growth, restore competitiveness and preserve high standards of living and well-being, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Finland.




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The Euro Area at a Crossroads: Policies for Growth, Jobs and Competitiveness

After five years of work at every level to correct the fiscal, financial and external imbalances that led to the crisis, and to reinforce fiscal and financial institutions, the Euro Area is beginning to show signs of recovery. But, despite these positive signs, growth is still weak and uneven.




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Germany - Keeping the edge: Competitiveness for inclusive growth

Despite the harsh external economic environment, Germany has managed to reduce unemployment significantly while buttressing the long-term sustainability of its public finances. Drawing on the expertise and experience of OECD member countries, this report sets out key policy priorities to boost productivity growth and social inclusion.




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Ambitious structural reforms can pave the return to strong and sustainable growth, OECD says

Adopting ambitious and comprehensive structural reform agendas will offer governments the best chance for a return to strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth that creates jobs and reduces inequality, according to the OECD’s latest Going for Growth report




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Norway’s success in generating inclusive growth can ensure future prosperity, OECD says

The Norwegian economy is performing well, generating inclusive growth, strong social mobility and low unemployment. But to ensure future prosperity, Norway must continue with growth-enhancing reforms while ensuring financial stability, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Norway.




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Poland can grow faster through labour market and pro-competition reforms, OECD says

Poland’s economic performance has been impressive over the past 15 years, but further reforms are now needed to put the economy firmly back on track for stronger and sustainable growth, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Poland.




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Czech Republic is recovering, but more must be done to jump-start income convergence with euro area countries, OECD says

The Czech economy is finally coming out of a prolonged recession but must take further steps to speed up income convergence towards the euro area countries, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of the Czech Republic.




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China: Structural reforms for inclusive growth

In spite of a slow and uneven global recovery over the past five years, China has maintained strong growth and continued to tackle income inequality, which had been rising, as well as poverty. Drawing on the expertise and collective experience of OECD member and partner countries, this Report presents recent OECD analysis and policy advice in areas that are critical to China’s long-term economic performance and social development.




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The prudential regulation of financial institutions: why regulatory responses to the crisis might not prove sufficient

This paper surveys recent international developments concerning the prudential regulation of financial institutions: banks, the shadow banking system and insurance companies. It concludes that, while substantial progress has been made, the global economy nevertheless remains vulnerable to possible future financial instability.




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Short-term indicator models for quarterly GDP growth in the BRIICS: a small-scale bridge model approach

This paper extends the OECD Economics Department’s suite of short-term indicator models for quarterly GDP growth, which currently cover only the G7 countries, to the BRIICS countries.




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Japan: Advancing the third arrow for a resilient economy and inclusive growth

After two decades of low growth and persistent deflation, Japan is showing signs of renewed economic dynamism. But to regain its primacy as a leading economic powerhouse and raise the well-being of its citizens, Japan needs a structural reform package to narrow the productivity gap with leading OECD countries, notably by increasing the labour participation of women and older citizens.




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Global Economic Outlook - Written Statement for the IMFC

A moderate recovery is under way in major advanced economies after two years of subdued growth. Overall, most indications point to a continued underlying strengthening of the pace of growth, helped by accommodative monetary policy and reduced fiscal drag.




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Would a growth slowdown in emerging markets spill over to high-income countries? A quantitative assessment

Growth in emerging market economies (EMEs) is set to durably slow from the rates observed over 2010-12 as cyclical effects fade, potential growth declines and external financing conditions tighten.




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Economic growth from the household perspective: GDP and income distribution developments across OECD countries

This paper provides an assessment of how households’ income has fared compared with GDP. While the prime focus is on incomes around the median, attention is paid also to the bottom of the income distribution.




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New evidence on the determinants of industrial specialisation

Industrial specialization has important implications for economic performance; therefore, understanding its determinants is of key policy relevance.




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How to improve Israel’s health-care system

Israelis enjoy higher life expectancy and have a much younger demographic profile than most OECD countries. However, the demand for health care is expanding rapidly due to population growth and ageing.




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Netherlands: Make economic, innovation and territorial reforms work together to boost growth and competitiveness, says OECD

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.




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Growth and inequality: A close relationship?

Inequality has risen in the OECD area. Could policies aimed solely at growth be responsible? Can inequality undermine economic growth? New evidence suggests there is a possibility.




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Make growth socially inclusive for improved well-being and stronger economies – OECD report

Inequality – now at its highest level in decades in many countries – undermines economic growth and well-being, says a new OECD report. But policies to tackle the widening gap between rich and poor will only succeed if they also look beyond income and address better access to high-quality education, health care and public infrastructure, it adds.




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Germany should enact economic and social reforms to make its growth path more inclusive and sustainable, OECD says

Germany’s current economic success offers a good platform for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth, but further reforms will be necessary over the medium and long term, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Germany.




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African countries need to tap global markets more effectively to strengthen their economies, says new African Economic Outlook

By participating more effectively in the global production of goods and services, Africa can transform its economy and achieve a development breakthrough, according to the latest African Economic Outlook, released at the African Development Bank Group’s Annual Meetings.




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Economic policies and microeconomic stability: a literature review and some empirics

This study reviews the existing literature on the link between economic policies and economic stability at the firm and household level. Based on firm-level and household-level data for a wide range of OECD countries, it also provides preliminary results on sources and patterns of microeconomic volatility.




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Making the labour market work better in Poland

Poor labour market outcomes remain one of Poland’s major structural weaknesses, impeding firms’ competitiveness and the nation’s potential output. Boosting employment prospects is also critical, as the country will soon be ageing at a fast pace.




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Canada: Sustain inclusive growth by reducing housing market risks and overcoming specific skills shortages, says OECD

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.




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Macroprudential policy tools in Norway: strengthening financial system resilience

In Norway house prices have risen to high levels, associated with very strong credit growth, in a context of low interest rates. Such a combination was in many countries a contributory factor to the 2008-09 crisis.




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Do resources flow to patenting firms? Cross-country evidence from firm level data

This paper exploits longitudinal data on firm performance and patenting activity for 23 OECD countries over the period 2003-2010 to explore the extent to which changes in the patent stock are associated with flows of capital and labour to patenting firms.




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What explains the volume and composition of trade? Industrial evidence from a panel of countries

This paper quantifies the importance of different determinants of trade at the industry level using a sample of 54 OECD and non-OECD economies. The empirical methodology extends the approach of previous empirical studies to explicitly quantify the impact that trading partners’ factor endowments and policies have on bilateral trade, and to analyse the effect of tariffs on the volume and composition of trade.




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Consequences of climate change damages for economic growth – a dynamic quantitative assessment

This report focuses on the effects of climate change impacts on economic growth. The analysis finds that the effect of climate change impacts on annual global GDP is projected to increase over time, leading to a global GDP loss of 0.7% to 2.5% by 2060 for the most likely equilibrium climate sensitivity range.




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Consequences of climate change damages for economic growth – a dynamic quantitative assessment

This report focuses on the effects of climate change impacts on economic growth. The analysis finds that the effect of climate change impacts on annual global GDP is projected to increase over time, leading to a global GDP loss of 0.7% to 2.5% by 2060 for the most likely equilibrium climate sensitivity range.




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Global growth to slow as wage inequality rises over coming decades, says OECD

A slowdown in global economic growth and a continuing rise in income inequality are projected for the coming decades, according to a new OECD study which looks beyond the crisis at what the world could look like by 2060.




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Portugal: Deepening structural reform to support growth and competitiveness

Having been hit hard by the global crisis, the Portuguese government has taken action to put its economy back on track, and to correct external and budgetary imbalances. This document highlights some key priorities to support economic growth and competitiveness through further productivity-enhancing structural reforms.




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Turkey: Macroeconomic stability and structural reform key to strong and inclusive growth, OECD says

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.




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Women’s role in the Swiss economy

Swiss women are now as well educated as their male counterparts. However, progress remains to be made in the job market where both the supply and price of female labour are below that of men.




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International migration: the relationship with economic and policy factors in the home and destination country

Unfavourable demographic trends in many OECD countries threaten the sustainability of potential labour resources, GDP growth and fiscal positions. One factor that is expected to mitigate these trends is continued inflows of migrant workers from low income economies.




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Workplace stress in the United States: issues and policies

Despite relative affluence, workplace stress is a prominent feature of the US labour market. To the extent that job stress causes poor health outcomes – either directly through increased blood ressure, fatigue, muscle pain, etc. or indirectly through increased rates of cigarette smoking – policy to lessen job stress may be appropriate.




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Improving well-being in the United States

Life is quite good in the United States compared to other OECD countries, thanks to strong economic growth and technological progress having lifted average income to high levels. Nonetheless, there is evidence that the benefits from growth have not been sufficiently broad based.




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Deconstructing Canada’s housing markets: finance, affordability and urban sprawl

House prices have increased significantly in Canada over the past decade, driving household debt and residential construction activity to historical highs.




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Health, work and working conditions: a review of the European economic literature

Economists have traditionally been very cautious when studying the interaction between employment and health because of the two-way causal relationship between these two variables: health status influences the probability of being employed and, at the same time, working affects the health status.




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Fostering a creative economy to drive Korean growth

A creative economy requires innovation-friendly conditions. Korea’s innovation system should be improved by upgrading universities and expanding their role in business R&D, while increasing international collaboration in R&D from its current low level.




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Productivity measurement with natural capital and bad outputs

This paper presents a productivity growth measure that explicitly accounts for natural capital as an input factor and for undesirable goods, or “bads”, as an output of the production process.




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US long term interest rates and capital flows to emerging economies

This paper studies the association between US long term interest rates and cycles of capital flows to emerging market economies (EMEs). It finds that, indeed, cycles in capital flows to EMEs are linked to global conditions, including global risk aversion and long term interest rates in the United States.