In many countries, the middle class is feeling squeezed, and the crisis has only made matters worse. What is behind this sentiment and what can be done to reverse it?

The current 30-year cycle of deregulation and uncompromising belief in the “invisible hand” of the market is coming to an end.
This is happening amid a serious financial and economic crisis that is often compared with the Great Depression of the 1930s. Civil unrest is spreading.

In many countries, the middle class is feeling squeezed, and the crisis has only made matters worse. What is behind this sentiment and what can be done to reverse it?

©OECD

Have you ever had the feeling that economists and governments speak about wealth and growth in a way that doesn’t always chime with your own everyday experience?

Most people would probably agree that female employment and maternity leave are related issues. But did you know that female employment rates are not always highest in countries where paid maternity leave is longest?

The OECD’s Your Better Life Index, launched at the 50th anniversary OECD Forum on 24 May, lets users from the general public weigh up the factors (initially from a list of 11) they feel matter most in assessing their well-being.

How willing are you to pay more for renewable energy? Judging by a survey we previewed in 2010 (see here for instance) and whose results have now been published, the answer is: not that much. Greening Household Behaviour shows that while people may change their habits if given the right incentives and information, they are not quite as ready to dip deeply into their pockets.

A few decades ago the poorest in society were most likely to be pensioners. Now children are taking over that mantle, as poverty in households with children rises in nearly all OECD countries. Indeed, families with children are more likely to be poor today than in previous decades, according to Doing Better for Families, a new OECD report.

Major sporting events can boost economies, while giving people a boost too. The Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, which were pulled off to great applause despite the odds, were no exception. How was it done, and what lessons did the organisers learn? We spoke with John Furlong, who headed up the organising committee responsible for the games.

This year we are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of a remarkable organisation which has brought a huge and, in many ways, immeasurable impact to the economic and social development not only of its members, but of the world community of nations.

The OECD allows policymakers to come together to identify best practices that shape our public policies. It allows us to compare and benchmark our performance, and learn from top performers. By participating in the OECD peer review process, we benefit from frank discussion among equals on our accomplishments and shortfalls in a variety of areas, from the economy to development policies. The objective and credible analysis provided by the OECD strengthens these discussions. Overall, Canada’s socio-economic performance is strong compared with the OECD. However, in order to improve further, we need to know where others are doing better and to learn how they are achieving these results.

How much more would you be willing to pay for renewable energy? Are environmental concerns a factor in how much you use your car? And are you really thinking about the environment when you buy organic food? All these questions, and more, are at the heart of the 2008 survey which forms the basis of Greening Household Behaviour. A part of the OECD’s Green Growth Strategy, this survey covered 10,000 households across ten OECD countries to determine how our day-to-day relationship with the environment may affect reforms, and is due for another round in 2011.

“[…] On behalf of the OECD, I express our profound sorrow at the enormous loss of life and extend our condolences to all those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. At the same time, we admire the courage and resolve of the Japanese people in face of adversity, and we are confident that Japan will emerge from this disaster stronger and better.

A new kitchen can raise the value of any home, but in developing countries it can also save lives. That is why in 2010 the OECD’s very own staff charity, the War on Hunger Group, decided to contribute funding to fitting a new kitchen in the headquarters of AFENA, an NGO dedicated to looking after abandoned women and children, and based in Niger’s second city, Maradi.

Child poverty warning; Economy; Soundbites; Slower development aid?; Japan rebuilds; Tax burden on the rise; Estonia joins the OECD; Shinier steel outlook; Cities under-served by carbon markets; Brazil and India sign OECD chemical accord; Corruption: governments warned; Plus ça change...

We are celebrating the OECD’s 50^th anniversary during the tail-end of the worst financial and economic crisis of our lifetimes. It’s a good moment to take stock and to ask the right questions. Why couldn’t we avoid the crisis? Were the policies and the policy mix we promoted the right ones, and how can we adjust these polices to new realities? What is more, are we doing enough to prevent another crisis? Are our economic theories, our models and our assumptions still appropriate? How should our organisation’s work be adapted so that we continue fulfilling our founding mission of promoting better policies for better lives?

The OECD, a pioneer in the quest to measure the progress and well-being of societies, is launching an exciting new initiative, incorporating Your Better Life Index. The initiative is not only a major step forward in assessing people’s true welfare, but involves people in the process too.

Economic growth is not an end in itself: higher levels of productivity and rising national income are only important insofar as they contribute to better standards of living and of improved well being of people.

Tourism is an important player in the worldwide economy. In 2009, it accounted for just over 9% of global GDP and employed about one in 12 workers, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

The fact that the OECD’s 50^th anniversary should come in the midst of a global economic crisis is a coincidence, but it could prove to be a fortuitous one. After all, historical perspectives can help better understand the present and better prepare for the future. There are other major anniversaries of historical significance also being celebrated at this time which we should look at more closely, for there are lessons to be drawn. Germany, for instance, has just commemorated the 20^th anniversary of reunification. When the former West and East Germany came together shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it marked the end of opposing the ideologies of “central planning versus markets”. More than that, reunification combined with dramatic shifts throughout the former eastern bloc and beyond, setting free hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Entering the workforce for the first time is a challenge for most people, but can be even more difficult for immigrants. Recent data collected across OECD countries reveals that children of immigrants experience higher unemployment and have more difficulty finding jobs than children of native parents. Even when they are born and raised in their country of residence, the employment rate of children of immigrants can be as much as 20% lower than their counterparts.

In 2007, even before the economic crisis hit, and before employers started shaving working hours to spare jobs, one in four women and almost one in ten men in OECD countries worked part-time. Most of them did so because they wanted to, not because they had to. In the Netherlands, for example, where the share of people working part-time is particularly high at almost 37%, less than 4% of part-timers would rather work full-time.

There were an estimated 140,000 suicides in OECD countries in 2006, the most recent year for which internationally comparable data is available. Death rates were lowest in the southern European countries of Greece, Italy and Spain, as well as Mexico and the UK, at fewer than seven deaths per 100,000 people. They were highest in Korea, Hungary, Japan and Finland, at 18 or more deaths per 100,000 people.

The staging of the World Cup in South Africa was a tribute to that country’s transformation since Apartheid in the 1990s. However, poverty persists. Some 54% of South Africans are poor, based on a national definition of poverty of living on $4 a day. And poverty and inequality still reflect race, as our graph shows. While widespread access to services such as housing, water and electricity has improved substantially, the link between race and poverty remains remarkably strong by international standards, as the income of black South Africans continues to lag behind whites and Asians in the country.

The number of people worldwide living in absolute poverty–the World Bank defines this as people surviving on less than $1.25 a day–has fallen by about half a billion since 1990. China is a major contributor to the decline: its absolute poverty fell from about 60% in 1990 to only around 16% in 2005. India, too, saw some progress, as poverty there fell from 60% to 42%.

Has gender equality improved since International Women’s Day was first launched a century ago? The answers heard during this year’s global events on 8 March were mixed. Yes, progress has been made, but discrimination continues everywhere, which not only harms women but holds back society’s potential too.

Although agriculture and industry are the thirstiest of all water consumers, household water use accounts for some 10-30% of total consumption in developed countries. As governments develop strategies to promote water conservation, an OECD survey of households conducted in 2008 offers insight into what really works. Based on some 10,000 responses across 10 countries, the answer is as clear as what comes out of the tap: having to pay for water encourages water-saving behaviour and investment in water-saving appliances, thus reducing consumption.