Econ Grapher

OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

What is the OECD?
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), headquartered in France, is an international economic organisation which currently comprises 32 countries (with Estonia and Israel having also been invited to join in May 2010). The OECD originated in 1948 as the "Organisation for European Economic Co-operation) following the end of World War II as part of the Marshall Plan to reconstruct Europe, as such it was initially made up only of European countries. The current purpose of the OECD is as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy. The OECD plays a role in efforts related to cross-border problems such as money laundering, tax evasion and corruption. It also serves as a forum for comparing policy experiences, identifying good practices, and coordinating domestic and international policies of its members. The OECD also maintains an extensive statistics database and publishes regular reports.

How does it relate to Markets?
The OECD is important from a policy perspective, and may play roles in the formation and implementation of global policy that may impact on markets. It is also provides valuable statistical resources that can be quite useful in macro-analysis that can be used in informing investment strategy. Likewise the reports that the OECD publishes can also be a valuable resource, particularly the country reports and the economic outlooks - which also include forecasts e.g. growth forecasts. Thus one should investigate and fully utilise the resources the OECD has on offer.

Mission
The OECD states its mission on its website to be as follows:

"OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world to:

  • Support sustainable economic growth 
  • Boost employment 
  • Raise living standards 
  • Maintain financial stability 
  • Assist other countries' economic development 
  • Contribute to growth in world trade

The Organisation provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies."

 

Sources and further reading:
OECD Website
OECD Observer
OECD on Twitter
Investor Glossary - OECD
Wikipedia - OECD

Graph Library:
Country - OECD

Original Source: http://www.econgrapher.com/encyclopedia-oecd.html

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