Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a group of 37 member countries that discuss and develop economic and social policy.
- OECD members are typically democratic countries that support free-market economies.
- The OECD is variously referred to as a think tank or a monitoring group.
- Its stated goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all.
- It has dealt with a range of issues, including raising the standard of living in member countries, contributing to the expansion of world trade, and promoting economic stability.
- The OECD publishes economic reports, statistical databases, analyses, and forecasts on the outlook for economic growth worldwide. Reports are variously global, regional, or national in orientation.
- The group analyzes and reports on the impact of social policy issues–such as gender discrimination on economic growth–and makes policy recommendations designed to foster growth with sensitivity to environmental issues. The organization also seeks to eliminate bribery and other financial crime worldwide.
- The OECD maintains a so-called “blacklist” of nations that are considered uncooperative tax havens, although there are not any nations currently on the list since, by 2009, all nations on the original list had made commitments to implement the OECD standards of transparency.
- The OECD is leading an effort with the Group of 20 (G20) nations to encourage tax reform worldwide and eliminate tax avoidance by profitable corporations. The recommendations presented for the project included an estimate that such avoidance costs the world’s economies between $100 billion and $240 billion in tax revenue annually.
- The group also provides consulting assistance and support to nations in central Asia and eastern Europe that implement market-based economic reforms.