Since 2001, OECD corporate net lending has risen sharply. This paper examines the main forces at play behind this run-up and provides some insight into whether and how they might possibly unwind in the future, a process that may already be underway. It shows in particular that, the increase is...

The degree of integration and openness of OECD economies has consistently increased throughout most of the past three decades. By limiting the influence of non-economic factors, and reducing heterogeneity in economic systems, increased integration and openness enhance the emergence of common...

This paper constructs a broad measure of financial conditions for the United States which suggests that since the onset of the credit crisis there has been a marked tightening in financial conditions, despite a substantial easing of policy rates and a depreciation of the dollar. This measure of...

Finland is committed to high quality and extensive public services and a high level of income redistribution. The heavy tax burden these commitments require is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain due to tax competition and the need to harmonise certain taxes with other EU countries. These...

This paper constructs a broad measure of financial conditions for the United States, Japan, the Euro Area and the United Kingdom, by extending monetary condition indices which are traditionally used to gauge the impact of monetary policy on the economy. In addition to changes in the exchange...

This paper describes the OECD’s new small global forecasting model for the three main OECD economic regions: the United States, the euro area, and Japan. The key variables – which include output, inflation, the trade balance, and import prices – are driven by monetary and fiscal policy,...

The structural rate of unemployment and associated non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (the NAIRU) are of major importance to the analysis of macro and structural economic developments, although in practice these concepts are not well defined and there is considerable uncertainty and...

Since 2004, the fiscal deficit has been brought down by over 5% of GDP to below the 3% limit in 2006, which is a major achievement. The government plans a more gradual reduction over coming years so that overall balance or surplus is reached no later than 2010. However, fiscal consolidation...

This paper examines the characteristics of downturns and subsequent recoveries following past banking crises in OECD countries as well as evidence of any effects on potential output growth. It is differentiated from previous analyses because it makes use of OECD measures of the output gap and...