Browse by: "2020"

Institutional investors (investment funds, insurance companies and pension funds) are major collectors of savings and suppliers of funds to financial markets. Their role as financial intermediaries and their impact on investment strategies have grown significantly over recent years along with deregulation and globalisation of financial markets.

This publication provides a unique set of statistics that reflect the level and structure of the financial assets and liabilities of institutional investors in the OECD countries (with the exception of Australia), and in Lithuania and the Russian Federation. Concepts and definitions are predominantly based on the System of National Accounts. Data are derived from national sources.

Data include outstanding amounts of financial assets and liabilities such as currency and deposits, securities, loans, and shares. When relevant, they are further broken down according to maturity and residency. The publication covers investment funds, of which open-end companies and closed-end companies, as well as insurance corporations and autonomous pension funds. Indicators are presented as percentages of GDP allowing for international comparisons, and at country level, both in national currency and as percentages of total financial assets of the investor. Time series display available data for the last eight years.

DATA ALSO AVAILABLE ON LINE

The electronic data product provides longer time series: data from 1980 onwards are included.

Luxembourg has made progress in decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth, treating wastewater and managing waste and materials. It has also positioned itself as an international centre for green finance. Yet, it remains one of the most carbon- and material-intensive economies in the OECD. The country is a crossroads for freight traffic and attracts thousands of daily cross-border commuters. This exacerbates greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and road congestion. Urban sprawl, landscape fragmentation and agriculture exert strong pressures on biodiversity.

To steer its economy towards a greener model, Luxembourg has set ambitious environmental objectives. Greening taxation, providing stronger price signals, promoting eco-innovation and the circular economy, mainstreaming biodiversity into all policies, and investing in low-carbon infrastructure and sustainable mobility, should be priorities.

This is the third Environmental Performance Review of Luxembourg. It evaluates progress towards green growth and sustainable development, with special chapters focusing on two major issues: air quality and mobility, and biodiversity.

Greece has undergone extensive reforms to cope with a deep recession over the past decade. It has made progress in decoupling air pollutant emissions from GDP and improving the conservation status of natural habitats. However, the country faces challenges in managing waste and water, and addressing air pollution. It is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. The energy mix has shifted towards cleaner fuels, but the economy strongly relies on fossil fuels. Progress towards sustainable development requires effective implementation of ambitious climate mitigation and adaptation policies, strengthening environmental governance and enhancing coherence between environmental and energy, transport, agriculture and tourism policies.

This is the third Environmental Performance Review of Greece. It evaluates progress towards sustainable development and green growth, with special features on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the US economy hard. Fiscal and monetary support measures were rapidly deployed and there remains space for further policy support, if needed. However, with the shuttering of many businesses, unemployment has surged and many have left the labour force. Bringing people back into work quickly is important as the recession risks leaving behind a long-lasting negative economic impact. Occupational licensing and non-compete agreements are impediments to moving to new employers. Low-skilled workers and disadvantaged groups tend to be particularly affected by these barriers. A further barrier to labour mobility is housing market regulation. Reforms are also essential to boost productivity and ensure that all have the opportunity to benefit from future growth, especially strictly enforcing competition policy. Environmental performance has continued to improve along some dimensions, with greenhouse gas emissions falling since 2005, and energy security being strengthened.

SPECIAL FEATURES: MODERNISING STATE-LEVEL REGULATION AND POLICIES TO BOOST MOBILITY; ANTI-COMPETITIVE AND REGULATORY BARRIERS IN THE LABOUR MARKET

Like many countries, the United Kingdom has been hit severely by the COVID-19 outbreak. A strict lockdown was essential to contain the pandemic but halted activity in many key sectors. While restrictions have eased, the country now faces a prolonged period of disruption to activity and jobs, which risks exacerbating pre-existing weak productivity growth, inequalities, child poverty and regional disparities. On-going measures to prevent a second wave of infections will need to be carefully calibrated to manage the economic impact. The country started from a position of relatively high well-being on many dimensions. But productivity and investment growth have been weak in recent years and an ambitious agenda of reforms will be key to a sustainable recovery. Leaving the EU Single Market, in which the economy is deeply integrated, creates new economic challenges. Decisions made now about management of the COVID-19 crisis and future trade relationships will have a lasting impact on the country’s economic trajectory for the years to come.

SPECIAL FEATURES: COVID-19 CRISIS; EU EXIT; PRODUCTIVITY

Thailand has made impressive economic and social progress over several decades. However, the COVID-19 crisis has interrupted this progress. Thanks to its sound macroeconomic policy framework, Thailand was well placed to respond rapidly to the sharp economic downturn. Nevertheless, achieving high-income country status will require, in addition to a strong recovery programme, a set of policy reforms focused on productivity growth and human capital accumulation. Thailand has made remarkable progress in expanding access to education, and the share of highly educated workers has increased significantly. Nevertheless, because of skills mismatches, substantial labour shortages have prevailed in a range of occupations and industries, which makes it important to improve vocational education and adult training programmes. As the demand for services has become important globally, Thailand has an opportunity to boost its exports of services, diversify its economic activity, and therefore become more resilient in the face of unexpected shocks. This would involve a focus on digital services and business-to-business services, which represent a large share of the value of manufacturing products. Focus on human capital, skills, digital technology, and high-value services would help Thailand resume strong economic growth and social progress after the COVID-19 crisis.

SPECIAL FEATURES: HUMAN CAPITAL; TRADE IN SERVICES

The COVID-19 outbreak is worsening an already fragile economic outlook. Since 2013, growth has been modest and unemployment has been rising. Policy uncertainty has been the main driver of low confidence and subdued investment. Following a sharp fiscal deterioration in recent years, the crisis also heightened debt sustainability challenges. Curbing the public sector wage bill, restructuring SOEs and containing spending growth in higher education are urgently needed to improve spending efficiency and restore fiscal sustainability. Supporting the economic recovery in the short-run while accelerating structural reforms to increase potential growth is key. In the medium term, developing tourism, boosting transport infrastructure investments, promoting renewable energies and strengthening the social protection system can contribute to more sustainable and inclusive growth.

SPECIAL FEATURE: SOCIAL PROTECTION AND TOURISM

Slovenia acted swiftly to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite extensive fiscal measures, the economic impact is severe with a recession in 2020. The economic recovery should pick up, but a new outbreak could lead to higher long-term unemployment and lower growth. Looking further out, population ageing is leading to a higher number of pensioners as the labour force becomes smaller and older. These developments are creating two main long-term challenges. The first is to contain ageing-related spending increases in pensions and health and long-term care. Longer working lives is key to secure the pension system's fiscal sustainability, while better use of economic signals is needed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health and long-term care systems. The second challenge is to sustain growth with a changing workforce. In the near-term, underutilised labour resources, such as older and low-skilled workers, need to be mobilised. Thereafter, maintaining growth and income convergence requires faster productivity growth, pointing to a need for continuously improving labour allocation.

SPECIAL FEATURES: PUBLIC POLICY CHALLENGES OF AGEING; LABOUR MARKET INSTITUTIONS FOR AN AGEING LABOUR FORCE

COVID-19 has hit the Polish society and its economy hard, even if to a lesser extent than other European countries. Employment has declined and public debt has increased abruptly, which will make it more challenging to solve long-term issues, such as the low productivity of some workers, weak environmental outcomes and rising ageing costs. Ensuring longer working lives in good health will be key to secure the pension system’s sustainability. To boost the recovery and sustain the pre-crisis growth in living standards, Poland needs to invest in greener infrastructure, additional healthcare capacity and better skills. Easing the reallocation of firms and workers would facilitate shifts in the economic structure induced by the current crisis and raise productivity. Finally boosting the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to innovate would help them to export more and adapt to a rapidly changing international environment.

SPECIAL FEATURE: BOOSTING SMEs’ INTERNATIONALISATION

Lithuania’s economy is performing strongly and converging fast towards the most-developed OECD countries, driven by growing exports and investments and supported by a sound macroeconomic framework as well as a friendly business climate. For the first time since renewed independence, more people are settling in the country than leaving it. The peak of the COVID-19 crisis was one of the mildest in Europe, thanks to a well-functioning health system, effective containment measures and a relatively short lockdown. Yet prosperity is unevenly distributed across people and places. Further reform could help sustain achievements to date. Providing adequate income support for the needy, especially the elderly, and high quality social services, while improving integration into the labour market, could help reduce poverty. Stronger local and regional institutions, better education and skills particularly in rural areas and a more flexible housing market could make regional development more balanced. Finally, strengthening the regulatory framework, reducing the scope of state-owned enterprises and moving towards a low-carbon economy will help raise productivity while ensuring resilient and sustainable growth.

SPECIAL FEATURES: REDUCING POVERTY; FOSTERING REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Economic activity has contracted less in Korea than in other OECD countries, thanks to the prompt and effective reaction of the authorities to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to the wide-ranging government support to households and businesses. Nevertheless, the pandemic generates strong headwinds. Huge uncertainty surrounds global economic prospects and hence the outlook for exports, which are a key engine of the Korean economy. The crisis will have a lasting effect on some economic sectors and therefore require significant resource reallocation. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic compounds pre-existing challenges, notably rapid population ageing and relatively low productivity in parts of the economy. This Survey draws on the OECD Jobs Strategy to outline policies to enable the creation of more and higher-quality jobs and foster more inclusive growth. It also highlights how further digitalisation can boost productivity growth, competitiveness and well-being.

SPECIAL FEATURES: AGEING, DIGITALISATION

The Israeli economy was performing well before the COVID-19 shock but the pandemic is threatening to reverse some of Israel’s recent economic achievements, raise poverty and exacerbate wide productivity disparities between its vibrant high-tech sector and lagging sheltered sectors. Lockdown measures and high uncertainty have led to a sharp contraction in output and reduced employment. In this environment, macroeconomic policy needs to remain supportive and flexible to adapt to the evolving health situation. Enhancing training and job search support is crucial to help laid-off workers transition to new jobs quickly and avoid long-lasting negative economic effects. Structural reforms and additional public investment to improve educational outcomes, boost infrastructure and foster product market competition are key to strengthening the recovery. Reducing wide differences in resources between municipalities will promote equal opportunities for everyone. Tax reforms to further strengthen in-work benefits, cut inefficient tax expenditures, reduce distortions created by the business and property tax system and better align taxes with environmental externalities will make the recovery more inclusive and sustainable, while generating additional revenues.

SPECIAL FEATURES: REDUCING MUNICIPAL DISPARITIES; TAXATION

The Irish economy has continued to expand strongly, consolidating its post-crisis recovery. Nonetheless, uncertainty remains elevated and legacies of the financial crisis continue to threaten economic resilience. Fiscal prudence is required, given rising fiscal costs from ageing, emerging capacity constraints and international tax policy changes that could weaken tax receipts. The authorities should broaden the property tax and Value Added Tax bases, ensure environmental costs are better reflected in prices and improve the governance around public spending, particularly in healthcare. At the same time, technological change is transforming the Irish economy, leading to new jobs and innovative products that benefit consumers. Further technological adoption by firms will boost productivity if complementary skills in the workforce are cultivated. There is significant scope for greater participation in lifelong learning, which should be encouraged through well-targeted training programmes and ensuring individuals are able to take part, for instance by expanding childcare supply. To ensure the benefits of technological progress for the economy are fully realised and shared, policy settings in other areas, such as competition and the labour market, also need to be revisited.

SPECIAL FEATURE: TECHNOLOGICAL DIFFUSION

Greece’s economy had been expanding by nearly 2% for over three years before the COVID-19 shock. Structural reforms, high primary budget surpluses and debt measures underpinned Greece’s recovery and rising confidence. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, abruptly interrupting the recovery and adding new challenges to raising inclusiveness, competitiveness and growth. This Survey proposes an ambitious set of reforms to overcome the COVID-19 shock while promoting a stronger and more inclusive growth. Aiding businesses and workers to upgrade their activities and skills and to shift to more promising sectors would accelerate the recovery and enhance resiliency to future shocks. Raising productivity and investment growth will require reducing barriers to competition, increasing the public administration and justice system’s effectiveness, cutting red tape and accelerating the repair of the banking system. Strengthening active labour market programmes, education and training programmes, better supporting carers, and reducing the high labour tax wedge would expand job opportunities and improve inclusiveness. Raising the quality of public spending and improving the effectiveness of the tax system would help Greece to gradually shift the primary budget balance back to surplus, maintain its hard-won fiscal credibility and support inclusive growth.

SPECIAL FEATURE: REJUVINATING GREECE’S LABOUR MARKET TO GENERATE MORE AND HIGHER-QUALITY JOBS

The German economy entered a deep recession in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. A strong government response has reinforced health system capacity while protecting jobs and firms. The response to the crisis has included increases in investment to meet structural challenges from the energy transition and digital transformation. Further public investment is needed to resolve the infrastructure backlog, along with steps to remove delivery bottlenecks. Emissions pricing in transport and heating will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, though further steps will be needed to meet targets. The German government has made good progress in addressing some key barriers to digital transformation, but can do more to unleash its full benefits. Alleviating connectivity bottlenecks, incentivising investment in knowledge-based capital and supporting business dynamism during the recovery by reducing administrative burden, facilitating access to financing, and accelerating progress towards digital government can boost technology diffusion and productivity. To empower everyone to thrive in digital environments, computational thinking should be introduced earlier and training for teachers increased to ensure effective use of digital technologies in schools.

SPECIAL FEATURE: UNLEASHING THE BENEFITS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged Finland into a deep recession, albeit less severe than in most other OECD countries. Finland managed to bring the first wave of the coronavirus under control quickly through a combination of voluntary mobility reductions and timely containment measures and is on track to do the same for the second wave. Nevertheless, many people have been laid off and the budgetary costs of supporting household- and business incomes have been considerable. Once the recovery is underway, substantial consolidation measures will be needed to achieve the government’s objective of eliminating the structural budget deficit by the end of the decade. Closing routes to early retirement would make a large contribution to achieving this objective.

SPECIAL FEATURE: RAISING EMPLOYMENT