Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

• 20 founding states
• 14 other Member States

Château de la Muette, Paris

See Section Member States

33 971 U.S. $ ( 2010)

December 14, 1960 (April 16, 1948 as OEEC)

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (English Organisation for Economic Co - operation and Development, OECD; French organization de coopération et de développement économiques, OCDE ) is an international organization with 34 member states, who are committed to democracy and market economy. Most OECD members are among the countries with high per capita income and are regarded as developed countries. Headquarters of the Organization and its predecessor organization OEEC is since 1949 La Muette castle in Paris.

• 5.1 retirement
• 5.2 Employment policy
• 5.3 Formation
• 5.4 Development Cooperation
• 5.5 Anti-Corruption
• 5.6 migration
• 5.7 Environment
• 5.8 Taxes
• 5.9 Responsible Corporate Governance
• 5:10 Economic Policy
• 5:11 Other Topics

History and tasks

The OECD was established for the reconstruction of Europe, who acted since April 16, 1948 in 1961 as a successor to the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (English Organisation for European Economic Co -operation OEEC) and the Marshall Plan. The aim of the OEEC was to develop and implement a common approach to economic reconstruction and Cooperation in Europe. In particular, the European countries should be involved in the decision-making process on the use of funds from the Marshall Plan. After settlement of the Marshall Plan aid further need for an exchange of views on economic policy issues was seen and the OEEC transferred in September 1961 in the OECD.

In the first years of existence, the OEEC was one of 18 members (15 European countries and the United States, Canada and Turkey). In the 1960s, appeared in the now -called OECD Organisation Italy (1962 ), Japan (1964 ) and Finland ( 1969) on, followed by Australia (1971 ) and New Zealand (1973 ), in the 1990s were Mexico (1994 ), Czech Republic (1995 ), Hungary ( 1996), South Korea (1996 ), Poland ( 1996) and Slovakia ( 2000) added and 2010 were Chile, Slovenia, Israel and Estonia at.

Today, the OECD provides a forum to exchange their experiences in the governments best practice to identify and develop solutions to common problems. In general, peer pressure is the most important incentive for the implementation of the recommendations. Within the OECD also standards and guidelines are often developed, sometimes legally binding contracts.

According to the OECD Convention are the goals of the organization

• Contribute to an optimal economic development, high employment and a rising standard of living in its member states,
• To promote in its Member States and developing countries, economic growth,
• Contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral basis.

The mandate of the OECD is very wide and extends with the exception of defense policy on almost all policy areas. The analyzes and recommendations of the OECD economic policies of the Member States are based on a liberal market economy and efficient economic order. For the work as the product markets, speaking from the organization for the removal of barriers and increase competition. In recent years, education and social policies have gained weight. For example, the OECD has done to PISA to a advocate for equal opportunities in education. The end of 2008, the organization has pointed out in a study due to an increase in poverty and inequality ( income gap ) in its member states.

In international economic relations are a free movement of goods and capital, the core objectives of the organization. At the same time and develops standards in the OECD, to counter negative aspects of globalization. These include the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises as standards for direct investment and collaboration with suppliers, the OECD Convention on Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and standards for the prevention of money laundering and tax evasion.

Structure and decision-making

The OECD is not ( State ) supranational organization, but has rather the character of a permanent, which meets conference. The organization is ( interstate ) written strictly intergovernmental, its decisions are binding under international law, in the Member States but not directly applicable.

Organs

Advice

The Council is the highest decision-making organ of the OECD and is composed of one representative of each Member States and the European Commission. It shall meet regularly at ambassadorial level. At least once a year there will be a meeting at the ministerial level to define the work program of the organization. Decisions are taken by consensus. Countries may abstain but. Makes a country of this possibility, it must not apply that recommendation.

Secretary General

The Secretary-General shall preside over the Council when it meets at ambassadorial level. At the same time subordinate to him, the Secretariat. He is appointed for five years by the Member States in agreement. Incumbent is since June 2006, the former Mexican finance and foreign minister José Ángel Gurría. Currently, the Secretary General of four deputy secretaries-general is supported.

Secretaries General of the OEEC / OECD:

Secretariat

The Secretariat implements the decisions of the Council to, support the committees and working groups in their work and drafts proposals for new activities. Of the approximately 2,500 employees are about 1600 experts, mostly economists, lawyers, natural or social scientists. The Secretariat is divided into twelve substantive directorates and six central departments. Most staff working at its headquarters in Paris. Liaison Office maintains the OECD in Berlin, Mexico City, Tokyo and Washington, DC

Committees and Working Groups

In the approximately 200 committees and working groups the technical work of the organization takes place. Delegates from the ministries and authorities of the Member States shall exchange is here to discuss the work of the Secretariat or provide their own amounts. Some 40,000 representatives from national administrations take part in such OECD meetings. At many of these bodies is also being attended by non-members as observers.

Financing

The OECD is funded by contributions from member states, and ultimately tax revenues. The central budget (2008: € 343 million) is taken by a dependent on the economic strength of contributions by the members. With 25 percent of the U.S. is the largest contributor, followed by Japan (16 percent) and Germany (9 percent). Switzerland contributes 1.5 percent and 1.1 percent in Austria to the central budget. In addition, Member States may also fund projects through voluntary contributions. In this context, the cost of the PISA study be worn.

Cooperation with civil society

About special advisory bodies, there is an institutionalized dialogue with representatives of the business ( BIAC ) and the employee ( TUAC). In addition, to find individual projects public hearings held, and non-governmental organizations are involved from the various committees and working groups in the work. The around the Ministerial annual OECD Forum is also intended to serve a regular dialogue with civil society.

Specialized agencies

For the OECD family includes a number of special and subsidiary organizations with their own circle of members and own supervisory and control bodies:

• African Partnership Forum (APF )
• Development Centre (DEV )
• Financial Action Task Force ( FATF)
• European Conference of Ministers of Transport ( ECMT )
• International Transport Forum ( ITF)
• International Energy Agency ( IEA)
• Partnership for Democratic Governance (PDG )
• Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA )
• Sahel and West Africa Club ( SAH)

Member States

Currently, the OECD has 34 members

• Founding members (1961, in alphabetical order):

• (Sorted by year of entry ) Later joined:

• European Union The European Commission takes part alongside the EU Member States in the work of the OECD.

• Free Territory of Trieste Free Territory of Trieste (Zone A), a small buffer state in Europe, until its dissolution in 1954 a member of the forerunner of OEEC.

Enlargement and relations with non-members

• Member States
• Candidate
• Partners for increased cooperation

Unlike many other international organizations, the membership of the OECD is not automatically open to all countries. After negotiations, the OECD members decide whether and under what conditions a country is taken.

On 16 May 2007 the OECD Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russia and Slovenia invited to accession talks. It was also " enhanced cooperation with a view to possible membership " agreed with the major emerging economies of Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa one. These are working today as well as 70 additional states in the various committees and working groups of the OECD.

Since mid- 2007, a dialogue between the G8 countries and the major emerging economies Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa will take place at the OECD. This Heiligendamm Process was agreed at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm and contributing to the issues of investment, energy efficiency and climate protection, the protection of intellectual property rights and development policy to an understanding between the major industrialized and emerging countries.

On 7 May 2010 Chile took the first country in South America accession to the OECD, and on 27 May 2010 Estonia, Israel and Slovenia were invited to join the organization. On July 21, 2010 took place in Slovenia, on September 7, 2010 Israel and 9 December 2010 Estonia 's accession.

In May 2013 accession talks began with Colombia and Latvia, talks with Costa Rica and Lithuania are expected to follow in 2015. Furthermore, Malaysia and Peru have already expressed an interest in joining.

Workspaces

The work of the OECD is very wide ranging and apart from the defense almost all areas of government action affected. The organization itself divides its activities into seven categories, economy, society, innovation, Finance, Governance, sustainability and development. These categories are divided into a total of 29 sub-themes.

Retirement

The organization analyzes and compares the pension systems of the Member States. Of central importance are all biennial model calculations for pension in relation to income during the acquisition phase. On this basis and in view of the increase in precarious conditions and acquisition of interrupted work histories, the organization has repeatedly warned against the risk of old age poverty in Germany.

Employment policy

The analyzes focus on effective design of labor market policies. Basis for this include statistics on labor force participation and indicators of the relationship between wages and wage replacement benefits. The annually published OECD Employment Outlook provides an overview of the development of employment and summarizes recent studies of the organization of labor market policy. Overall, the organization has undergone a major change in labor market policy in recent years. In the mid- 1990s was still a liberalization of labor markets with reduction of employment protection, restriction of union power and reduction of unemployment benefits under Anglo-Saxon model propagated. With the revised "Job Strategy" of 2006 now detects adjacent to the Anglo-Saxon and the Scandinavian model of labor market policy with low employment protection but good hedge unemployment and active mediation in the labor market as promising to.

Education

The economic benefits of education for the individual and society, and equality in the education system are in the education policy in the foreground. The annual publication Education at a Glance, the OECD published comparative statistics and indicators for use of resources in the form of financial or staffing in national education systems and analyzed the impact of education on innovation and labor market. With the PISA study, the organization has made ​​a name in the measurement of developed according to specific criteria Performance 15 -year-old internationally. The PISA study is not a study of the performance of school systems, although this was perceived by the public so. Similar studies for the investigation of the competence state of adults and college graduates are in work or in preparation. In addition, researching the organization, how management can be improved in school and college.

Development Cooperation

A central component of the work in this area are statistics and reports on development aid payments in OECD countries in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). In annual reports is checked whether the official development assistance ( ODA) complies with the commitments made ​​. In recent years, analyzes have increased to more efficient use of development assistance around the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness with work. In addition, the organization reports regularly on economic development in Africa and Latin America.

Fight against corruption

In the fight against corruption, the OECD pioneer and one of the key international actors. Was closed in 1998, the first international agreement to combat transnational bribery in the framework of the OECD. The OECD Convention on Bribery of foreign public officials, the bribery of foreign public officials is also provided in the country of origin under penalty and tracked. In addition, the tax deductibility of bribe payments was abolished, which had previously been regarded even in Germany. At the same time the organization of Member States and non-members in the context of regional initiatives supported to reduce the vulnerability to corruption.

Migration

Migration is analyzed from the perspective of the target as the country of origin. From the perspective of the target countries is the integration of migrants into the labor market and the social structure in the foreground. From the perspective of the countries the economic consequences of migration are analyzed approximately by remittances or the loss of skilled workers.

Environment

The work in environmental protection should help to design an efficient and effective policies to deal with environmental problems and sustainable management of natural resources and implement. In the country reports, the organization develops specific recommendations for improving the environmental policy. In 2008, the OECD has presented a comprehensive analysis of the major challenges in environmental policy.

To mark the beginning of October 2013 published OECD report on "Climate and carbon: Aligning prices and policies " to Secretary-General Gurria advocated to make the CO2 pricing (eg by a CO2 tax or cap and trade ) the cornerstone of international climate policy. To achieve the two- degree target, CO2 emissions would be reduced to zero by the fossil energy until the second half of this century.

Taxation

In the field of taxation and tax policy, the OECD is helping Member States to adjust their tax systems to the conditions of the globalized economy. The organization publishes, among other stats for tax revenue in OECD countries as well as indicators to tax and social security burden on labor income. These are the basis for analysis and recommendations for pro-growth tax and fiscal policy. To coordinate the cross-border taxation, the OECD developed reference works such as the OECD Model Convention and the guidelines for transfer pricing. Standards for international exchange of information in tax matters should help to curb cross-border tax evasion.

Responsible corporate governance

With a series of standards, the organization is trying to establish a responsible corporate management. The OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance are the most important international standard for equity and corporate law represents the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises set standards in foreign investment and in relations with suppliers.

Economic policy

The analyzes of economic policy are divided into economic and structural policy. Twice a year, published by the OECD in its Economic Outlook economic forecasts for all OECD countries and major emerging economies. This forecast is supplemented by an interim evaluation for the major economic regions and the G7 countries. In addition, all one and a half years for each OECD country and some non-members will be developed comprehensive economic reports with concrete policy recommendations. These reports are part of the normal in the OECD peer review, because the recommendations reflect the consensus of the member countries.

The country reports are rejected by the unions of the countries concerned on a regular basis, especially with regard to labor market policy, because they too unspecific not taken into account the particular circumstances and historically grown political side emanating from a neo-liberal rating scheme.

Other topics

Other topics of the organization are biotechnology, reducing bureaucracy, energy, health, trade, innovation, investment, agriculture, public administration, spatial development and competition policy.

Publications

A significant part of the OECD's work is in the collection and compilation of statistics and indicators as well as in the preparation of studies. Some 300 titles published, the organization per year. All databases and studies are provided in the online library OECD iLibrary available.

An overview of important structural data can be found in the annual OECD Factbook. Most data are now available on the ( fee-based ) platform OECD.Stat. A complimentary selection is with OECD Stat Extracts available.

Social progress

The OECD analyzes not only economic systems but also the everyday lives of people. The aim is to capture the good of the individual and social progress. A tool for this is "Your Better Life Index", an interactive computer program that allows the living conditions can be compared in OECD countries, but also in some other states. Overall, there are eleven comparative indicators, including education, employment, the environment and health. The classification ( " ranking ") of the countries varies, depending on are provided in data entry with the largest weight of the criteria.