This paper describes developments in real long-term interest rates in the main OECD economies and surveys their various determinants. Real long-term government bond yields declined from the 1980s to very low levels in the recent period, though they have not reached the historical lows of the 1970s.

Full implementation of the structural reforms adopted and announced in France would boost potential annual economic growth by one third, or 0.4 percentage points per year over ten years, according to the OECD.

Governments should set prudent debt targets to ensure that public finances serve to promote economic growth and stability, according to new OECD research.

Governments should use tax policy to drive forward economic agendas that seek to boost growth while sharing the benefits more evenly within society, according to a new OECD report.

This paper contributes to the empirical literature investigating reasons for the fall in real interest rates in advanced economies.

This paper estimates urban and rural poverty rates across five Chinese administrative regions (Shanghai, Liaoning, Guangdong, Henan and Gansu) in 2014 using representative household level data from the China Family Panel Studies survey.

This paper investigates the effect of structural characteristics on debt limits of middle income countries.

This paper provides robust empirical evidence that government effectiveness is a key determinant of sovereign defaults.

Brazil’s supreme audit institution – the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) – has began a process to reform its audit of the Accounts of the President of the Republic to enhance transparency and accountability of federal budget execution.

Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomes a network of senior officials attending the 31st Centres of Government (COG) meeting held in London. Highlights include the importance of institutions in economic reform through improved co-ordination, outreach and transparency.

Brazil’s supreme audit institution – the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) – has began a process to reform its audit of the Accounts of the President of the Republic to enhance transparency and accountability of federal budget execution.

Austerity programmes to restore order to public finances can add to the woes of already struggling economies, leading to more job losses and social hardship. But there are ways for governments to put their fiscal houses in order, while supporting growth and reducing income inequality at the same time.

Governments are major issuers of debt instruments in the global financial market. This volume provides quantitative information on central government debt instruments for the 34 OECD countries.

This paper provides an overview of fiscal consolidation efforts at the central and sub-central government level, both during the current and past consolidation episodes.

Fiscal rules that constrain sub-central government (SCG) budgeting are very common across the OECD, but there are substantial cross-country differences in their implementation and impact. This paper presents the 2011 update of the fiscal rules database established in 2005.

This paper provides empirical analysis that measures the cyclical properties of intergovernmental transfers (or grants). Modelling a fiscal policy reaction function this paper tests whether the transfers systems in OECD countries are pro- or counter-cyclical, i.e. whether they offset cyclical fluctuations of sub-central economies or, on the contrary, exacerbate them.

Today’s post is by Arthur Mickoleit of the OECD’s Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development. Inputs from Kareen Schramm and Sofia Varas of Chile’s Ministry General‑Secretariat of the Presidency are gratefully acknowledged.

Today’s post is from Kate Lancaster, editor in charge of publications on government finance at the OECD. Government budgets are news. Tough choices have had to be made in these challenging economic times and we’re all interested in how our governments are managing our money.

This Forum took stock of the key challenges and trends in regulating money in politics; identify emerging risks and opportunities; shape a common understanding of the policy options ahead and trade-offs in enhancing fairness, integrity and transparency in decision making including in the realm of political finance; and mobilise partners to work together and promote synergies in the future agenda.

The global economic crisis has undermined trust in government. Today only four out of ten citizens in OECD countries say they have confidence in their national authorities. Not surprisingly, trust declined in the countries hit hardest by the crisis, such as Ireland, Greece, Slovenia and Portugal.

This blog, by Wikichild co-ordinator Melinda George, takes a look at the well-being aspects and the quality of public service provision in the OECD's "Government at a Glance 2013" report. The post is part of Wikiprogress' December spotlight on governance.

This blog post on trust in governments is a compilation of presentations given at the OECD Workshop entitled "Joint Learning for an OECD Trust Strategy", held on 14 October 2013.

In the wake of the financial crisis there has been renewed focus on the importance of a country’s net external debt position in determining domestic interest rates and, relatedly, its vulnerability to a crisis. This paper extends the panel estimation of OECD countries described in Turner and Spinelli (2012) to investigate the effect of external debt and its interaction with government debt on the interest-rate-growth differential.

Taking a ruler to our rulers: Government at a Glance Quiz

Recommendation of the OECD Council on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government

This book provides comparative data and policy benchmarks on women's access to public leadership and inclusive gender-responsive policy-making across OECD countries.

World Economic Forum: Global Agenda Council Launches Guide to Good Government and Trust-Building

Co-organised by the Italian Co-Chair of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group and the OECD, participants discussed progress in advancing the key elements of the global anti-corruption agenda and innovative solutions to address the latest challenges facing countries, business and civil society.

Latin American and Caribbean countries need to do more to improve budget management, tax collection and public sector pay equality if they are to catch up with advanced economies in terms of government performance, according to a joint report by the OECD and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The OECD Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies aims to support the development and implementation of digital government strategies that bring governments closer to citizens and businesses.

The International Forum on Open Government gathered open government leaders from around the world in order to debate the contribution of the principles of transparency, accountability and citizens’ participation to good governance and socio-economic development.

This working paper takes a comparative snapshot of social media use in and by OECD governments. The focus is on government institutions, as opposed to personalities, and how they manage to capture the opportunities of new social media platforms to deliver better public services and to create more open policy processes.

This country review series assesses countries public governance ability in delivering government objectives and determines their preparedness to meet current and future challenges.

This summit focused on shaping governments of the future and enhancing public service delivery performance through innovation in government.

This online resource will guide you in implementing the OECD Principles on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government. In addition to better familiarising yourself with the 12 Principles, the Toolkit lets you compare indicators and best practices in use in numerous countries, regions and municipalities.

Report comparing Hungary on key indicators of government activities with its neighbouring countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) as well as the OECD average.

OECD Insights Blog on the benefits to governments that pursue open government data initiatives.

Better access to and use of public sector information (PSI), including open government data, are inter-related parts of the shift towards knowledge-based economies, and drivers of innovation, growth and employment. PSI can be used directly to generate products and services, and it contributes in a wide variety of ways to improving efficiency and productivity across the economy (including within the public sector).

This paper examines the various issues in defining and measuring debt, and explores other data which could be useful, both within and beyond the general government debt concept, to better track and analyse fiscal risks and sustainability issues.

Governments should set prudent debt targets to ensure that public finances serve to promote economic growth and stability, according to new OECD research.

The objective of this paper is to calculate endogenous government debt limits given the markets assessment of the probability to default.

The annual meeting of the OECD Schools of Government Network on the theme of Skills for a World Class Civil Service will be held on 6 July 2015, at the OECD in Paris.

Countries need to do more to identify and reduce conflicts of interest and other breaches of integrity to help win back trust in national governments, which surveys suggest remains below pre-crisis levels, according to a new OECD report.

Blog post reviewing the recent trends in the use of social media by governments. The article includes a look at the the top 30 government Twitter a/c's and the fastest growing accounts.

Digital security risk should be treated as an economic rather than a technical issue, and should be part of an organisation’s overall risk management and decision-making, according to a new OECD Recommendation to member countries.

Study outlining how OECD countries are dealing with the challenges of Open Government Data with a special chapter on the policy context of OGD in the United Arab Emirates.

The World Government Summit brings together over 3500 ministers, government officials, experts, representatives from the private sector and civil society to discuss the future of government and public service delivery.

One of the key institutions that can play a role in steering the delivery of the SDGs by highlighting trade-offs, enabling policies across issue areas to address multiple and sometimes competing objectives is the Centre of Government.

Mexico has become a frontrunner in a short time in making government data publicly accessible, but it now needs to put this wealth of digital information to use to foster innovation and benefit the Mexican economy and society, according to a new OECD report.

Online toolkit designed to help implement the OECD Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies. By comparing good practices across OECD countries, this site can guide decision-makers in using digital technologies to encourage innovation, transparency, and efficiency in the public sector.