Lithuania has taken significant steps to strengthen its legislative framework to combat foreign bribery. Yet further efforts are needed to ensure effective enforcement of anti-bribery laws with regard to corporate liability and imposing sanctions for foreign bribery, including confiscation, according to a new report by the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

The Swiss health system is one of the world’s best but must adapt to deal with rising costs and higher rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to a new OECD/WHO report.

Across OECD countries some 83 million people suffer from diabetes. On current trends, that will rise to almost 100 million by 2030.

Mental health issues cost the UK around GBP 70 billion every year, or roughly 4.5% of GDP, in lost productivity at work, benefit payments and health care expenditure.

The USA has exceptional levels of health-care expenditure, but growth slowed dramatically in recent years, amidst major efforts to close the coverage gap with other OECD countries.

Several OECD countries have published their plans for the development of a future bioeconomy, in which bio-based materials and production techniques will contribute significantly to economic and environmental sustainability. The case for support for bio-based chemicals and plastics therefore warrants serious attention.

There’s a quiet revolution afoot: health data are increasingly collected, stored and used in digital form.

The Portuguese National Health Service has responded well to financial pressure, successfully balancing the twin priorities of financial consolidation and continuous quality improvement, according to a new OECD report.

The number of doctors and nurses has reached record levels in the OECD. Countries should now reform their training and employment strategies to better respond to people’s changing health needs and also reduce their reliance on foreign-trained health workers from developing countries, according to a new OECD report.

In a boost for international efforts to strengthen co-operation against offshore tax evasion, seven new countries have joined the agreement to exchange information automatically under the OECD/G20 standard.

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

The effective age of labour market exit in Japan is one of the highest in OECD. Retirement-income adequacy may be an issue for future cohorts of retirees...

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is increasingly recognised worldwide as an efficient waste management policy to help improve recycling and reduce landfilling of products and materials. This Forum took place on 17-19 June 2014, in Tokyo, Japan, to identify key challenges and opportunities for further developing EPR policies.

This 4-page online document presents the key findings from OECD Pensions at a Glance 2015 and why it is important for Japan. It also identifies two key pension policy measures which would help improve the performance of pension systems in Japan

In December 2014, the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions agreed to send a High Level Mission to Japan due to longstanding serious concerns about Japan’s implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

A high-level Working Group mission will visit Tokyo on 29-30 June 2016 and meet senior Japanese government officials.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Transactions has continuously urged Japan since 2002 to strengthen its efforts to fight bribery by Japanese companies in their foreign business activities, and implementation of the Convention on Combating the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

The Japanese economy is undergoing the longest expansion in its post-war history, marked by strong job creation and business investment. Government policy must overcome the intertwined challenges posed by rapid population ageing and high government debt to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth for future generations, according to a new report from the OECD.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and Japan’s Minister of Finance Taro Aso presided today over a signing ceremony to establish a new centre of the OECD International Academy for Tax Crime Investigation in Wako, Japan.

This spotlight report draws upon the OECD report Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools.

Highlights for Austria from Pensions at a Glance which is a comprehensive examination of pension systems in OECD and selected non-OECD countries looking at recent trends in retirement and working at older ages, evolving life expectancy, design of pension systems, pension entitlements, and private pensions.

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

Risks That Matter 2018 Country Highlights: Austria

Austria stands out for its high levels of economic and social well-being. Preserving these will require reforms to improve competition in the service sector, increase access to risk capital for firms of all sizes, encourage more women and migrants into the workforce and lengthen work lives to reflect the ageing population, according to a new OECD report.

The benchmark interest rate in Uruguay was last recorded at 14.30 percent. Interest Rate in Uruguay averaged 26.78 percent from 1998 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 173.90 percent in October of 2002 and a record low of 9.30 percent in July of 2007. The Central Bank of Uruguay abandoned the use of a single benchmark interest rate in 2013 to fight inflation and instead it started using money supply variables to guide policy. This page provides - Uruguay Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

OECD governments are facing unprecedented challenges in the markets for government securities as a result of continued strong borrowing amid a highly uncertain environment with growing concerns about the pace of recovery, surging borrowing costs, sovereign risk and contagion pressures. The fourth OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook provides estimates for 2011 and projections for 2012. Higher than anticipated gross borrowing needs of

The OECD/INFE High level Principles on National Strategies for Financial Education provide international guidance to policy makers with a view to developing evidence-based, co-ordinated and tailored approaches to financial education, both in emerging markets and more advanced economies. G20 Leaders recognised the important role of financial education policies when they endorsed these Principles in 2012.

This seminar aimed to advance shared understandings on policies to make the most of cross-border capital flows in support of growth and development and on the value of international co-operation, including the OECD Codes of Liberalisation, in the current context of serious global financial turbulence.

The gross borrowing needs of OECD governments are projected to increase slightly to around USD 10.9 trillion in 2013, up from the already high level of USD 10.8 trillion in 2012, according to a new OECD report.

Co-organised by the G20 Russian Presidency and the OECD, this roundtable focused on policy measures to address constraints in long-term investment. It was organised back-to-back with the 2013 OECD Forum and the OECD-Euromoney Infrastructure Summit.

Low levels of financial inclusion are associated with lower levels of financial literacy. This report looks at how policy makers are developing financial education policies for financial inclusion. It highlights challenges faced and solutions found, as well as outlining the main lessons learnt and possibilities for the way forward.

This event, co-organised by the OECD and the Korean authorities, explored policies and good practices for supporting long-term savings and investments through financial education and financial consumer protection.

Organised in Istanbul, this event focused on financial education across Europe and in Turkey, the role(s) of the private and not-for-profit sectors in financial education, financial literacy and innovation for young people and financial education for migrant workers and their families.

Singapore, 4 June 2014: This roundtable focused on how policymakers and investors can facilitate private sector infrastructure financing, as well as issues related to governance for institutional investors and the accounting treatment for long-term investment.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key contributors to economic growth and job creation. The current economic and financial crisis has reduced bank lending and has affected SMEs in particular. Capital markets will have to play a bigger role in financing SMEs in order to make them more resilient to financial shocks. This article reviews the spectrum of alternative market-based debt instruments for SME financing.

Singapore, 28 May 2015: This roundtable will focus on key themes related to G20 work, including how policy makers and investors can facilitate private sector infrastructure financing, the development of infrastructure as an asset class, and issues relating to the regulation of long-term investment.

Addis Ababa - Part of the 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development, this event explored strategies to leverage Africa’s pension funds and other sources of private financing to develop Africa’s infrastructure. Ways to improve the investment climate in Africa using the recently updated Policy Framework for Investment were also be addressed.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: This Symposium addressed cutting-edge issues to further integrate financial education and financial consumer protection policies with a view to enhancing financial well-being and to address the challenges and identify solutions in delivering effective financial education.

SMEs are important engines of innovation, growth, job creation and social cohesion. However, they can only reach their full potential if they obtain the finance necessary to start, sustain and grow their business. These voluntary principles provide broad guidelines on how to enhance access by SMEs to finance to help increase the contribution of SMEs to resilient and inclusive growth.

The OECD has produced assessments of country-specific investment strategies in G20 countries in order to improve the investment ecosystem, foster efficient infrastructure investment and support financing opportunities for SMEs. This booklet reproduces the highlights of these assessments which have been transmitted to G20 leaders for consideration at their Summit in November 2015..

OECD's Adrian Blundell-Wignall explains why clean energy projects are not attracting investors despite the availability of fund for investment. This paper was presented at a high-level breakfast event on institutional investors and the low-carbon transition hosted by the OECD Secretary-General during COP21 on 9 December 2015.

Amsterdam, 20-21 April 2016: This symposium addressed the challenges of financial resilience throughout life and the importance of financial education.

Singapore, 25 April 2016: This roundtable focused on key themes related to G20 work, in particular the views of the private sector on current work developed by the OECD for the G20 Presidency toward promoting more diversified and innovative infrastructure financing.

Jakarta, 1-2 June 2016: This seminar addressed the importance of financial literacy and financial education for empowering micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

The global economy is expected to pick up moderately but greater efforts are needed to ensure that the benefits from growth and globalisation are more widely shared, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.

21 June 2017, Paris: Co-organised by the International Network for Pensions, Aging, and Retirement Research (INPARR), the OECD and IOPS, this seminar provided a window into the latest thinking and research that sheds light on where pension plans and designs are headed in the future and challenges to their future sustainability and efficiency.

This collection compiles the contributions of senior policy experts, academics, and economic practitioners on developments in the financial integration and financial regulation of cross-border capital flows since the 2008 global financial crisis at the OECD High-Level Seminar “Open and Orderly Capital Movements” held in October 2016.

11 December 2017, OECD Paris - The 8th annual OECD high-level breakfast event brings together leading investors and senior government officials for informal, focused dialogue, to examine key developments and identify solutions to enable achievement of NDCs and the two-degree commitment.

Behavioural insights have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of financial literacy and investor education initiatives. This IOSCO/OECD report explores the extent to which they are being used, reviews the available literature and presents various approaches for policy makers and practitioners to consider when seeking to change financial behaviour.