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Since we published our previous OECD Economic Outlook, six months ago, growth in the OECD has proved disappointing. The US recovery is still fragile and somewhat weaker than expected, while economies in the euro area have undershot an already modest forecast by a wide margin. In Japan, volatile movements in exports and investment have not broadened into a genuine recovery...
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A gradual but unspectacular economic recovery is unfolding in the OECD, as the imbalances that caused the downturn are being corrected. Business spending should gradually take over from private consumption as the main contribution to growth. Monetary policy continues to provide support to demand in most countries, and there is room for further easing in the euro area. The threat of an oil crisis has now faded and as geopolitical tensions recede activity may be expected to firm later in 2003. A relapse into recession cannot be totally ruled out, but this is now a low-probability outcome. However, while OECD economies are generally expected to share in the upturn, it remains heavily dependent on the United States.
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Confidence is slowly returning to the telecommunications sector after the "boom and bust" years of the 1990s. Although the necessary restructuring now underway in the industry is painful, a new OECD study says governments and regulators should resist the temptation to provide relief to companies by easing competition requirements or by providing financial help.
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This Chapter provides an overview of the links between structural polices and labour and product market performance. More specifically, the Chapter reviews the main factors thought to have contributed to differences across countries in the degree of labour resource utilisation, in the intensity of physical and human capital use as well as in the pace of technological progress.
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Attitudes and policies towards liberalisation of international capital flows have been subject to considerable controversy. This is because free capital movements raise concerns about loss of national sovereignty and other possible adverse consequences. Foreign direct investment (FDI), even more than other types of capital flows, has... -
This chapter aims at identifying policy influences on bilateral and overall FDI patterns in the OECD area. It considers both explicit trade and FDI restrictions and domestic regulations that affect competition and labour market adaptability. On the basis of the results obtained in this analysis, the effects on FDI of policies aimed at further increasing border openness and easing domestic product and labour market regulations are then explored.
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