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1. OECD/INFE Report on Financial Education in APEC Economies

Author:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
At their 23rd Ministerial Meeting in Lima in 2016, APEC Finance Ministers called for a report on financial education in APEC to support “the design and implementation of financial literacy policies building on the expertise and standards developed by the OECD International Network on Financial Education.”1 This report, covering the 21 APEC economies spanning the Asia and the Pacific region, responds to that call.2 The findings illustrate that the majority of APEC economies are well-advanced in their efforts to collect relevant data, implement appropriate financial education policies, and address the remaining issues related to financial literacy, inclusion and consumer protection. They are applying international best practices and making good use of available tools and resources to develop and refine strategic approaches and specific initiatives. However, there is still some way to go in ensuring that everyone living in an APEC economy has the financial literacy that they need and concerns about financial fraud or abuse, the high complexity of financial services and the low financial literacy of specific population groups are driving policy interest in improving financial education. Section I reports that APEC economies accounted for almost 60% of the world’s GDP in 2017 and notes that impressive progress has been made in closing financial inclusion gaps in the entire region, including through digital financial services. However, it also indicates several challenges and factors of relevance to the development of financial education activities in APEC economies. These include important, persistent issues of inequality, rapid population ageing, and low financial literacy in several APEC economies. Section II discusses strong political recognition and support for financial literacy and inclusion in APEC economies; major co-ordinated policy efforts such as national strategies for financial education and financial consumer protection frameworks; and other financial education initiatives and efforts, including those seeking to introduce financial education in schools. All of the APEC economies with available data either have a national strategy for financial education already in place or are in the process of designing and planning one. Most national strategies aim at awareness of financial issues and strengthening the financial literacy of their citizens, while at the same time supporting financial consumer protection and financial inclusion policies and objectives. In addition, out of the 17 APEC economies participating in the survey for this study, 15 have firmly introduced financial education in their school curriculums (at different levels) to date.
Topic:
Education, National Security, Fiscal Policy, and Economic Crisis
Political Geography:
Asia and Asia-Pacific

2. Are Survivor Pensions Still Needed?

Author:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
This policy brief summarises the findings assembled in OECD (2018) “Are survivor pensions still needed?”, Pensions Outlook, Chapter 7. It describes survivor pension schemes in OECD countries: expenditures on survivor pensions the number of recipients and the average level of benefits, details about eligibility rules and benefit determination across countries
Topic:
Governance, Social Services, Economic Development, Pension, and Public Spending
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Getting the Most out of International Capital Flows

Author:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Increased international capital flows can support long-term income growth through a better international allocation of saving and investment.
Topic:
Economic Growth, Capital Flows, Investment, and Fiscal Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Counter-Cyclical Economic Policy

Author:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The effects of the recent economic crisis have stretched policy frameworks in many OECD countries close to breaking point. Recent work by the OECD has examined how policies have interacted with the economic cycle over time and during the recent crisis. The main policy lessons are as follows: • Policy-makers should take into account uncertainties about the functioning of the economy, the nature of economic shocks or the effects of policy and take their decisions accordingly. • Policy in various areas will have to build in greater safety margins and to be more prudent during upswings. • Appropriate fiscal rules can help prepare fiscal policy for the next downturn by leading to swifter consolidation during the upturn. • The monetary and financial policy framework needs to achieve a better articulation between economic and financial stability. • Financial policy needs to strengthen micro-prudential regulation, regulatory interventions may need to target emerging credit-driven bubbles and macro-prudential policies should address systemic risks. • There may be a case for monetary policy leaning against the wind, if asset prices are driven by a credit boom and financial regulation is judged to be insufficiently robust. • Changes to structural policy settings can improve the resilience of the economy to shocks and affect the degree of leverage households and firms take on.
Topic:
Economics, Fiscal Policy, Economic Stability, and Economic Crisis
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. The Impact of Structural Reforms on Current Account Imbalance

Author:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Global current account imbalances widened markedly in the years preceding the global economic crisis. Although the crisis brought some reversal to this trend, imbalances remain large in many countries. New empirical analysis by the OECD has examined the potential contribution of structural reforms to reducing current account imbalances. The analysis shows that structural reforms aimed at boosting economic growth can have more or less persistent side effects on current accounts. These arise because structural policies influence saving and investment of households, firms and governments. In turn, the economy-wide gap between saving and investment equals the current account balance. Specifically, the following policy lessons emerge from the analysis:  More developed social welfare systems would reduce the need for precautionary saving among households, which would moderate current account surpluses in external surplus countries.  Pension reforms that increase the retirement age and thus the length of the working life would also reduce household saving and thereby reduce current account surpluses. Pension reforms that lead to cuts in replacement rates would have the opposite effect.  Financial market reforms that raise the sophistication or depth of financial markets may relax borrowing constraints in emerging economies, thus contributing to a fall in the saving rate. The associated weakening of the current account position might be reinforced if the reforms also boost investment.  Reforming competition-unfriendly product market regulation could encourage capital spending and thereby contribute to reduce imbalances in surplus countries.  Some policy settings introduce distortions that encourage consumption, such as tax deductibility of interest payments on mortgages in the absence of taxation of imputed rent. Reform in this area might help increase household saving and thereby improve a country’s current account position. Overall, for the policies investigated, surplus countries appear to have more scope for structural reforms that would both enhance economic growth and reduce external imbalances. A scenario analysis indicates that if Japan, Germany and China were to liberalise their product markets and China also increased public health spending and continued to liberalise its financial markets, global imbalances could decline by around one-fifth relative to a baseline scenario. Moreover, since external deficit countries tend to have larger fiscal consolidation needs than surplus countries, fiscal tightening should also contribute to reduce external imbalances over the coming decade.
Topic:
Markets, Reform, Welfare, and Economic Crisis
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Financing Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in EECCA Countries, including Progress in Achieving Water-Related Millennium Development Goals (MDGS)

Author:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
At their meeting in Almaty in October 2000, EECCA Ministers of Environment, Finance, and Economy, Ministers and senior representatives from several OECD countries, as well as senior officials from International Financial Institutions (IFI), International Organisations, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector, recognised the critical condition of the urban water supply and sanitation sector in EECCA and endorsed "Guiding Principles for the Reform of the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in the NIS". Participants requested the EAP Task Force to assess progress in implementing these Guiding Principles for review at a major conference of stakeholders that took place in 2005 in Yerevan, Armenia. This paper is an update of a report that was prepared for the Ministerial meeting in Yerevan, drawing on more recent data, and responds to the Ministers' request to prepare such a paper for the Environment for Europe Conference in 2007.
Topic:
Water, Millennium Development Goals, NGOs, and Sanitation
Political Geography:
Global Focus