Leon Meredyk, a Polish national, spoke in fluent Mandarin as he introduced dairy products from Poland at the second China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province. “We attach great importance to the Chinese market as it has great potential,” said Meredyk, business development manager of Vici Group, a Polish company that started exports to China in 2013. Themed “Fostering a New Development Paradigm, Sharing a Win-Win Opportunity,” the expo opened Tuesday, attracting some 300 enterprises from Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) and more ...

Gross domestic product (GDP) of the G20 area returned to pre-pandemic level in the first quarter of 2021, growing by 0.8% compared with the fourth quarter of 2020. However, this figure conceals large differences across countries. Among the G20 economies, India, Turkey and China, whose GDP was already above pre-pandemic levels in the previous quarter, continued their recovery, by 2.1%, 1.7% and 0.6%, respectively (after 9.3%, 1.7% and 2.6% in the previous quarter). GDP in Australia, Korea and Brazil also returned to pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2021, ...

The OECD Composite leading indicators (CLIs), designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend, continue to point to a steady expansion in the OECD area as a whole. For all major OECD economies, the CLIs now point to a steady expansion. The CLIs have continued to increase steadily in the United States, Japan, Canada and in the euro area as a whole, including Germany and Italy. Although remaining below trend,the CLIs for the United Kingdom and France nowalsosignal a steady expansion. Among major emerging economies, the CLIs ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp increase in mental ill-health issues, especially among the young, unemployed and those facing financial insecurity. Countries should provide adequate support to those affected, while urgently scaling up investment and quality of care to reduce the high social and economic costs of mental ill-health, according to a new OECD report. A New Benchmark for Mental Health Sytems: Tackling the Social and Economic Costs of Mental Ill-Health says that mental health care has long been neglected and under-funded, and unmet need for care is ...

The OECD area unemployment rate increased marginally in April 2021, to 6.6% (from 6.5% in March 2021), 1.3 percentage points above the pre-pandemic rate observed in February 2020. This was the first monthly increase since the April 2020 peak. Some care is needed in interpreting the fall in the OECD area unemployment rate compared to the April 2020 peak, as this largely reflects the return of temporary laid-off workers in the United States and Canada, where they are recorded as unemployed.[1] The number of unemployed workers across the OECD area[2] ...

The OECD, together with governments of the US, Australia and Japan, has commenced consultations on the development of the Blue Dot Network certification process. The Blue Dot Network seeks to help bridge the global infrastructure investment gap by establishing a globally recognised symbol of market-driven, transparent and sustainable infrastructure projects. To achieve this, the Blue Dot Network aims to support and attract investment into quality infrastructure through the establishment of a voluntary, private-sector-focused and government-supported certification scheme for infrastructure projects. “As we “Build Back Better” after the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainable, ...

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann welcomed today’s ground-breaking agreement by G7 Finance Ministers on key elements of international tax reform designed to address the tax challenges of the digitalisation and the globalisation of the economy. “Governments around the world need to be able to raise the necessary revenue to fund the essential public services and support that their populations require and expect, in a way that is efficient, least distorting and also fair and equitable”, said Mr. Cormann. “The combined effect of the globalisation and the digitalisation of our economies has ...

The International Monetary Fund delivered slightly improved growth forecasts on Thursday for Italy’s economy in 2021 and 2022 as it gradually recovers from the coronavirus crisis with support from increased fiscal spending. The IMF now sees Italy’s gross domestic product up 4.3% and 4% in 2021 and 2022 respectively, revised up from an April estimate of 4.2% and 3.6%, and closer to the government’s projections of growth of 4.5% this year and 4.8% next year. “A robust recovery is expected in 2021 supported by ongoing vaccinations although large uncertainty remains,” ...

Annual inflation in the OECD area increased to 3.3% in April 2021, compared with 2.4% in March. Annual energy prices rose sharply by 16.3% in April, the highest rate since September 2008, compared with 7.4% in March. Nevertheless, food price inflation slowed to 1.6%, compared with 2.7% in March. Developments in energy and food prices are largely related to base year effects and to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic a year ago. OECD annual inflation excluding food and energy also increased significantly to 2.4% in April, compared with 1.8% ...

The Greek economy should grow by 3.3% this year and 5.4% in 2022, fuelled by European recovery fund investment, pent-up consumer demand and an expected return of tourism, International Monetary Fund officials said. The forecasts, issued following a regular IMF staff visit to Greece, represent a slight cut in the fund’s previous 3.8% forecast for 2021 issued in April but an increase in the previous 5% forecast for next year. The estimates, which follow an 8.2% contraction in Greek GDP in 2020, are slightly below Greece’s own forecasts for 3.6% ...

The recovery of China’s economic activity has been swift and growth will reach 8.5 percent this year and 5.8 percent in 2022, according to the Economic Outlook released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Monday. Investment will remain a key engine of growth, while consumption will recover only gradually. Robust export demand will keep industry capacity utilization high. The low proportion of imports in overall consumption means that the global surge in raw material prices will only have a limited impact on consumer price inflation, the ...

The new head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the Biden administration’s approach to a global minimum corporate tax has been a game changer and that he is optimistic consensus will be found. Asked whether he thought an agreement on corporate tax could be reached before year-end, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said: “I think that we are in a much better position than we were towards the end of last year.” “I am quietly optimistic that with the level of goodwill that was demonstrated by all during ...

Mathias Cormann took office yesterday as the sixth Secretary-General of the OECD. Ministers and senior officials of the Organisation’s 38 Member countries and outgoing Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed Mr Cormann in a handover ceremony at the OECD Headquarters in Paris during Part I of the two-part 2021 Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level (MCM). “I am deeply honoured and humbled by the trust and confidence you have shown in appointing me as your OECD Secretary-General. I am ambitious for the OECD and what it can achieve with Members, ...

The UK economy’s recovery from the pandemic is set to be stronger than previously thought, a leading international agency has suggested. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says the UK is likely to grow 7.2% in 2021, up from its March projection of 5.1%. The OECD raised its forecast for global growth to 5.8%, compared with the 4.2% it predicted in December. However, it warned that growth would not be shared evenly. The UK’s growth is set to be the fastest among the large rich countries, the OECD says. ...

Prospects for the world economy have brightened but the recovery is likely to remain uneven and, crucially, dependent on the effectiveness of public health measures and policy support, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook. In many advanced economies more and more people are being vaccinated, government stimulus is helping to boost demand and businesses are adapting better to the restrictions to stop the spread of the virus. But elsewhere, including in many emerging-market economies where access to vaccines as well as the scope for government support are limited, the ...