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This report includes changes to the OECD Model Tax Convention to prevent treaty abuse. It first addresses treaty shopping through alternative provisions that form part of a minimum standard that all countries participating in the BEPS Project have agreed to implement.  It also includes specific treaty rules to address other forms of treaty abuse and ensures that tax treaties do not inadvertently prevent the application of domestic anti-abuse rules. The report finally includes changes to the OECD Model Tax Convention that clarify that tax treaties are not intended to create opportunities for non-taxation or reduced taxation through tax evasion or avoidance (including through treaty-shopping) and that identify the tax policy considerations that countries should consider before deciding to enter into a tax treaty with another country.

Since the start of the economic reform process in the 70s China has been able to generate a large volume of investment, both from domestic and foreign sources. This high volume of investment was instrumental in sustaining strong economic growth and related improvements in living standards. However, this growth model is not longer sustainable. Returns on investment have fallen, excessive capacity is plaguing several sectors and the negative externalities have been very onerous, notably in terms of environmental degradation and rising income inequality. A key objective of the Chinese government is therefore to move the economy towards a more balanced, sustainable and inclusive growth path as envisaged by the 13th Five-Year Plan. In this adjustment process, the country is seeking new approaches for smarter, greener and more productive investment. This will require mutually reinforcing reforms to improve investment planning, rebalance the role of government and market forces, mainstream responsible business conduct and encourage greater private investment, especially in green infrastructure. China’s growing role as an outward investor may act as catalyser for the required reforms at home, as Chinese private and state-owned enterprises have to adopt internationally recognised practices and standards .

After a period of relatively robust growth that has allowed tens of millions of poorer households to join the global middle class, growth in Latin America has slowed recently, partly as a result of external factors. To close the still large gaps in living standards in relation to advanced economies, the region needs to significantly raise productivity growth while making sure that everybody has the opportunity to benefit from it. This will require comprehensive structural reforms, supported by a pro-productivity policy framework that incorporates social inclusion considerations from the outset.

Canadians enjoy a high level of well-being. On all eleven components of the OECD’s Better Life Index, Canada performs better than the OECD average. The economy and labour markets stood up better than those of most OECD countries to the ravages of the global financial crisis. Still, there are some areas where the country can do even better. Canada needs to improve its productivity performance, building on the recent increased growth in labour productivity to narrow the gap with top-performing OECD countries in terms of the level of productivity. The productivity gap with the United States is particularly large for small and medium-sized enterprises. Productivity growth could also be more inclusive. People from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and Indigenous communities currently do not participate to the extent that they should in the country’s strong economic performance. Finally, Canada needs to make growth greener, in order to contribute its fair share to the global fight against climate change.

Sweden has a remarkable track record in sustaining a high level of well-being of its citizens. The country performs above the OECD average in all dimensions of the OECD’s Better Life Index, and these good outcomes are typically shared widely across the population. Sweden is one of the leading countries in receiving refugees and a strong supporter of ambitious global goals to fight climate change and implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. However, for this success story to continue, the country needs to reverse the declining educational performance of its youth, speed up labour market integration of newly arrived immigrants and address infrastructure deficiencies, particularly in the housing sector. Also, Sweden’s high ambitions with respect to environmental protection call for further policy action to advance the transition to a low carbon and circular economy.

Twenty years into its membership in the OECD, Poland has achieved impressive progress in terms of the living standards of its citizens. The country did not only manage to significantly reduce the GDP per capita gap with other OECD countries, but it also caught up with respect to several other dimensions of well-being. To ensure further widespread improvements in living standards, Poland needs to continue to move towards higher-technology production, boosting productivity and improving access to high-quality jobs and good pay. This report reviews recently implemented and planned reforms that aim to achieve these goals and proposes further policy measures to help Poland make the shift towards a more knowledge-based economy. To safeguard inclusiveness, it is crucial that the government also put in place appropriate policies to ensure that no one is left behind during this transformation and that all firms and all citizens can equally participate in and benefit from it.

India’s economy continues to grow at an impressive rate, with projected annual GDP growth of 7.5% in 2017-18. India will thus remain the fastest-growing G20 economy. Unprecedented growth in exports in services since the 1990s has made India a global leader in this sector. Inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) grew at three times the annual world average rate in the last decade, reflecting the success of efforts to attract international investment and gradually loosen restrictions to foreign investment. India’s economic successes are being translated into increased well-being for its population. As GDP per capita has more than doubled in ten years, extreme poverty has declined substantially. Access to education has steadily improved, and life expectancy has risen. Multiple opportunities present themselves for India, and the right mix of policies is needed to take advantage of them. India has made advances in integrating in global value chains and developing a competitive advantage in fields such as information and communication technology. Now is the time to secure continued progress by boosting competition and further lowering barriers to trade and investment. Looking to the future, it will be vital to fully tap into the potential offered by India´s young population. This means investing in the large numbers of young people entering the labour market. Likewise, the rapid pace of development must be matched with the upgrades to infrastructure necessary to support it.

After two decades of solid growth of household disposable income and living standards more generally, Canadians generally enjoy a high level of well-being. However, disparities persist – not all population groups have benefitted equally strongly from past improvements in living standards. Income inequality is close to the OECD average, but the tax and benefit system is less redistributive than those in most OECD countries. Despite high social mobility over a number of different dimensions such as health, earnings, social class or education, middle class self-identification has fallen in recent years. At the same time, productivity growth has slowed own, limiting the potential for further improvements in living standards. The slowdown in productivity growth is linked to a growing divide between high-productivity frontier firms and low-productivity laggards, as well as a weakening of business dynamism. The cross-cutting challenge presented by the persistence of multidimensional inequalities and weak productivity growth underlines the need for a reappraisal of Canada’s policy making process with the aim of fostering stronger and more inclusive growth.

O relatório Perspetivas Económicas em África 2017 apresenta a situação atual do continente africano e as previsões para os próximos dois anos. Este relatório anual analisa o desempenho de África em áreas fundamentais: macroeconomia, fluxos financeiros externos e receitas fiscais, políticas comerciais e integração regional, desenvolvimento humano e governação. Na sua 16ª edição, o relatório analisa de forma detalhada o papel dos empreendedores no processo de industrialização em África. O relatório propõe medidas práticas que os governos africanos poderão adotar, com vista à implementação de estratégias de industrialização eficazes. As políticas que visam a melhoria das competências, os clusters empresariais e o financiamento das empresas podem eliminar importantes obstáculos que pendem sobre as empresas africanas privadas. A secção com notas individuais de cada país resume o crescimento económico recente, as previsões sobre o produto interno bruto em 2017 e 2018 e salienta as principais questões sobre as políticas, enfrentadas por cada um dos 54 países africanos. O anexo estatístico (disponível apenas online) compara variáveis económicas, sociais e políticas específicas de cada país.

La bienal sobre las Perspectivas de la OCDE sobre la Economía Digital examina y documenta la evolución y las oportunidades y desafíos que surgen en la economía digital. Asimismo, pone de relieve cómo los países de la OCDE y las economías de sus socios están tomando ventaja de las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones (TIC), al igual que de Internet para cumplir sus objetivos de políticas públicas. Mediante la evidencia comparativa, informa a los responsables de la elaboración de políticas sobre las prácticas regulatorias y las opciones de políticas para ayudar a maximizar el potencial de la economía digital como conductor de innovación y crecimiento inclusivo.

Colombia, the fourth largest economy in Latin America, is back on track after decades of conflict. The country is looking to open up opportunities by addressing structural challenges, further benefiting from trade and investment, and increasing productivity. Colombia's march towards prosperity requires transforming the economy through a renewed policy approach that prioritises an expanded knowledge base, unlocks regional potential and fast tracks digital technologies. The success will depend on Colombia’s capacity to leverage its long-standing planning capacity and its ability to bring together all the relevant stakeholders.

The Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR) of Colombia provides a novel and timely assessment of the country's industrialisation strategies. It relies on international peer learning and domestic consensus building, and benefited from knowledge sharing through the OECD Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development.

Since its first edition in 2010, the OECD Development Centre's Perspectives on Global Development report has tracked development trends and policy priorities in developing countries. This new report examines the phenomenon of discontent. Between the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, discontent surged around the world. It was especially evident in middle-income countries and was often most acute amongst the middle classes that have emerged in developing countries over recent decades. The report explores the economic, political and sociological drivers of discontent and argues that building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries will require approaches that simultaneously improve citizens' well-being, promote productive transformation and strengthen social cohesion. The report concludes by examining the international dimension of discontent and demonstrates how weaknesses and imbalances in the present multilateral system are eroding humankind's capacity for collective action in the face of global threats, notably the climate crisis. The rise in discontent has exposed failings in prevailing economic, social and political models at all levels: addressing discontent means fixing these systems, and doing so in an inclusive and sustainable manner.