OECD Observer

Below the water line

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

On 8 September 1854, London health authorities removed the handle of a water pump located at the juncture of Cambridge and Broad Streets. The well was famous in the city for the sweetness of its water, apparently used as an ingredient in a �celebrated nectar�.

The evolving paradigm

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The history of economic policymaking has been marked by a succession of �paradigms� defining the goals of economic policy and the instruments used to attain them. OECD Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan looks at where we go from here.�

A prominent paradigm shift took place in the early 1990s, when structural policy issues progressively gained prominence while macroeconomic policies became more rules-based. The �Great Moderation� of stable growth and prices since the mid 1990s was seen as evidence of the paradigm�s success.�However, favourable headline statistics masked growing underlying imbalances and, when these erupted with the financial crisis of 2008-09, established certainties broke down (again) and new approaches to policymaking came to the fore. What produced these imbalances?�

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Headline economic data

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Factory approved

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Starting a factory? While �quick and dirty� may be the easiest business model to follow, the OECD is encouraging start-ups to start smart, with sustainability in mind. The OECD Sustainable Manufacturing Toolkit is a seven-step checklist to help businesses integrate good environmental practice, and stay on the side of investors, regulators, customers and local communities.

Nuclear power worries

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The Fukushima tragedy in Japan in March 2011 has unsettled the nuclear energy outlook. Nuclear power started out almost 60 years ago with the Obninsk plant near Moscow in 1954, but after strong growth in the 1960s and 1970s, the industry declined sharply in the 1980s due to costs, delays and safety concerns after the Three Mile Island accident in the US in 1979, and the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine in 1986.

Half a century of country surveys online

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The entire collection of OECD�s country economic surveys has now been made accessible online at the OECD i-Library.�Published regularly since the creation of the OECD in 1961, and to mark the Organisation�s 50th anniversary, this online archive offers a unique historical perspective of the economic changes OECD countries have undergone since 1961. It is an invaluable resource for anyone tracing their efforts to rebuild their economies after World War II, addressing the oil crisis in the 1970s, the dot.com revolution and bubble, and the economic, educational and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

Main economic indicators by country

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

GDP, output, inflation, current account, unemployment, interest rates for 40 countries plus euro area, as published in OECD Observer. Just print it out and pin it up.