8 minute readGetting timely information on global value chains is of key interest to policymaking, given the renewed interest in their resilience since the COVID-19 crisis. This article updates nowcasts of selected TiVA indicators for 2021-23 for 41 countries (36 OECD countries and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Africa) and 24 industries, building on the OECD TiVA database, most recent data on balance of payments, national accounts and short-term indicators of the business cycles.
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4 minute readIn 2022, the economic environment deteriorated, with challenges associated with the aftermath of the pandemic compounded by emerging hurdles and rising global uncertainties. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine led to a widespread energy crisis. Globalisation showed signs of stalling, with global FDI flows falling by 12% in 2022, reflecting deteriorating economic and business conditions. Inflation in 2022 reached record levels, potentially deterring investment and hampering productivity growth by increasing firms’ operating costs and disrupting long-term planning. Labour markets were tight and the number of bankruptcies rose markedly during 2022, while firm entries remained flat. The 2024 edition of the OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators takes a closer look at how productivity and related indicators evolved under these conditions in 2022 and how this environment affected longer-term productivity trends.
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6 minute readThe business sector contributes 63% to GDP in the OECD and is a key driver of economic development, trade, innovation, and job creation. It is also a key source of emissions. OECD’s business statistics are therefore an important tool for monitoring economic growth and the transition to climate neutrality. In addition, to reduce their carbon footprint, firms must innovate with cleantech and digital solutions. This means radical changes in how they produce, invest and trade, as well as a greater need to monitor these changes. The digitalisation that occurs during these processes presents opportunities for new high-quality data to complement traditional business statistics, with the additional benefit of mitigating the survey fatigue experienced by firms in OECD countries. This blog deals with statistical issues that are particularly relevant to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), but many of them also apply to business statistics in a broader sense.
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4 minute readRecent years have brought with them an extraordinary shift in the urban landscape. As people seek new opportunities and a better quality of life, the population living in cities has more than doubled over the past 40 years, from 1.5 billion in 1975 to 3.5 billion in 2015. To accommodate population growth, cities tend to either expand or densify, which can have both economic and environmental impacts by increasing mobility demand, CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and cost of services.
Understanding how a city expands and comparing this with population trends is essential for sustainable urbanisation. Therefore, a timely monitoring of land management is crucial. In a recent OECD study, we leveraged an innovative approach based on publicly available satellite imagery and deep learning to monitor land use in OECD metropolitan areas in near-real time.
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2 minute readReleased today: The OECD just released experimental estimates for CO2 emissions from global shipping. The new database, developed using a near-real time data derived from location tracking devices used for maritime vessels, contains monthly figures for CO2 emissions by type of ship and by country.
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5 minute readTo accelerate the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions, climate policy needs to become more ambitious. The shift to net zero can be stimulated through many policy instruments including regulations, e.g. banning the use of certain polluting assets or activities, tax incentives and subsidies – and carbon pricing.
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4 minute readNowadays, policymaking and economic analyses rely heavily on statistics and international comparisons. The demand for high-frequency, reliable but also easily accessible data is increasing.
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3 minute readNumerous surveys suggest that WFH turned out to be a good experience for most workers and managers. The question is what is going to happen as the pandemic fades. Will we all return to the office, or will we keep WFH, at least part of the time?
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