OECD

Intermediate

The OECD, or Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is an international organisation of mainly high-income countries that works on economic and social policy, publishing research, data and recommendations and setting international standards.

The OECD was established in 1961, succeeding the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, which managed Marshall Plan aid after the Second World War. It is based in Paris and has 38 member countries.

The OECD analyses economic trends, publishes economic forecasts and statistics, compares policies across countries and develops guidelines and standards. Its work covers areas such as taxation, education, employment, health, trade, governance and the environment.

Notable work includes the PISA tests comparing school students’ skills across countries; the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; the Principles of Corporate Governance; and international tax rules, including the project to tackle tax avoidance by multinational companies and the agreement on a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%, developed with more than 130 countries.

For example, governments often compare their tax levels, productivity or education outcomes with OECD averages when designing policy.

The OECD’s recommendations are generally not legally binding, but its standards are influential and widely adopted. It works with many non-member countries as partners.

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