Hot Topics

This page (www.oecd.org/hottopics) lists OECD documents, key reports, multimedia and articles from the world's media on key global issues.  If you want to know more about these topics and the latest developments, please use the links as indicated for each of the topics.

Agriculture, biofuels and food prices
www.oecd.org/agriculture

• Rising agricultural policies: causes, consequences and responses (policy brief)
  Issues explored includes the causes of the current spike in food prices, what it may mean for prices in the future and how governments can craft policies to cope.
  11/09/2008
• Biofuel policies in OECD countries costly and ineffective, says OECD report
  Government support of  biofuel production in OECD countries is costly, has a limited impact on reducing greenhouse gases and improving energy security, and has a significant impact on world crop prices, according to a new study of policies to promote greater production and use of biofuel in OECD countries.
  16/07/2008
• Farm policy reform urgent amid rising world food prices
  The rise in global food prices has made further reform of market-distorting farm policies all the more urgent, says new OECD report Agricultural Policies in OECD Countries.
  26/06/2008
• Aid, development and policy reforms needed to lessen impact of high food prices (pdf 0.25Mb)
  What has caused the recent sharp rises in world food prices? What will be the impact on the poor? These questions are discussed in a policy paper presented to ministers from OECD countries on June 5 2008.
  16/06/2008
• OECD and FAO see agricultural commodity prices remaining high and growing more volatile
  Agricultural commodity prices should ease from their recent record peaks but over the next 10 years they are expected to average well above the mean of the past decade, according to the latest Agricultural Outlook from OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
  29/05/2008
• The rising cost of food - Financial Times
  News articles, analysis and interactive features on rising food prices and their impact.
• Rising food prices and developing countries
  "We must engage our knowledge and inventiveness to help the most vulnerable countries in addressing their long-term food security issues, while turning their agricultural sectors, where possible, into genuine engines of development," said Secretary-General Angel Gurría in a speech in Paris.
  21/05/2008
• Trade agreement needed now - article by Angel Gurria - International Herald Tribune
  Governments around the world face weakening economies and soaring food prices.
  26/04/2008
• Are biofuels as green as they seem? (Video)
  Interview with Martin Von Lampe, OECD agricultural Policy Analyst and author of a report on biofuels, and Fatih Birol, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency.
  01/05/2008
• Biofuels and food prices
  Summary of a meeting of international experts with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
  23/04/2008
• Biofuels: is the cure worse than the disease? (pdf .6 Mb)
  Paper prepared for a meeting of the Round Table on Sustainable Development looking at the technical and economic potential of biofuels.
  11/09/2007 

Climate change and the environment
www.oecd.org/env/cc

• Water for All: A Matter of Good Governance - The OECD Perspective
  Speech by Secretary-General Angel Gurría on the challenge of managing and securing access to water and sanitation for all.
  01/09/2008
• Economics of climate change
  Speech by Secretary-General Angel Gurría on the economics of climate change at Chatham House, UK.
  30/06/2008
• 2008 Environmental Outlook - how much will it cost to address today's key environmental problems?
  Solutions to the key environmental challenges are available, achievable and affordable, especially when compared to the expected economic growth and the costs and consequences of inaction.
  05/03/2008
• What are OECD countries doing to fight climate change?
  Environment ministers from Denmark, France, Italy, Japan and Mexico explain their national efforts.
  27/04/2008
• Tackling climate change
  OECD Observer editorial by Secretary-General Angel Gurría on the need for action.
  22/04/2008
• Science of climate change - Financial Times 
  News articles, analysis and interactive features on the science of climate change.
• Climate change and flooding
  The impact of climate change and urban development could more than triple the number of people around the world exposed to coastal flooding by 2070.

Corruption
www.oecd.org/corruption

• Mixed messages on fighting foreign bribery, says Transparency International
  A new report on corruption says fewer than half the countries that have signed the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention are taking steps to stamp it out.
  24/06/2008
• OECD work on corruption (video)
  Why fighting corruption is vital for economic and social development.
• OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions
  Information on the Convention, country monitoring reports and more.
• More commitment needed to fight international corruption
  "Much more needs to be done" to fight international corruption, said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría at a conference in Rome to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.
  21/11/2007

Development and Africa
www.oecd.org/development

• African Economic Outlook 2008
  Africa’s average real GDP grew by 5.7 per cent in 2007 and is expected to rise to about 6 per cent in 2008 and in 2009.
  13/05/2008
• Overseas development aid in 2007
  Most donors are not on track to meet their stated commitments to scale up overseas development aid and will need to make unprecedented increases to meet the targets they have set for 2010.
  04/04/2008
• Development Co-operation Report 2007
  Increased development aid is helping very poor countries. But despite efforts by donor and recipient countries to use aid more effectively, progress is modest and problems such as inequality and climate change are growing.
  14/02/2008
• Policy Framework for Investment
  Helping to create an environment that is attractive to domestic and foreign investors and that enhances the benefits of investment to society.
• More OECD work with Africa

Financial markets, investment and sovereign wealth funds
www.oecd.org/daf

• Statement by Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General, to the International Monetary and Financial Committee
  Mr Gurría spoke of the need for implement longer-run structural reform of the global financial system to prevent the recurrence of crises in the future.
  11/10/2008
• Preventing investment protectionism
  “OECD and partner countries welcome investments from sovereign wealth funds as a positive force for development and global financial stability”, Mr. Gurría said in Washington on 11 October at the IMF/World bank annual meeting.
  11/10/2008
• The Global Economy and OECD: Distilling Lessons from a Financial Crisis
  In a speech on the outlook for the world economy, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría spoke about the impact of the financial crisis and OECD's work to produce a more inclusive globalisation.
  01/10/2008
• Financial crisis and deposit insurance guarantees in OECD countries
  Data and analysis on deposit insurance in OECD countries, including comparative tables on different levels of savings guaranteed. First published in June 2008 as a chapter in Financial Market Trends 94.
  01/10/2008
• OECD’s Gurría launches drive to raise corporate governance standards
  Good corporate governance is one of the keys to healthy financial markets in today’s globalised economy. Amid current market turmoil, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría has called for a new drive to raise standards and performance in this area.
  25/09/2008
• Statement by the Secretary-General of the OECD, Mr. Angel Gurría on the Financial Crisis and its Aftermath
  We welcome and support the adoption of the systemic rescue plan announced by the US Government on September 19 - 20, which will contribute to re-establish the normal operation of financial markets and preserve employment and economic activity.
  23/09/2008
• Global financial crisis - Financial Times
  News articles, analysis, blogs and interactive features on the current financial crisis.
  22/09/2008
• Weak activity to continue throughout 2008, says OECD
  Financial market turmoil, the bursting of the housing bubble and high commodity prices continue to weigh on global economic growth, according to OECD’s latest interim economic assessment of the G7 countries.
  02/09/2008
• FDI from OECD countries jumps 50% in 2007 but set to fall in 2008
  Foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows from OECD countries in 2007 leapt to a record USD 1.82 trillion from USD 1.2 trillion in 2006 but are projected to fall sharply in 2008, according to estimates from the OECD.
  24/06/2008
• OECD scrutinises state-owned groups - Financial Times
  The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has launched an initiative to scrutinise the dominant role of state-owned companies abroad with the aim of setting out guidance on best practice and reform.
  20/06/2008
• OECD Outlook sees weak growth and inflation remaining high
  Growth is weakening and inflation is likely to remain high across most OECD countries, according to the Economic Outlook. US activity will stay flat through 2008 while the Euro area economy growth will be restrained by tighter credit and lower export market growth.
  04/06/2008
• Reform of financial markets
  Fundamental reform of the financial system and its regulation is needed to address the issues highlighted by the current financial markets crisis, according to the OECD Financial Markets Committee.
  15/04/2008
• Sovereign wealth funds an opportunity, not a threat - The Guardian
  Opinion piece by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.
  09/04/2008

Globalisation, education and employment

• Tailor immigration policies to future needs, says OECD
  OECD countries should adapt their labour migration policies more closely to likely future demand for workers in all areas of their economies, opening up to lower-skilled workers as well as to those with high skills, according to OECD's International Migration Outlook 2008.
  10/09/2008
• Soaring student numbers pose funding and quality challenges for universities in OECD countries
  Education at a Glance 2008 shows that with more and more high-school graduates going on to university, governments face tough decisions on funding and quality standards to ensure that their education systems respond adequately to booming demand for degrees.
  09/09/2008
• Doha trade negotiations: Let’s Go the Last Mile
  OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría has called on the participants in negotiations for a new multilateral trade agreement to “go the last mile” and bring the World Trade Organization’s Doha round to a successful conclusion.
  02/09/2008
• Labour market discrimination still a big problem in OECD countries
  Women are 20% less likely than men to have a paid job in OECD countries and they earn on average 17% less than men, according to the latest edition of OECD’s Employment Outlook.
  02/07/2008
• Workers of the world on the move - Financial Times
  Articles and interactive map on the growth of the global jobs market.
  24/06/2008
• Embracing globalisation in the 21st century: a dialogue on the Nordic approach
  OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría talks about the lessons to be learnt from the Nordic approach to globalisation.
  21/05/2008
• The contribution of labour market and employment policies to addressing the needs of vulnerable workers and areas in a globalising economy
  Domestic policies are instrumental for enhancing the benefits from globalisation while addressing the needs of vulnerable workers and areas, said Mr. Gurría in a speech to G8 Employment and Labour ministers in Niigata.
  13/05/2008
• The Challenges of Globalisation and the OECD: Working for a More Balanced and Inclusive World
  A speech by Mr. Gurría on the need to produce a more inclusive and sustainable globalisation.
  09/04/2008
• Benefits and Wages 2007
  Faced with labour shortages and pressures on pension funding due to ageing populations, one in three OECD countries has cut unemployment benefits in the last six years with a view to encouraging unemployed people to find jobs.
  13/12/2007

Innovation and the Internet economy
www.oecd.org/sti

• Open innovation in global networks
  OECD analysis on the changing nature of global innovation, including cross-border R&D co-operation and the importance of intellectual property rights.
  13/10/2008 
• Global competition for talent
  OECD report on impact of increasing migration of highly-skilled workers, with a focus on researchers and scientists.
  10/10/2008 
• OECD ministers agree to make Internet safer, more widely used - Agence France Presse
  Ministers and officials from leading industrial nations agreed Wednesday to make the Internet safer and more accessible, to strengthen its role as a driving force in the global economy.
  18/06/2008
• OECD proposes roadmap for the future of the Internet economy
  The OECD is to work with developed and developing countries and international organisations to improve policies for the Internet economy and increase international co-operation on issues such as cybercrime and security.
  18/06/2008
• OECD broadband up 18% in 2007 but new report says more could be done
  Governments need to promote competition and give consumers more choices. They should encourage new networks, particularly upgrades to fibre-optic lines.
  19/05/2008
• Governments and business must tackle Internet address shortage together
  Governments and business must work together more effectively and urgently to meet the growing demand for Internet addresses and secure the future of the Internet economy.
  15/05/2008
• Economic and social impact of Internet in developing countries
  Where will the next billion Internet users will come from and what impact will they have on the Internet as we know it today? Read the online debate held on this issue here.
  14/02/2008

Tax
www.oecd.org/tax

• Fighting offshore tax evasion (video)
  Grace Perez-Navarro, deputy-director of OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, addresses harmful tax practices, including tax havens, by improving transparency and establishing effective exchange of information.
  26/03/2008
• Jurisdictions committed to transparency and effective exchange of information
  Information on international standards for transparency and effective exchange of information in tax matters.
• Tax disclosures in Germany part of a broader challenge, says OECD Secretary-General
  Disclosures concerning alleged widespread tax evasion by German citizens through Liechtenstein highlight a much broader challenge in today's globalised economy: how to respond to countries and territories that seek to profit from tax dodging by residents of other jurisdictions.
  19/02/2008
• Revenue Statistics 2007
  The average tax burden in OECD countries, measured as the ratio of tax to gross domestic product (GDP), is back up to the same levels as in 2000 after a brief reduction between 2001 and 2004.
  17/11/2007

See also:

• Topics: the complete list of key areas of work of the Organisation
• Index: an alphabetical list of topics, resources, key documents and publications.
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