Although Lithuania’s growth has been impressive, inequality is high, the risk of poverty is one of the highest of European countries, and life expectancy is comparatively low and strongly dependent on socio-economic background.

In 2015 the Lithuanian government launched an ambitious Social Model reform agenda aimed at balancing flexibility of the labour market and security provided through the system of social protection.

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.

Although Lithuania’s growth has been impressive, inequality is high, the risk of poverty is one of the highest of European countries, and life expectancy is comparatively low and strongly dependent on socio-economic background.

In 2015 the Lithuanian government launched an ambitious Social Model reform agenda aimed at balancing flexibility of the labour market and security provided through the system of social protection.

A key recent OECD work, the "Future of Productivity" implies that inefficient firms increasingly linger as opposed to exit the market, despite their inability to adopt new technologies.

Labour market reforms are essential to promote social cohesion by removing obstacles to employment, particularly for women, youth and older persons.

The generous Danish welfare state relies on a high degree of labour force participation both for financing and in order to ensure social cohesion.

The generous Danish welfare state relies on a high degree of labour force participation both for financing and in order to ensure social cohesion.

Malaysia’s economy has proven resilient to global headwinds, but more can be done to boost innovation, raise productivity and shift to a more sustainable growth path that will boost living standards for all, according to two new reports from the OECD.

Expansionary fiscal initiatives and maintaining trade openness are needed to push the global economy out of today’s low-growth trap, according to the OECD’s latest Global Economic Outlook.

Malaysia’s success in alleviating poverty has been achieved despite the absence of an integrated and comprehensive social protection system.

A policy framework that does not unduly inhibit the creative destruction process is vital to sustaining productivity growth. Yet, a key question is what happens to workers who lose their jobs due to this process and what are the policies that minimise the costs of worker displacement?

What happens to workers who lose their jobs due to firm exit – how quickly are they re-employed and what are the policies that can aid this process?

Spending on public administration itself is relatively low and so are indicators of its performance.

Structural reforms are regularly assessed based on their ability to boost GDP per capita. This emphasis relies on the assumption that higher GDP per capita is systematically associated with rising living standards for the vast majority of citizens. This view is increasingly being challenged.

Ambitious structural reforms and sound macroeconomic policies have strengthened the resilience of the Mexican economy despite a complex national scenario and challenging global conditions, but more can be done to boost productivity and ensure that growth is inclusive enough to achieve better living conditions for all, according to a new report from the OECD.

Malaysia has followed a comparatively equitable development path, largely eliminating absolute poverty and greatly reduced ethnic inequality.

New evidence on the effect of energy prices on outward FDI can provide some reassurance in light of concerns about Pollution Havens.

The Spanish economy is enjoying a robust recovery from a deep recession, with structural reforms contributing to high growth rates and a gradual decline in unemployment.

The Japanese economy has gained momentum and is creating jobs, according to a new OECD report. The latest OECD Economic Survey of Japan, presented in Tokyo by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, says that per capita growth rates in recent years have matched those across the OECD – a major improvement. The Survey underlines the key role Abenomics has played in the economic revival.

The private sector can be a strategic partner in the pursuit of sustainable and inclusive growth, with the ability to have a profound impact, particularly in areas such as climate change, inclusiveness, equality and good governance.

Labour productivity in Japan is about a quarter below the average of the top half of OECD countries, which is surprising given Japan's outstanding performance in education and skills and high level of R&D spending.

The Colombian economy has been more resilient than other Latin American countries to the recent fall in commodities prices, and remains among the strongest in the region.

Spain has chronically low productivity growth, which undermines its ability to generate higher living standards.

The recent pick-up in global growth is good news, but a durable return to healthy growth supported by productivity and trade will require stronger political commitment to implement policy packages to make growth more inclusive.

Innovation is key to boosting Australia’s productivity and inclusiveness.

A combination of market-based policies and a redistributive welfare state have boosted Belgium’s per-capita GDP to well above the average of OECD countries and raised well-being, 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.

The Austrian economy is strengthening, supported by recent tax reform and a pick-up in international trade. With business and household confidence rising and the short-term outlook favourable, policymakers should enact deeper structural reforms that will improve both fiscal sustainability and social cohesion.

Argentina is making progress in its path to advance its growth agenda. The first OECD Multi-dimensional Economic Survey of Argentina underlines the achievements to date of the government’s recent and comprehensive programme of macroeconomic and structural reforms.

Icelandic labour market is flexible with high labour market participation, low unemployment, and labour supply dynamically responds to the economic cycle.

Successful implementation of economic reforms has boosted the Latvian economy, leading to strong growth, rising wages and solid public finances. Further policy action is now needed to accelerate productivity growth, create jobs, drive down poverty, improve living standards and ensure that everyone benefits from more inclusive growth, according to a new report from the OECD.

Estonia: Policy action is needed for stronger and more inclusive growth

The world economy has picked up momentum, as expanding investment, employment and trade support synchronised growth across most countries, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook.

Latvia’s economy is growing strongly. Driven by the recovery of exports and investment as well as strong private consumption, real GDP growth is expected to strengthen from 2% in 2016 to around 4% this year and next.

Estonian growth is picking up again strongly in 2017 and the level of activity has finally surpassed its pre-crisis level, almost 10 years after the outset of the financial crisis. However, poverty remains among the highest in the OECD.

Never in the past 30 years has productivity growth been lower than since the 2008 global financial crisis, and never has income inequality been higher than it is today in Japan, and in the OECD area

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.

Luxembourg’s workforce is highly skilled, reflecting the concentration in the country of sophisticated firms in the financial sector and other top-end international services.

Luxembourg’s large foreign-born population is a pillar of the country’s prosperity: they have brought skills and knowledge to many sectors of the economy.

Growth has become more inclusive in recent years in Colombia. Strong growth and targeted social policies have reduced absolute poverty.

Ahead of the referendum on Brexit, the OECD was anticipating a significant decrease in economic growth if the decision to leave the EU were taken (Kierzenkowski et al., 2016). As the UK economy has started to slow down, OECD projections remain remarkably valid so far.

Digitalisation is one of the megatrends affecting societies and labour markets, alongside demographic change and globalisation.

Since the crisis, Estonia has experienced one of the most pronounced declines in the ratio of non-residential investment to GDP in the OECD.

Iceland has high living standards, low poverty, high inclusiveness and one of the most sustainable pension systems.

OECD sees global economy strengthening, but says further policy action needed to catalyse the private sector for stronger and more inclusive growth

The Norwegian economy is performing well, despite low oil prices. Further reforms will be needed to diversify the economy, improve public spending efficiency and ensure that today’s high levels of income, well-being and equality are passed on to future generations, according to a new report from the OECD.

This paper investigates the effect of export entry on productivity, employment and wages of Latvian and Estonian firms in the context of global value chain (GVC).

A favourable business environment is crucial to boosting Belgium’s productivity and inclusiveness and to sustain improvements in long-term economic prosperity.