New sources of growth- Phase 2, Knowledge-based capital

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 digital economy is here, and growing every day, sometimes in surprising ways. As ministers gather for major meetings in Paris and Cancun, government leaders should be in no doubt about the key role they must play in securing the digital economy’s future as a driver of productive and inclusive progress.

Digitalisation of goods and services destroys established business models and disrupts existing value chains. New value chains emerge. This is often called disruptive innovation.

The open Internet combined with today’s emerging technologies has launched the information revolution and is powering the global digital economy. Everyone has a stake in that development, both as individuals and in the organizations in which we serve and affiliate ourselves.

The June 2016 OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy in Cancun, Mexico will discuss online platforms. Opportunities coming from online platforms not only create innovative forms of production, consumption, collaboration and sharing between individuals and organisations, but also promote economic benefits and employment opportunities thanks to the digital economy by creating a fast-moving business environment.

On 21-23 June 2016, Ministers and stakeholders will gather in Cancún, Mexico, for an OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy: Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity, to move the digital agenda forward in four key policy areas foundational to the growth of the digital economy: Internet openness, digital trust, global connectivity, jobs and skills in the digital economy.

Governments must act faster help people and firms to make greater use of the Internet and remove regulatory barriers to digital innovation or else risk missing out on the potentially huge economic and social benefits of the digital economy, the OECD told ministers and high-level officials from almost 40 countries today.

Ministers and high-level representatives from 41 countries and the European Union committed today at the closure of the OECD’s 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to work together to preserve an open Internet, close digital divides, promote digital skills and generally do more to seize the potential of the digital economy.

OECD expert consultation co-sponsored by Harvard Global Health Institute, Swedish Vinnova, Canada Health Infoway and Global Coalition on Aging, held in Boston on 5-6 October 2016.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly permeating our economies and societies, and already underpins over 50% of global financial transactions. This event aimed to help policy makers identify and understand AI-related opportunities and challenges.

Browse the last issue of the OECD Observer on Digital economy: Secure the future.

Businesses need to step up the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, materials and processes if countries are to reap their full potential in terms of productivity gains, according to a new OECD report.

As one of the most dynamic regions in the world with an increasingly diversified economy, an expanding middle class, and a young and literate population, Southeast Asia is well positioned to embrace the ongoing global digital transformation. Digitalisation can spur the much needed innovation and productivity growth across many activities, transform public services, and improve well-being for all citizens.

Internet infrastructure is improving and the usage of digital tools is growing. However, progress is uneven across countries, businesses, and within societies. Broadening access to digital opportunities and helping those lagging behind to catch up would increase the benefits of the digital transformation and help ensure they are widely shared across economies and people, according to a new OECD report.

Low growth, low interest rates and low returns on investment linked to the slow global economy are now compounding the problems of population ageing for both public and private pension systems, according to a new OECD report.

Japan must make revitalising growth its number one priority with reforms to boost productivity and encourage more women and older people into jobs to compensate for its rapidly shrinking labour force, according to the OECD.

Drawing on data presented in the 2017 OECD Business and Finance Outlook, this article looks at some of the forces influencing recent economic developments and asks what can be done to ensure a “fairer” global economy.

“Insurtech”is the term being used to describe the new technologies with the potential to bring innovation to the insurance sector and impact the regulatory practices of insurance markets. This report catalogues these technologies and examines how InsurTech is being funded and how insurers are engaging with the start-ups entering the market.

Innovative applications of technology for financial services, or FinTech, are already being used to improve communication with consumers and their engagement with their pension plans. This report provides an overview of how technology is being used to improve pension design and delivery and how regulators are managing these changes.

Providing American seniors with better work incentives and opportunities will be crucial for the United States to meet the challenges of its rapidly ageing population. By 2028, more than one in five Americans will be aged 65 and over, up from fewer than one in six today, according to a new OECD report.

The Pension Policy Notes summarise the main features of countries’ pension systems and the policy challenges each of them faces and the Pension Policy Reviews provide an in-depth analysis of the different components of countries’ pension systems.

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International migration fell in 2009, reflecting lower demand for workers in OECD countries for the second consecutive year after a decade of growth, according to a new OECD report.

The OECD and the World Bank have joined their efforts in a project aimed at extending the coverage of the Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries to non-OECD destination countries for the year 2000.

This publication reviews the labour market integration of immigrants and their children in three OECD countries (Austria, Norway and Switzerland) and provides country-specific recommendations. It also includes a summary chapter highlighting common challenges and policy responses. It is the third and last in a series which has covered eleven OECD countries.

The conference is jointly organised by the OECD, the French research center in international economics (CEPII) and its Club, the research team Equippe of the University of Lille, the Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti, the University of Luxemburg and IRES (Université Catholique de Louvain).

The International Migration Division at the OECD together with the European Commission (DG Employment, Social affairs and Inclusion) organise a conference on migration and mobility and how to match economic migration with labour market needs.

The migration of women is a growing phenomenon in most countries. About half of all international migrants are women, according to OECD data. Over the years, the body of knowledge on the participation of highly skilled women to migration flows has increased but despite this growing knowledge, there is low visibility of research findings for policy makers and multilateral organizations.

This edition of Migration Policy Debates looks at the evidence for how immigrants affect the economy in three main areas: The labour market, the public purse and economic growth.

How can governments ensure that migration and free movement of workers contribute to meeting the labour market shortages that are expected to arise over the next 50 years? How can societies better use the skills of their migrants? What lessons can non-European OECD countries offer Europe, particularly regarding labour migration management? “Matching economic migration with labour market needs” addresses these questions.

This edition of Migration Policy Debates provides an assessment of the possible economic impact of the refugee crisis. It stresses that while there will obviously be short-term costs arising from such large flows, there will also be sizeable economic and public-finance benefits provided refugees are integrated into the labour market.

When nearly a million Vietnamese “boat people” fled their country in the late 1970s and early 1980s and sought refuge elsewhere, they were typically seen as a burden and often turned away. Eventually, many were allowed to settle in the US. Most arrived speaking little or no English and with few assets or relevant job skills. Yet Vietnamese refugees are now more likely to be employed and have higher incomes than people born in the US.

This article by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría addresses the refugee crisis, encouraging governments to seize the opportunity that refugees bring for our economies and societies.

In recent decades, Thailand has been an attractive destination for migrant workers due to its relatively high wages and its fast economic growth. A joint report by the OECD Development Centre and the International Labour Organisation, How Immigrants contribute to Thailand’s economy, demonstrates the contribution of migrant workers and makes recommendations regarding the enhancement of this contribution.

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.

How immigrants contribute to developing countries’ economies shows that negative perceptions are often unjustified. It points out that immigrants are no burden on the economies of host countries, and that in developing countries, their impact on labour markets, economic growth and public finance is generally positive although relatively limited.

This report documents the increase in labor migration in Asia and looks at how finance and technology can aid its positive impact on home countries. As diasporas increase, governments have reached out to citizens abroad to provide them with financial instruments. Remittance channels have long been consolidated, but financial technology is changing the ways in which migrants remit—reducing fees and opening opportunities for new actors.

The report provides an unprecedented analysis of immigrant workers’ contribution in three areas of the Dominican Republic’s economy: labour markets, economic growth and public finance. It shows that the labour market characteristics of immigrants and native-born workers in the Dominican Republic are very different.

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.

Finland should offer labour-market-oriented integration support to all migrants, strengthen efforts to identify and address early vulnerabilities, and work more closely with employers according to a new OECD report.

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.

Luxembourg allocated 0.97% of its gross national income, or USD 413 million, to official development assistance in 2011.“Luxembourg is the Development Assistance Committee’ s third most generous donor as a portion of its economy – after Sweden and Norway – and it has a high quality programme” says Brian Atwood, Chair of the DAC. “We commend Luxembourg’s commitment to keeping its ODA at 1% of GNI until 2014”.

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.

Education at a Glance 2013 - Country notes and key fact tables

Country notes with main key findings of the book and key fact tables: a customised snapshot of a country's educational environment, highlighting the most important issues in the educational landscape.

Luxembourg weathered the global economic crisis well, but must take additional steps to foster the diversification of the economy while ensuring the continuing health of its financial sector, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Luxembourg.

Improved governance and more targeted policies to stimulate business R&D could help Luxembourg strengthen innovation

Specific country notes have been prepared using data from the database OECD Health Statistics 2015, July 2015 version. The notes are available in PDF format.