The “Freedom of Investment" (FOI) process hosted by the OECD Investment Committee monitors investment policy developments in the 58 economies that participate in the process. This report covers investment measures taken between 16 February 2017 and 15 September 2017.

‌What is the contribution of business to people’s and communities’ well-being? How do businesses impact their environment and how sustainable are their practices? The OECD Statistics Directorate is expanding its work on measuring well-being at the country level to include the business community.

The next review of Sweden’s implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which was scheduled for October 2018, has been delayed until 2019. This is due to the fact that Sweden has not yet enacted legislation to urgently address remaining recommendations to reform its laws on corporate liability for the bribery of foreign public officials.

In the wake of the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh in 2013, initiatives to strengthen regulation of global supply chains in the textile and garment sector have multiplied. Tackling the issues involved requires sustained collaboration among industry, government, worker organisations and civil society. This project promotes such collaboration as well as the harmonisation of existing standards in the sector.

As part of the implementation strategy for the recently adopted OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector, the OECD is conducting a series of surveys that target SMEs operating within the sector.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Sweden is available here.

The number of people over 80 will double by 2050 rising from 3.9% of the population to 9.1% in 2050 across OECD countries and from 4.7% to 11.3% across 27 EU members. Estimates are that up to half of them will need help to cope with their daily needs. Yet even today governments are struggling to deliver high-quality care to elderly people with reduced physical and mental abilities, says a new OECD/EC report, A good life in old age? .

The future sustainability of health systems will depend on how well governments are able to anticipate and respond to efficiency and quality of care challenges. Bold action is required, as well as willingness to test innovative care delivery approaches. This book examines the whole new world of possibilities in using mobiles and the Internet to address healthcare challenges.

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

Sweden’s health and elderly care systems deserve their reputation as being among the best in the world. Yet an ageing population with growing chronic conditions and requiring more complex health services are testing Sweden’s ability to continue delivering high-quality care, according to a new OECD report.

More than 35 million people worldwide had dementia in 2010 and this number is expected to exceed 115 million by 2050. This paper reports on the opportunities offered by the informatics revolution and big data to address Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. This will require careful planning and multi-stakeholder collaboration as technical, administrative, regulatory, infrastructure and financial obstacles emerge.

Health spending has started to rise again after stagnating or even falling in many OECD countries during the crisis. But the pace of growth remains well below pre-crisis rates, especially in Europe, according to OECD Health Statistics 2014.

Improving labour market participation of people with mental health problems requires well-integrated policies and services across the education, employment, health and social sectors. This paper provides examples of policy initiatives from 10 OECD countries for integrated services.

Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) are commonly used to convert national currencies to a common unit. The main novel feature in the 2017 report is the collection of comparable and output-based prices for hospital services that can then be applied to matching health accounts expenditure data so as to derive consistent price and volume comparisons of health and hospital goods and services consumed.

This country note provides information on latest trends in income inequalities as well as key findings from the 2011 OECD report "Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising".

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

The OECD welcomes Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement at COP21 that Australia intends to ratify the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period, which sets mitigation targets and reporting requirements for 2013-2020.

This country note provides information on latest trends in income inequalities as well as key findings from the 2011 OECD report "Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising".

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

Japan, one of the founding members of the OECD Development Centre, makes a welcome return to the Centre. Japan’s re-entry is one of the milestones during a seminal week of activities at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, including celebrating the 2016 OECD Week, holding its Ministerial Council Meeting and convening a High-Level Meeting of its Development Centre Governing Board.

To improve productivity and help address socio-economic challenges, such as ageing, Japan needs to strengthen its innovation performance.

The fourth annual edition of Revenue Statistics in Asian Countries covers seven countries, including Kazakhstan for the first time. It shows that the tax-to-GDP ratio in all these countries are lower than the OECD average of 34.3% in 2015, which highlights that scope remains for increasing tax mobilisation, especially in Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and the Philippines to achieve sustainable growth.

Imports of Semi-precious Stones & Jewellery in South Africa decreased to 498.15 ZAR Million in March from 757.05 ZAR Million in February of 2020. Imports of Semi-precious Stones & Jewellery in South Africa averaged 733.38 ZAR Million from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 2037.70 ZAR Million in August of 2016 and a record low of 286.25 ZAR Million in December of 2014. This page includes a chart with historical data for South Africa Imports of Semi-precious Stones & Jewellery.

Imports: Footwear Headgear Umbrellas & Walking Sticks in South Africa decreased to 677.82 ZAR Million in March from 1283.95 ZAR Million in February of 2020. Imports: Footwear Headgear Umbrellas & Walking Sti in South Africa averaged 1121.21 ZAR Million from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 1660.71 ZAR Million in February of 2016 and a record low of 677.82 ZAR Million in March of 2020. This page includes a chart with historical data for South Africa Imports of Footwear Headgear Umbrellas & Walking.

Imports of Footwear CMLV in South Africa increased to 3304.04 ZAR Million in March from 2626.12 ZAR Million in February of 2020. Imports of Footwear CMLV in South Africa averaged 7168.39 ZAR Million from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 14409.74 ZAR Million in December of 2019 and a record low of 1061.57 ZAR Million in January of 2015. South Africa accounts for Imports of Footwear using cumulative values for each year (CMLV). This page includes a chart with historical data for South Africa Imports of Footwear.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery regrets that Austria has not had a conviction of bribing foreign public officials despite a number of allegations, 13 years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. However, enforcement appears to be picking up, with one case being tried, two more cases soon to be tried, and four ongoing investigations.

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

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.

G20 Finance Ministers have welcomed a new OECD/G20 framework designed to help governments develop financial strategies for disaster risk management.

This conference in Moscow explored strategies for developing financial literacy and capability and building effective consumer protection systems.

At a time when many governments are looking to encourage private investment in infrastructure to bridge the infrastructure financing gap, this paper compares the experience of pension funds in Canada and Australia, looking at infrastructure policies, the pension system, investment strategies, asset allocation and governance of pension funds.

At their meetings on 19-20 September 2013, APEC Finance Ministers welcomed a survey report prepared by the OECD on disaster risk financing practices in the Asia Pacific region.

In the 17th arrondissement of Paris you can walk past a bust of the 19-20th century French writer, Tristan Bernard. It carries a maxim that always makes me smile, roughly translated: Only trust yourself and then not very much. ("Ne compter que sur soi-même et encore pas beaucoup. ") It is simple, but invites reflection on the staggering level of trust that each of us invests in countless fellow humans.

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.

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).

Insurance is invisible yet it is everywhere. It is intimately linked to how people live their lives, grow their businesses, save and invest their incomes, anticipate what is essential to them and how they protect themselves against risk.

Although financial inclusion levels have improved in all Southeast Asian countries in recent years, levels remain relatively low in some countries. This report evaluates current levels of financial inclusion and financial literacy in Southeast Asia and describes the policies and programmes developed to support financial inclusion, education and consumer protection.

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

Capacity Utilization in Sweden decreased to 89.20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 91.30 percent in the third quarter of 2019. Capacity Utilization in Sweden averaged 87.08 percent from 1980 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 91.30 percent in the third quarter of 2019 and a record low of 76 percent in the second quarter of 2009. In Sweden, Capacity Utilization is the difference between the potential and actual use of an input. Capacity utilization is high when actual output is close to potential output because the most use is being made of labor and capital. This page provides - Sweden Capacity Utilization - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Imports from Sweden in Turkey increased to 133853.90 USD THO in March from 106821.68 USD THO in February of 2020. Imports from Sweden in Turkey averaged 136588.39 USD THO from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 225177 USD THO in December of 2014 and a record low of 2202 USD THO in April of 2014. This page includes a chart with historical data for Turkey Imports from Sweden.

This note is taken from Chapter 2 of Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth 2011.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría has welcomed the measures adopted by the Italian government to address fiscal sustainability while boosting growth and equity.

This note is taken from Chapter 2 of Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth 2012.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomes the Spanish government's budget and the economic policy measures announced yesterday.

A major step forward towards putting the measurement of well-being at the heart of policy-making was taken at a four-day international conference which ended in New Delhi today.

The balance of economic power is expected to shift dramatically over the next half century, with fast-growing emerging-market economies accounting for an ever-increasing share of global output, according to a new OECD report.

Sweden is a very egalitarian country but inequalities have risen and some groups are poorly integrated into the labour market.

Extensive structural reforms since the early 1990s have strengthened the resilience of the Swedish economy to shocks.

Employment has risen by more and unemployment has risen less than expected, given the path of output. Nevertheless, long-term and youth unemployment and involuntary part-time work are high. A polarised labour market risks worsening income inequality, which is high by OECD standards, despite a recent and likely temporary decline.