OECD

A global organization where government bodies collaborate to derive solutions for critical challenges.

Author: Andy Yan
Andy Yan
Andy Yan
Investment Banking | Corporate Development

Before deciding to pursue his MBA, Andy previously spent two years at Credit Suisse in Investment Banking, primarily working on M&A and IPO transactions. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Andy was a Business Analyst Intern for Capital One and worked as an associate for Cambridge Realty Capital Companies.

Andy graduated from University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Statistics and is currently an MBA candidate at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a concentration in Analytical Finance.

Reviewed By: Adin Lykken
Adin Lykken
Adin Lykken
Consulting | Private Equity

Currently, Adin is an associate at Berkshire Partners, an $16B middle-market private equity fund. Prior to joining Berkshire Partners, Adin worked for just over three years at The Boston Consulting Group as an associate and consultant and previously interned for the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Senate.

Adin graduated from Yale University, Magna Cum Claude, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics.

Last Updated:November 8, 2023

What Is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)?

The OECD, also known as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is a global organization where government bodies collaborate to derive solutions for critical challenges to promote solid policies for improving lives. 

It has over six decades of experience in analytical insights to prepare the world for a better tomorrow. 

Tackle global socioeconomic challenges such as tax evasion and trade barriers; it includes policymakers, citizens, and firms to find answers to such difficulties. 

Market-based economies jointly collaborate to create policies to encourage positive economic growth. The group was established by the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, also known as OEEC, which was formed in 1948. 

It is headquartered in Paris, France, and was founded in 1961. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development expanded in the 90s, including South Korea and Mexico. 

Understanding the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's mission is to promote socioeconomic policies that improve societal well-being in developed nations. In addition, its purpose is to improve the international economy and encourage trade. 

It creates a stream for national governments to collaborate and decide upon solutions to common issues and promote the general population's welfare. It also grants resources to individuals, equipping them with skills needed for productivity. 

It focuses on supporting governments globally and helping them achieve more significant market and institutional confidence. 

The organization's core values focus on objectivity, openness, boldness, pioneering, and ethicality. 

Through objectivity, the organization's recommendations are analytically independent and based on evidence. Openness is also included since debates and discussions are encouraged to share a deeper understanding of critical global challenges.

Boldness is where traditional wisdom is replaced by research and key findings. In addition, the OECD addresses rising and sustaining challenges. The organization is established on trust, honesty, and integrity. 

The organization views people as valuable assets for enhancing the overall welfare of the global economy. However, they have not considered the means to the end but rather the guiding factor towards achieving global economic harmony, where their well-being is considered necessary. 

It also aims to achieve growth by ensuring innovation and sustainability in emerging market economies such as:

  • Brazil
  • China
  • India
  • Russia
  • South Africa 

It aids governments by helping the prosperity of nations and tackling poverty using tools for economic growth, trade, technology, innovation, and financial stability. In addition, it stimulates job creation, effective governance, and social equality.

For 40 years, the OECD has sustained a strong position as one of the most trustworthy economic data sources based on trade, migration, employment, environment, social health, and national economic indicators

All countries involved in the OECD share commonalities and are similarly-minded. The 30 countries included generating 60% of global products and services. 

As previously mentioned, it was established in 1948, using the help of Canada and the US to coordinate the Marshall Plan for redesigning Europe post-WWII. 

Over time, it has expanded beyond 30 member countries to 100 developing nations to provide analytical excellence. 

The organization has expanded its relationship with society, focusing on labor and business relations, and now includes non-government companies. 

In an economy that changes rapidly, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has kept up with current market trends as it reformed management and issues based on budget, decision-making, and economic pressures. 

OECD Functions

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development identifies policy recommendations that are both innovative and effective by sharing its expertise and encouraging collaboration between nations.  

It monitors trends, compiles data, and then analyzes the economic progression while identifying noticeable patterns in various public policy sections.

Moreover, it informs decisions upon enhanced policies. Finally, it sets standards using evidence and knowledge while providing fundamental data on various topics, including trade, prices, economic growth rates, and business statistics. 

Several bodies regularly meet to revise the evidence obtained and react accordingly through policies. In addition, organizational committee experts develop standards through an intensive process that includes multiple stakeholders. 

As committees generate policy recommendations and analyze the given data, every member nation that is part of the organization can choose how to implement them.

In addition, the OECD helps countries establish and reform their policy objectives based on evidence and set standards, leading to a global reach and strengthened impact to support global economic progress, sustainable growth, and market resilience. 

OECD Structure

The organization's structure is divided into a council, committee, and secretariat. 

The council is the main decision-making body for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. It comprises member nation ambassadors and the EC (European Community). 

Regular meetings are held to discuss and assess the organization's findings and work, share areas of concern, and make collective decisions. 

Annually, the council holds the MCM (Ministerial Council Meeting) to assemble economic, governmental, and foreign ministers from multiple member nations. The priorities for work are set, and a discussion of international trade and economic variables takes place. 

The organization works across 300 committees and groups covering policy reformation and making. The committees develop solutions by assessing data and reviewing policy changes between member nations. 

They look at education, trade, finance, and development alongside national experts. 

Committee participants emerge from various member nations and represent a society of over 40 thousand meeting attendees. Discussions may result in negotiations that are put into practice. 

The secretariat executes the organization's work. It is ruled by the secretary-general and comprises advisors from sectors that align with policy shapers in every nation and generate insights to supplement policy-making. 

Advisors report to the secretary-general. The roles of these employees belonging to the secretariat are lawyers, scientists, economists, and statisticians. 

OECD Nations:

  1.  
  2. Korea
  3. Luxembourg 
  4. Mexico
  5. Netherlands
  6. New Zealand
  7. Norway
  8. Poland
  9. Portugal
  10. Slovak Republic
  11. Spain
  12. Sweden
  13. Switzerland
  14. Turkey
  15. United Kingdom
  16. United States

OECD's Role in Sustainable Development

According to the OECD's Deputy Secretary-General, Jeff Schlagenhauf, "the SDGs is our promise and our responsibility to future generations. While this report shows that some targets are far from being achieved, the momentum for international action is strong. 

Many opportunities to advance on the agenda should not be wasted, given the short time left. To seize these opportunities, we need a rigorous understanding of where countries stand, how quickly they are advancing towards their goals, and what should be the priorities for action."

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the recovery actions executed by member country governments in response to COVID-19 have allowed faster progression towards better sustainability and meeting UN Goals.

An area of leadership where OECD nations can integrate and converge their policies is necessary for coordinating with other countries to overcome policy reform obstacles. In addition, sustainable development initiatives should be implemented across the platform. 

The group collaborates with multiple member nations to seek and develop comprehensive policies in sustainable development while mitigating obstacles such as losing competitiveness, which can adversely affect policy reformation. 

OECD is well-equipped to support nations in initiating a wide range of public policies that correlate with sustainable development. However, this mandates political leadership and organization. 

The organization plays a crucial role in sustainable development and performs critical work, monitoring nations' progress in alignment with sustainable goals. 

Thus, the OECD is a critical player in strengthening the international economy and carries significance in the prosperity, growth, and success of all member nations. 

COVID-19 and OECD

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected how work and life impact one another. It has changed lives and heavily impeded social welfare. The effects persist on health, income, mental health, and global trust. 

In response to COVID-19, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has developed a long-term strategy of global action that indicates how a transition can be made, from addressing the crisis to assessing the consequences and creating a recovery. 

The organization has been generating data, analytical findings, and recommendations on various topics that address COVID-19 and its effects on employment, the economy, and nations. 

It recommends strong coordination and collaboration between national governments to facilitate improved education, healthcare, and social security.

COVID-19 has harmed individuals' mental health and overall life satisfaction. As a result, governments in OECD countries have been granting relief for those with job losses, sick pay extensions, and shelter provisions for the homeless.  

Programs established by the government can be created to improve mental well-being. They can provide online tools and resources, advice and help to medical specialists and psychologists, and prescribe treatments to patients continuously and continuously monitored. 

The organization designs several policy recommendations for Economic Cooperation and Development to tackle the social, economic, and financial impacts of COVID-19. 

The main ones include protecting marginalized individuals, supporting SMEs and vulnerable employees, and collaborative governance and cooperation. 

Social protection includes providing extremely vulnerable workers with unemployment coverage regardless of their financial status. In addition, temporary support should be given to employees not covered by social security. 

From a health perspective, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development suggests that the global healthcare system's pressures must be alleviated to mitigate disease spread. Targeted and coordinated policies should be implemented to help healthcare workers. 

In the education sector, public facilities and universities should freely and generously provide equipment to students for remote learning and online classes. In addition, training can also be given to teachers for managing technical issues and helping students. 

To support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and marginalized employees, the governments can sustain temporary measures for SMEs where business taxes are reduced. In addition, training and upskilling should be encouraged, enhancing worker skill sets and promoting innovation. 

The OECD recommends that paid sick leave should be granted to self-employed individuals. SMEs should also have financially compensated sick leave to encourage workers to stay isolated. 

Income should be supported to strengthen financially disadvantaged groups that risk ending poverty. More flexibility should be introduced in the short term to generate recruitment and train workers. 

To coordinate governance, comprehensive and detailed information about the pandemic's spread should be provided along with prevention measures. In addition, crisis response responsibilities at every government level should be consistent with recovery actions. 

Summary

The OECD, or Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is an organization where all government bodies of member nations collaborate to generate solutions for improving economic policies that lead to better lives. 

It plays a critical role in policy reforms and socioeconomic welfare and catalyzes the development of resilient and sustainable economies that adopt the best practices. 

The organization aims to accelerate its policy reform developments to bridge the gap in inequalities using its analytical research and findings. They also aim to be a key leader in economic policies and structural tax reforms to meet contemporary global economic needs.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development aims to produce an equitable and cleaner global economy with the key objective of encouraging policies for economic growth and full employment, as well as liberalization of trade and a better standard of living

The organization focuses on a range of sustainable development challenges across its framework. 

By granting member nations a collaborative forum for exchanging problems, solutions, and practices, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development helps give countries various practical approaches to sustainable development. 

Although significant progress has been made to adopt sustainability practices in alignment with the UN's SDG Goals, only a fourth of these targets have been reached, demonstrating ongoing progression. 

All nations of the organization have fundamental economic necessities. However, the progress in removing marginalization and restoring trust in critical facilities requires attention. 

While many countries are mitigating hunger and improving nutrition, there is much work to be done, as over 60% of the population in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries are obese.

Researched and Written by: Haniya Ahmad Wasim I Linkedin

Reviewed and edited by James Fazeli-Sinaki | LinkedIn

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