Multimedia

 Fiscal reform as a tool for development

According to the OECD's Latin American Economic Outlook 2009, fiscal reform is necessary in Latin America to boost economic growth and combat poverty and inequality.

The gap between rich and poor has grown in more than three-quarters of OECD countries over the past two decades, according to the new OECD report Growing Unequal. Many of the poor are children and providing good education for all is the first step in closing the wealth gap.

 Entrepreneurs do well during tough economic times

Robert Litan, Vice President of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation, explains that many of today's top companies were started during recessions. The Kauffman Foundation has partnered with the OECD to compile internationally comparable statistics on entrepreneurship and SMEs.

Taxation

 Harmful Tax Practices

Nicholas Bray speaks with Grace Perez-Navarro, deputy-director of OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, about addressing harmful tax practices, including tax havens, by improving transparency and establishing effective exchange of information.

Social Policies

 Growing Unequal: Inequality and poverty trends over the last 20 years

Interview with Mark Pearson, head of OECD's Social Policy Division, on the growing gap between rich and poor and other key findings from Growing Unequal.

Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD’s Education Indicators and Analysis Division, talks about this and other findings from the latest Education at a Glance 2008.

Interview with  Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy & Administration on 50 years of promoting a business-friendly tax environment. Secretary General Angel Gurría, delivered the opening speech at this two day conference.

Economy

 OECD's Interim economic assessment (September 2008)

Weak activity to continue throughout 2008. Listen to Jorgen Elmeskov, Acting Head of the OECD's Economics Department.

The OECD hosted a major international conference on the future of the Internet economy. High on the agenda: risks and perils of the World Wide Web that, until recently, few had even imagined.

 A greener economy

Government ministers from around the world have been meeting at OECD headquarters in Paris to talk about crunch issues for the environment. One of the most important: getting business more involved in greening the economy. See as well related report in Spanish El coste del cambio climático.

Economy

 A. Gurría and D. Strauss-Kahn call for action to stabilise financial crisis

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn call for action to stabilise the financial crisis at a news conference during the OECD-IMF Conference on Structural Reform in Europe at the OECD on March 17 2008.

 Development Centre

 OECD’s Development Centre attracts new members

Three new countries have joined the Organisation’s Development Centre. The Arab Republic of Egypt, Israel, and Vietnam, took their seats officially at the Centre’s Governing Board meeting on 18 March. This represents a significant extension of the Development Centre’s membership in Asia and the Middle East.

Economics and Growth

Going for Growth 2008

Jorgen Elmeskov, acting Chief Economist of the OECD, explains how the Going for Growth report assesses progress - or lack of it - in implementing the priority reforms needed to boost productivity and jobs in each OECD country. Paradoxically, reforms have been most prevalent during economic downturns, although adjustment costs to reform during such periods are much higher than if action is taken when the economy is booming.

The Costs of Distance

Transportation costs have hardly fallen during the past 30 years, says OECD economist Hervé Boulhol in a paper published in the latest Going for Growth report. Listen to his explanation of how this is handicapping economies far away from world markets and how Australia and New Zealand nevertheless remain competitive traders in world markets.

 Access to Essential Medicines: A Global Sickness (long version)

During an international conference on this subject, OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, says infectious diseases exact heavy human, social and economic costs and urges immediate action to improve healthcare worldwide. To see a shorter version of this video click here