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Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has made significant headway on its development path over the past three decades. The country’s sustained economic growth has been led by booming commodity exports and substantial inflows of external financing. Many Laotians have seen significant improvements in their well-being. Poverty has declined as household income has increased, and many important development goals in education and health have been achieved.
In the face of macroeconomic challenges, a shift from commodity-driven growth to a more inclusive prosperity paradigm that emphasises the creation of broad-based opportunities, human capital development and green sustainability can unlock Lao PDR’s future development. This report presents priorities for overcoming the country’s current fiscal constraints and finding ways to fund this shift. Recommendations address strengthening Lao PDR’s sustainable finance and debt management, revenue generation and tax reform, investment promotion, and data capacity in order to tap into green finance mechanisms.
Après une lente reprise postpandémique, l'économie mexicaine a bien navigué dans un environnement mondial de resserrement des conditions financières et d'incertitude accrue. La politique fiscale a un solide historique dans l'atteinte des objectifs fiscaux et le maintien d'une dette publique faible. Des revenus fiscaux plus élevés permettraient de maintenir la prudence fiscale et de répondre aux besoins de dépenses importants dans des domaines qui renforcent la productivité, tels que l'éducation, l'infrastructure, les transitions numérique et verte, ainsi que la lutte contre la corruption et la criminalité. Le Mexique a un grand potentiel pour attirer des investissements de sociétés cherchant à délocaliser leurs opérations en Amérique du Nord. Cela représente également une opportunité significative de répartir les bénéfices du commerce à travers le pays et de créer plus et de meilleurs liens dans la chaîne de valeur. Exploiter pleinement ces opportunités nécessitera de s'attaquer aux défis de longue date liés à la connectivité des transports et numérique, aux régulations ou à l'état de droit, et à la transition vers les énergies renouvelables. Améliorer les résultats éducatifs et réduire les écarts de genre et l'informalité contribuerait à poursuivre la récente baisse de l'inégalité de revenus, tout en renforçant le potentiel de croissance du pays. Améliorer l'accès à un logement adéquat et plus de coordination entre les politiques urbaines, de logement et d'infrastructure de transport améliorerait les conditions de vie des Mexicains, réduirait l'étalement urbain et améliorerait la mobilité urbaine.
CHAPITRE THÉMATIQUE : AMÉLIORATION DES POLITIQUES DE LOGEMENT ET DE DÉVELOPPEMENT URBAIN.
Estonian living standards have doubled since 2000 and income convergence was steady prior to the pandemic, although per capita GDP and productivity remain below the OECD averages. The economy experienced a severe downturn due to disruptions in trade, weaker export demand, high inflation and tight monetary conditions. With improvements in external demand, growth should start to recover this year. Fiscal policy needs to balance stabilisation of the economy with narrowing the budget deficit. Although a part of the deficit reflects cyclical conditions, expenditures have increased in recent years. Alongside the planned spending reviews, Estonia should review the tax system to explore avenues for increasing revenues in the medium term. Further convergence in living standards requires strengthening productivity growth by boosting digitalisation, innovation, and skills across all firms. Due to continued reliance on domestic oil shale and increasing emissions in several sectors, decarbonisation needs to accelerate. Health and life expectancy have improved significantly, but years spent in good health are still among the lowest in the OECD. While the health system is well designed, a special chapter of this report looks at areas for improvement in order to enhance health outcomes.
SPECIAL FEATURE: TOWARDS BETTER AND MORE SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE FOR ALL
After a strong recovery from the pandemic, the New Zealand economy has slowed, with higher interest rates weighing on housing construction, and inflation undermining purchasing power and consumption. Monetary policy has tightened significantly since late 2021 and proved efficient at reining in inflation. Better control of government spending is needed to keep fiscal consolidation on track in the short run and restore fiscal space for ageing-related expenditures and the green transition in the long run. New Zealand also faces an investment gap in addressing the needs of a rapidly growing population.
Improving competition policies and streamlining the regulatory environment would help revive productivity growth and lift living standards in the long run. As highlighted by the recent OECD PISA study, achievement in school education has declined markedly. Inequality remains high and attendance has dropped. There is an urgent need to improve the curriculum, reform teacher education and strengthen support to teachers and schools to deliver better education outcomes. Adapting to climate change will require maintaining high insurance coverage for climate-related losses as well as changes to land-use planning and a comprehensive long-run energy strategy. The green transition needs a more rigorous cost-benefit assessment of emission reduction options.
Special features: Competition, School Education, Climate Change
The Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India is a regular publication on regional economic growth and development in Emerging Asia – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, as well as China and India. It comprises three parts: a regional economic monitor, a thematic chapter addressing a major issue facing the region, and a series of country notes.
The 2024 edition discusses the region’s macroeconomic challenges such as external headwinds, impacts of El Niño and elevated levels of private debt. The thematic chapter focuses on strategies to cope with more frequent disasters. Emerging Asia is among the world’s most disaster-prone regions, and the threat of disasters, such as floods, storms, earthquakes and droughts, is increasing. The report explores how countries can reduce disaster risks and improve resilience by developing a comprehensive approach involving policy measures such as improving governance and institutional capacity, ensuring adequate budgets and broadening financing options, strengthening disaster-related education, improving land planning, investing in disaster-resilient infrastructure and disaster-related technology, improving health responses, and facilitating the role of the private sector.
There are signs that the global outlook has begun to brighten. Activity remains more resilient than expected, although with considerable divergence across economies, inflation is falling steadily and unemployment remains low. Global growth is projected to remain unchanged in 2024 and strengthen modestly in 2025, with inflation returning to target in most countries by the end of 2025. Risks around the outlook are becoming better balanced, but substantial uncertainty remains. High geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, could disrupt energy and financial markets, causing inflation to spike and growth to falter. Elevated debt service burdens could rise further as low-yielding debt is rolled over, exposing financial vulnerabilities. Inflation might prove more persistent than anticipated but could also fade faster if strong labour force growth continues. The key policy priorities are to ensure a durable reduction in inflation, establish a fiscal path that will address rising pressures, and undertake reforms to raise sustainable and inclusive growth in the medium term.
This issue includes an assessment of the global economic situation, and a chapter summarising developments and providing projections for each individual country. Coverage is provided for all OECD members as well as for selected partner economies.
Certains signes montrent que les perspectives mondiales ont commencé à s’éclaircir. L’activité reste plus résiliente que prévu, bien qu’avec des divergences considérables entre les économies, tandis que l’inflation diminue régulièrement et le chômage reste peu élevé. Selon les projections, la croissance mondiale devrait rester stable en 2024 et se redresser légèrement en 2025, l’inflation revenant vers son objectif dans la plupart des pays d’ici 2025. Les risques entourant les perspectives sont en train de se rééquilibrer, mais d’importantes incertitudes subsistent. Les fortes tensions géopolitiques, notamment au Moyen-Orient, pourraient venir perturber les marchés de l’énergie et les marchés financiers, entraînant une envolée de l’inflation et un ralentissement de la croissance. Le service de la dette, qui représente déjà une charge élevée, pourrait s’alourdir encore au fur et à mesure du refinancement des emprunts à faible rendement, mettant au jour des vulnérabilités financières. L’inflation pourrait s’avérer plus persistante que prévu, mais pourrait aussi se replier plus rapidement si la croissance de la main-d’œuvre reste soutenue. Les principales priorités de l’action publique consistent à faire baisser durablement l’inflation, à définir une trajectoire budgétaire qui permettra de faire face à la montée des tensions et à engager des réformes pour favoriser une croissance durable et inclusive à moyen terme.
La présente édition comporte une évaluation générale de la situation économique mondiale et un chapitre résumant les évolutions et fournissant des projections par pays. Tous les pays membres de l’OCDE sont examinés, ainsi que certaines économies partenaires.
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has led to higher energy prices and disruptions in trade and supply chains, weighing on economic growth. Economic convergence had already slowed down before the pandemic, calling for accelerating structural reforms. Rising spending pressures related to defence, internal security, health and old age poverty need to be addressed by raising spending efficiency and tax revenue, while the tax burden should be shifted from labour towards other income, property, and environmental taxes. Continuing to improve the capacity of the public sector, fostering investment and innovation and addressing skilled labour shortages are key for raising potential growth. Low credit supply is a main factor for weak investment and should be tackled by fostering competition and deepening capital markets. High informality, which hinders access to finance and distorts the level playing field, should be addressed by reducing labour taxes for low-wage earners, improving tax enforcement and continuing to fight corruption. Strengthening the power of the Competition Council to enforce competitive neutrality of state-owned enterprises and challenge regulation that restricts competition would help to foster business dynamism and innovation. Addressing skilled labour shortages will require facilitating skilled migration and investing more in human capital.
SPECIAL FEATURE: RAISING INVESTMENT TO SUPPORT GROWTH
This new web format for Environment at a Glance Indicators provides real-time interactive on-line access to the latest comparable OECD-country data on the environment from the OECD Core Set of Environmental Indicators – a tool to evaluate environmental performance in countries and to track the course towards sustainable development. The web version allows users to play with the data and graphics, download and share them, and consult and download thematic web-books. These indicators provide key messages on major environmental trends in areas such as climate change, biodiversity, water resources, air quality, circular economy and ocean resources. They are accompanied by a short Environment at a Glance report that presents a digest of the key messages stemming from the indicators.
Le Japon a bien résisté au double choc provoqué par la pandémie et la crise énergétique. Cependant, d’importantes difficultés liées à la faiblesse de la croissance mondiale, aux tensions géopolitiques et à l’inflation élevée montrent bien l’importance de renforcer la résilience de l’économie japonaise aux chocs. Dans un contexte marqué par une inflation qui est aujourd’hui supérieure à son objectif et par les pressions causées par la divergence des politiques monétaires entre le Japon et les pays comparables, les autorités ont commencé à ajuster les paramètres de leur politique monétaire. Compte tenu du niveau élevé de la dette publique, il est essentiel d’assainir les finances publiques en vue de reconstituer des marges de manœuvre budgétaires, en s’appuyant sur un cadre budgétaire à moyen terme crédible propre à inscrire le ratio dette/PIB sur une trajectoire clairement descendante. Toujours dans une optique de viabilité à long terme, le Japon devra réduire ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre, conformément aux objectifs fixés par les autorités nationales, en combinant investissements verts, mesures d’innovation et tarification du carbone. Il est par ailleurs essentiel de mettre en œuvre des réformes destinées à améliorer le cadre de l’innovation et les incitations destinées aux start-ups pour stimuler la productivité et remédier aux tensions liées au vieillissement démographique. La suppression des obstacles à l’emploi des femmes et des seniors ainsi qu’un recours accru à la main-d’œuvre étrangère sont également indispensables pour contrer l’évolution défavorable de la situation démographique. Le renforcement de la situation financière des jeunes et des mesures de soutien aux familles et aux enfants, notamment l’amélioration du congé parental, contribuerait à inverser la tendance à la baisse du taux de fécondité.
CHAPITRE THÉMATIQUE : FAIRE FACE AUX DIFFICULTÉS DÉMOGRAPHIQUES
The Slovak economy has been relatively resilient to the energy crisis, but growth has slowed amid high inflation, weakening foreign demand and tightening financial conditions. The pandemic and the energy crisis have deteriorated public finances; steady fiscal consolidation is now needed to rebuild fiscal buffers and improve long-term fiscal sustainability in the face of rapid population ageing. Sustaining economic convergence and facilitating inclusive structural change requires improving skill provision at all stages of the learning cycle, fostering the domestic innovation capacity and improving the business environment. A more consistent pricing of carbon across the economy and stronger incentives for green investment and innovation would make growth more sustainable. Improving housing affordability requires structural reforms to improve the efficiency of the housing market, property tax reforms, and targeted support to vulnerable households. Incentives for housing renovation must be strengthened to address energy poverty and achieve environmental goals.
SPECIAL FEATURE: ADDRESSING HOUSING MARKET CHALLENGES
This roadmap is designed to aid North Macedonia’s government in establishing a solid policy foundation for a successful transition to a circular economy.
As an EU candidate country, North Macedonia has pledged to align with European climate objectives, endorsing the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, with a particular focus on the circular economy transition. Acknowledging the pivotal role of this transition in national and regional development and actively addressing challenges posed by climate change, reliance on imported raw materials and increased waste, North Macedonia is ready for a strategic framework and concrete actions to initiate this transformative process.
Derived from a comprehensive diagnostic of North Macedonia’s circular economy landscape, the roadmap strategically integrates existing policy initiatives, fostering synergies across sectors, measures and involved actors. It emphasises five key areas – circular business models for SMEs, construction, biomass and food, textile industry and mining and metallurgy – revealing over 40 policy recommendations. These recommendations, supported by a monitoring framework, are poised to be a cornerstone for propelling North Macedonia towards a more sustainable and circular future.
La Suisse a fait preuve de résilience face à la pandémie, aux turbulences géopolitiques et aux conséquences sur les marchés de l'énergie. Le chômage et l'inflation sont faibles et le niveau de vie est l'un des plus élevés de l'OCDE. Cette situation est renforcée par une économie de marché dynamique, une main-d'œuvre hautement qualifiée et des politiques macroéconomiques prudentes. Cependant, le ralentissement de la croissance et la persistance des pressions sur les prix présentent des défis. Une politique monétaire stricte est nécessaire pour garantir que l'inflation reste durablement dans la fourchette cible de la banque centrale. Bien qu'une position budgétaire globalement neutre soit justifiée à court terme, les pressions budgétaires à plus long terme exigent des réformes structurelles pour contrer le coût croissant du vieillissement et pour soutenir la transition verte. Des incitations plus fortes et des processus d'approbation plus rapides sont nécessaires pour réduire efficacement les émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Le marché du travail est solide et le taux de chômage faible. Pourtant, les pénuries de compétences s'aggravent. L'allongement de la durée de la vie professionnelle, l'amélioration des incitations pour les mères à participer plus intensément au marché du travail et la migration de travailleurs étrangers qualifiés peuvent atténuer les pénuries. L'amélioration des conditions-cadres et le maintien de l'accès aux marchés étrangers, tout en s'abstenant de restrictions commerciales et de politiques industrielles distorsives, renforceront la résilience économique. Une forte concurrence intérieure et un meilleur environnement commercial renforceront la position de la Suisse en tant que plaque tournante mondiale pour les entreprises, les investissements et la recherche.
CHAPITRE THÉMATIQUE : RENFORCER LA RÉSILIENCE ÉCONOMIQUE AU SEIN DES CHAÎNES DE VALEUR MONDIALES
Switzerland has proved resilient through the pandemic, geopolitical turmoil and reverberations in energy markets. Unemployment and inflation are low, and living standards are among the highest in the OECD. This is reinforced by a dynamic market-based economy, highly skilled workforce and prudent macroeconomic policies. Yet, slowing growth amid continued price pressures pose challenges. A tight monetary policy is necessary to ensure that inflation remains durably within the central bank’s target range. Although a broadly neutral fiscal stance is warranted in the short term, longer-term fiscal pressures call for structural reform to counter rising cost of ageing and to support the green transition. Stronger incentives and speedier approval processes are needed to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The labour market is strong and unemployment low. Yet, skills shortages are rising. Longer working lives, improved incentives for mothers to participate more intensively in the labour market and migration of skilled foreign workers can mitigate the shortages. Improving framework conditions and maintaining access to foreign markets, while refraining from trade restrictions and distortive industrial policies, will strengthen economic resilience. Strong domestic competition and a better business environment will further reinforce Switzerland’s position as a global hub for business, investment and research.
SPECIAL FEATURE: STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC RESILIENCE WITHIN GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS
La edición 2024 de Panorama de las Administraciones Públicas: América Latina y el Caribe ofrece los datos disponibles más recientes sobre las administraciones públicas y su desempeño en la región de ALC y los compara con los países de la OCDE. Incluye indicadores sobre la confianza en las instituciones públicas y la satisfacción con los servicios públicos, así como evidencia sobre las prácticas de buen gobierno en áreas como la gobernanza del ciclo de políticas públicas, gobierno abierto, gobernanza regulatoria, prácticas y procedimientos presupuestarios, gestión de la contratación pública, planificación y ejecución de infraestructuras, y gobierno digital y datos abiertos gubernamentales. Por último, proporciona información sobre qué recursos utilizan las instituciones públicas y cómo se gestionan, incluidas las finanzas públicas, el empleo público y la gestión de los recursos humanos. Panorama de las Administraciones Públicas permite realizar comparaciones entre países y ayuda a identificar tendencias, mejores prácticas y áreas de mejora en el sector público. Los indicadores de gobernanza son especialmente útiles para el seguimiento y la evaluación comparativa del progreso de los gobiernos en sus reformas del sector público. Cada indicador de la publicación se presenta en un formato de fácil manejo, que consiste en gráficos o tablas que ilustran las variaciones de los países y a lo largo del tiempo, breves análisis descriptivos que destacan las principales conclusiones de los datos, y una sección metodológica sobre la definición del indicador y cualquier limitación en la comparabilidad de los datos.
The 2024 edition of Government at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean provides the latest available evidence on public administrations and their performance in the LAC region and compares it to OECD countries. It includes indicators on trust in public institutions and satisfaction with public services, as well as evidence on good governance practices in areas such as the policy cycle, budgeting, public procurement, infrastructure planning and delivery, regulatory governance, digital government and open government data. Finally, it provides information on what resources public institutions use and how they are managed, including public finances, public employment, and human resources management. Government at a Glance allows for cross-country comparisons and helps identify trends, best practices, and areas for improvement in the public sector. Governance indicators are especially useful for monitoring and benchmarking governments’ progress in their public sector reforms. Each indicator in the publication is presented in a user‑friendly format, consisting of graphs and/or charts illustrating variations across countries and over time, brief descriptive analyses highlighting the major findings of the data, and a methodological section on the definition of the indicator and any limitations in data comparability.
Romania’s economy withstood significant adverse shocks in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis. Tackling high inflation is the immediate task for macroeconomic policy. Fiscal consolidation would complement restrictive monetary policy in keeping demand at sustainable levels. Greater tax revenues are needed to stabilise the public debt burden while funding priority spending – including on critical infrastructure, pensions, health care and the education system. Productivity growth is a powerful engine for lifting living standards but sustaining it will require a sound investment climate backed by strong competition, predictable policymaking, financial inclusion and effective controls against corruption. Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan is helping drive reform. More policy focus is needed on addressing disparate socio-economic outcomes within Romania and to lift employment among groups underrepresented in formal work, including women. Faster progress is also required to decarbonise the economy by 2050. Romania needs more renewable power and big energy savings to reduce fossil fuel use. Energy-efficient buildings, better transport systems and consistent price signals for abatement are also needed. Efficient and fair policies can limit costs from the net-zero transition, shield affected communities from hardship, and prepare people for changing climates.
SPECIAL FEATURE : DECARBONISING ROMANIA'S ECONOMY
After a strong demand-based recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, economic activity declined amid high inflation. Growth has restarted in mid-2023 and inflation is receding, but fiscal and monetary policies need to work hand-in-hand to fight remaining inflationary pressures and recreate fiscal space to finance future spending needs.
Productivity growth has slowed since the mid-2000s and structural reforms that facilitate new firm entry and exit and a wider take-up of digital tools are needed. Recent reforms to the anti-corruption and public integrity framework will sustain investor confidence if they are fully implemented.
Social transfers keep income inequalities and poverty low but should be better targeted to those most in need. Women face large employment and pay gaps compared to men and intergenerational mobility is limited. Further expanding access to childcare facilities for young children and improving the education system would help to address these challenges.
Hungary’s green transition can build on past progress but needs to accelerate. This will require more electricity supply from low-carbon sources, with price signals acting as a catalyst. Restructuring energy support by moving from price caps to more targeted cash transfers to vulnerable households would strengthen incentives for energy efficiency improvements and reduce fiscal costs.
SPECIAL FEATURE: GREEN TRANSITION
This report presents a comprehensive overview of recent and longer-term trends in productivity levels and growth in OECD countries and selected G20 economies. The different chapters feature an analysis of latest developments in productivity, economic growth, sectoral reallocation, investment, labour productivity by firm size and labour income. This edition also includes a special chapter providing insights of productivity developments in 2023 based on experimental estimates for 38 OECD countries.
After a slow recovery from the pandemic, the Mexican economy has navigated well the global environment of tightening financial conditions and heightened uncertainty. Fiscal policy has a robust track record in attaining fiscal targets and keeping public debt low. Higher tax revenues would allow to maintain fiscal prudence and to address important spending needs in productivity enhancing areas, such as education, infrastructure, the digital and green transitions, and the fight against corruption and crime. Mexico has large potential to attract investment from companies looking to relocate their operations to North America. This is also a significant opportunity to spread the benefits of trade throughout the country and to create more and better value chain linkages. Fully harnessing these opportunities will require addressing long-standing challenges related to transport and digital connectivity, regulations or the rule of law, and shifting to renewables. Improving education outcomes and reducing gender gaps and informality would help to continue the recent fall in income inequality, while also strengthening the country’s growth potential. Improving access to adequate housing and more coordination across, urban, housing and transport infrastructure policies would enhance Mexicans’ living conditions, reduce urban sprawl and improve urban mobility.
SPECIAL FEATURE: IMPROVING HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT POLICIES