Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) uses its wealth of information on a broad range of topics to help governments’ foster prosperity and fight poverty through economic growth and financial stability. OECD helps ensure that the environmental implications of economic and social development are taken into account.
The forerunner of OECD was the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC). OEEC was formed in 1947 to administer American and Canadian aid under the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II.
OECD took over from OEEC in 1961. Since then, its mission has been to help its member countries to achieve sustainable economic growth and employment and to raise the standard of living in member countries while maintaining financial stability – all this in order to contribute to the development of the world economy.
OECD provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies. OECD’s work is based on continued monitoring of events in member countries as well as outside OECD area. It includes regular projections of short and medium-term economic developments. The OECD Secretariat collects and analyses data, after which committees discuss policy regarding this information, the Council makes decisions, and then governments implement recommendations. Furthermore, many efforts are directed towards making OECD a more effective instrument of international co-operation.
