Wikiprogress online discussion on Latin America entitled "Quality Urban Life: How to make it a reality?".

How can we earn back the trust of young people? Improving openness, transparency, accountability, and access to information is essential. On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day and Transparency International’s 20th Anniversary, the OECD and Transparency International are inviting young people for a discussion about how to push the integrity agenda forward together.

This blog, written by David Satterthwaite with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), discusses what indicators are needed in order to assess the quality of life of the urban poor.

The policy forum officially launches the conceptual framework to the public and offers an opportunity for participants to discuss the key issues for emerging Asia: housing, buildings and energy, land use and transport, water and waste management, green goods and services.

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

Turkey recovered swiftly from the global financial crisis but sizeable macroeconomic imbalances arose in the process.

The Japan-OECD Policy Forum on Urban Development and Green Growth will address cities’ unique role in creating synergies between environmental and economic objectives to advance green growth. Asian cities in particular are at the centre of this challenge. This event is organised as a commemorative event for the 50th Anniversary of Japan's Accession to the OECD.

The OECD’s work on resilience is featured prominently in the Global Risks 2015 report of the World Economic Forum.

The world is experiencing a wave of urbanisation that has the potential to greatly benefit residents, countries and the planet at large. This report analyses the secrets of successful cities and the policies that contribute to their success.

Knowledge sharing is critical in fostering urban green growth. Cities in dynamic Asia urgently need to adopt and strengthen green growth models that take into account rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, and motorisation.

China needs a new model of urbanisation to match the shift to a new model of growth. For decades, both urbanisation and growth have been based on robust export demand, cheap labour, cheap land and artificially low pricing of environmental externalities. None of these can support growth or urban development in the future.

Despite progress in the past decade, financial markets in Colombia remain relatively small and shallow. In particular the banking system suffers high intermediation costs, which limit constrains access to finance by households and firms.

The recent riots in Baltimore following the death of Freddy Gray bring a tragic focus, once again, on inequality. Maryland’s largest city, Baltimore is a perfect laboratory to study it, thanks in part to the superb comparative statistics the city keeps. OECD Insights Blog.

In January of this year I visited the Mexican state of Tabasco– a state crossed by rivers and facing the Gulf of Mexico. The state’s population has doubled over the past 30 years and its economy relies heavily on oil and natural gas resources. It has its challenges as well: unemployment, poverty and a lack of resources.

Ministers from OECD’s 34 member countries today welcomed the new OECD Principles on Water Governance, which set standards for more effective, efficient and inclusive design and implementation of water policies, and encouraged governments to put them into action.

Mayors and ministers gathered for the 6th OECD Roundtable concluded that the solution to climate change will happen in cities. National governments alone will not be able to tackle environmental challenges, sustainable development should include cities and their governments as main stakeholders. Creating sustainable cities is a global agenda and Habitat III is an opportunity to shape the global urban agenda for the next 20 years.

The Regional Development Policy Division was honoured to have been selected by the Regional Studies Association (RSA) to receive the Institutional Ambassador Award 2015 on 18 November. The award is in recognition of the high calibre of reports and measurement tools produced by the Regional Development Policy Committee and its supporting Working Parties.

This paper re-estimates the elasticities of government revenue and expenditure items with respect to the output gap for OECD countries. These elasticities are used by the OECD to calculate cyclically adjusted fiscal balances. The study updates the earlier 2005 study using the most recent datasets and tax codes, the coverage being confined in this paper to 35 countries, the 34 OECD member states and Latvia.

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.

Mayors from cities across the United States, Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America gathered in New York to launch a global campaign to address rising inequalities and foster inclusive growth in their cities, in their countries and worldwide.

Imports of counterfeit and pirated goods are worth nearly half a trillion dollars a year, or around 2.5% of global imports, with US, Italian and French brands the hardest hit and many of the proceeds going to organised crime, according to a new report by the OECD and the EU’s Intellectual Property Office.

The OECD has been selected to co-lead one of the ten policy units contributing Habitat III taking place in Quito, Ecuador from 17-20 October 2016.

The Paris floods are another call to action for the international community. Preventing such shocks from happening and limiting the damage they cause should be a public policy priority.

OECD Insights blog on how new sources of urban data and urban scaling phenomenon can inform planners and urban developers.

The global economy remains in a low-growth trap. In our latest Interim Economic Outlook global GDP growth is set to remain flat around 3% in 2016 and improve modestly to 3.2% in 2017.

The OECD Governance and Territorial Development Directorate has worked closely with United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) on urban development issues. This webpage highlights the complex governance challenges that cities present and offers guidance on how they may be overcome.

The role of international organisations (IOs) is critical in the development of rules and standards that can help advance the well-being of citizens in an increasingly globalised world.

The Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) has devoted its 9th Annual Conference to opening direct channels of discussion on experiences, methodologies and innovative practices in the process of optimization of public administration in the Western Balkans.

The Global Forum provides a unique opportunity for OECD countries to engage with non-members, as well as parliaments, justice institutions, civil society and the business world, to discuss public governance issues and global concerns.

The OECD was part of the multi-stakeholder Advisory Board to help prepare the Global Risks 2017 report.

OECD Global Network of Schools of Government provides direct access to OECD governance expertise and enables exchange of schools’ experiences and good practices in ensuring that public sector employees have the skills and competencies to address current and future priorities.

This paper exploits firm-level data from the ORBIS database to assess international tax planning by multinational enterprises (MNEs).

This new report highlights the latest trends in government innovation. The topics identified through this review are not the only trends and examples in government innovation, but they do provide a glimpse of where government innovation stands today and where it may be going tomorrow.

Women’s representation in parliaments remains a global issue. In 2016, women constituted 23% of parliamentarians over both upper and lower houses combined, with the Pacific, Arab States and Asia having the lowest representation (16.4%, 18.2%, and 19.2% respectively).

The 2017 OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum will tackle issues related to fair competition and economic growth, the inequality gap, a level playing field for business, the public interest in policy making and trust in government and politics

The Second International Conference on National Urban Policy was held in Paris France on 15-16 May 2017. The conference was a joint initiative of the OECD, UN Habitat and Cities Alliance.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) coordinates global disaster risk reduction efforts among United Nations agencies and international organisations. The OECD is hosting an event to see how governments and stakeholders can best work together to strengthen economic and social resilience through improve risk governance.

It is hardly surprising that rising inequality has translated into growing political disaffection, anti-market sentiment and disenchantment with globalisation. In such a context, we desperately need to take action to promote inclusive growth and restore public confidence in the power of policymakers to improve people’s lives.

At the leader’s summit in Hamburg on July 7-8, 2017, the G20 High Level Principles on Combatting Corruption Related to Illegal Trade in Wildlife and Wildlife Products were launched as an annex to the Leaders’ Declaration. The Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade (TF-CIT) provided substantive input to this document throughout its development.

Government, business, trade and civil society representatives came together at this panel session to discuss the first year of implementation following the 2011 Update of the Guidelines.

Slovenia is facing the legacy of a boom-bust cycle that has been compounded by weak corporate governance of state-owned banks. The levels of non-performing loans and capital adequacy ratios compare poorly in international perspective and may deteriorate further, which could require significant bank recapitalisation.

Most businesses are good. They pay their taxes, they create employment, they abide by the laws, and they generally contribute to the societies in which they operate. But what can be done when businesses behave badly? This blog discusses the National Contact Points, the unique grievance mechanism of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and how could be improved to better fulfill their potential.

The private sector plays an important role in economic development. However to be beneficial to local populations, business must act responsibly. Part 2 of this blog focuses on how community engagement can help business achieve this, in harmony with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and reinforce the link between responsible business and inclusive growth.

7-8 June 2016: This meeting of the Global Knowledge Sharing Network on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises provides an opportunity for policy makers from around the world to discuss priorities for SOE reform and to support implementation through knowledge sharing.

The 2017 OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum will tackle issues related to fair competition and economic growth, the inequality gap, a level playing field for business, the public interest in policy making and trust in government and politics

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.

Globalisation has failed to create a level playing field in trade, investment and corporate behaviour, being one of the factors contributing to a backlash against openness in many countries and a decline in confidence in government institutions.

30/05/2017 - Adrian Blundell-Wignall, Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General on Financial and Enterprise Affairs, argues that key corporate and financial issues must be addressed if globalisation is to work better for all. These issues are examined in the new 2017 OECD Business and Finance Outlook.

This essay by the OECD's Mats Isaksson and Serdar Çelik traces the evolution of global corporate governance standards and make the case for strong, clear, yet flexible public policy to support capital formation, economic stability, and growth. It is published by the Columbia Law School's Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership on the occasion of the Center’s 10-year anniversary.

9 November 2017, New York With the FCPA’s enactment 40 years ago and 20 years after the adoption of the OECD - Anti-Bribery Convention, the global fight against corruption has changed forever. This conference examined the major impact of these ground-breaking instruments on corporate behaviour and law enforcement priorities.