OECD uses its wealth of information on a broad range of topics to help governments foster prosperity and fight poverty through economic growth and financial stability. We help ensure the environmental implications of economic and social development are taken into account.

OECD''s work is based on continued monitoring of events in member countries as well as outside OECD area, and includes regular projections of short and medium-term economic developments. The OECD Secretariat collects and analyses data, after which committees discuss policy regarding this information, the Council makes decisions, and then governments implement recommendations.

Peer reviews

Mutual examination by governments, multilateral surveillance and a peer review process through which the performance of individual countries is monitored by their peers, all carried out at committee-level, are at the heart of our effectiveness. An example of the peer review process at work is to be found in the Working Group on Bribery, which monitors the implementation by signatory countries of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Business Transactions.

Agreements, standards and recommendations

Discussions at OECD committee-level sometimes evolve into negotiations where OECD countries agree on rules of the game for international co-operation. They can culminate in formal agreements by countries, for example on combating bribery, on arrangements for export credits, or on the treatment of capital movements. They may produce standards and models, for example in the application of bilateral treaties on taxation, or recommendations, for example on cross-border co-operation in enforcing laws against spam. They may also result in guidelines, for example on corporate governance or environmental practices.

Publications

OECD publications are a prime vehicle for disseminating the Organisation''s intellectual output. OECD publishes regular outlooks, annual overviews and comparative statistics. Among them:

OECD Economic Outlook assesses prospects for member and major non-member economies.
OECD Factbook is a key reference tool for everyone working on economic and policy issues.
OECD Economic surveys provide individual national analyses and policy recommendations.
Going for Growth presents comparative indicators and evaluations of national performance.