About the OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
History of the OECD
The foundations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development were laid in the aftermath of the Second World War. In a speech at Harvard in June 1947, the US Secretary of State, George Marshall, pledged the assistance of the United States to European initiatives to restore a continent devastated by war. In 1948, European nations, including Ireland, came together to form the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) to work together for economic recovery and to realise the benefits of economic co-operation.
Such was the immediate impact of the OEEC that in December 1960, the United States and Canada joined with the OEEC membership to sign the Convention of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Convention commits the OECD to the promotion of policies designed to improve the economic and social well-being of people in member countries, and to support non-member countries on their journey to economic development. The OECD officially commenced its work in Paris on 30 September 1961.
Ireland’s membership of the OECD since its inception followed logically from our active participation in the OEEC and our strong commitment to multilateralism. We had benefitted from the experience of an organisation of countries dedicated to fostering economic policies that promoted general prosperity, both within the member states and throughout the world at large. Ireland has supported the transformation from the original OEEC into an OECD that has welcomed new Members from the Americas, from Asia, and from the Pacific.
Today, the OECD has 38 Member Countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.
The Organisation also has close relations with Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, who are OECD Key Partners. Together with them, the OECD brings around its table a group of countries that account for 80% of world trade and investment, giving it a pivotal role in addressing the challenges facing the world economy.
The enlargement of the OECD has been paralleled by Ireland’s own widening horizons. The six decades in the life of the OECD have coincided with Ireland’s own economic and social transformation as Ireland opened up at home and opened out to the world as a committed and active EU member.
The OECD has been a firm partner of Ireland, giving us the benefit of its own expertise, sharing the experience of other member states, and giving Ireland the opportunity to make its contribution to the development of policy at the Organisation by sharing our experiences. The OECD has stood by Ireland in times of adversity, especially during the Global Financial Crisis, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, and has informed policy making at all levels in Ireland.
The overall strategic orientation of the OECD is set by the annual Ministerial Council Meeting. Ireland has chaired the annual Ministerial Council Meeting of the OECD twice: in 1972 and 1994.
Mission of the OECD
The mission of the OECD is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world—creating "Better Policies for Better Lives".
To facilitate policymaking, the OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to problems. The Organisation works with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. It also works directly with businesses and unions, and maintains active contacts with other civil society organisations.
With its unique mandate, the OECD has raised the bar in almost every area of policy at national and international levels through its evidence-based global standards, reliable data and analysis, forums for dialogue, and assistance in policy reform. For more information, visit the OECD How We Work page.
Areas of Activity
The sixty years of Ireland’s engagement at the OECD have seen an enormous transformation in Ireland’s economic outlook and of its place in the world economy. Since its foundation, the OECD has won a deserved reputation as one of the world’s leading economic policy forums and the quality of its analysis and its recommendations have won the confidence of domestic policy makers and commentators.
The OECD Economic Survey of Ireland is an important biennial publication which provides objective and comprehensive analysis of the Irish economy. Ireland’s Economic Snapshot page provides the latest economic information on Ireland.
The OECD’s bi-annual Economic Outlook is considered one of the world’s pre-eminent analyses of macro-economic trends and forecasts, which covers many key macroeconomic indicators including labour market conditions, inflation, trade prospects, the upside and downside risks as well as individual country GDP forecasts.
Global Relations
OECD Members form a like-minded community of democracies, with shared values regarding the rule of law and the respect for human rights, individual liberty, transparency, and gender equality. Through its Global Relations engagement beyond its membership, the organisation aims to ensure that its standards and recommendations have a global impact and serve as reference points in many areas of economic, environmental, and public governance.
Climate
The OECD supports international efforts on climate action, with a focus on enhancing societal and economic resilience, improving productivity and reducing inequalities. The organisation plays an important role providing clear evidence and policy advice to support global efforts to achieve the commitments in the Paris Agreement, including through the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches which was launched in February 2023.
Digital Transition and Technology
Over the last few decades, OECD economies including Ireland have undergone significant digital transformation, which has proven to be a key component for economic and social progress. The OECD’s Going Digital mission helps policy makers better understand the digital transformation and develop policies to help shape an inclusive digital future.
The Committee on Digital Economy Policy is responsible for developing evidence-based policies that stimulate the growth of an accessible, innovative, open, inclusive and trusted digital economy for sustained prosperity, and provides policymakers with the tools needed to develop a forward-looking, whole-of-government policy response that leverages the potential of digitalisation for growth and well-being across policy areas.
The Committee is supported by working parties on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, communications infrastructures and services policy, measurement and analysis in the digital economy, and data governance and privacy in the digital economy.
One of the key outputs of the OECD’s work in this area is the OECD’s AI Principles. These principles promote the use of AI that is innovative and trustworthy and that respects human rights and democratic values, and have informed the development of Ireland’s National AI Strategy.
Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Gender equality, diversity and inclusion are shared values and strategic priorities at the OECD, which has committed to accelerating the development of policy options to close gender gaps and ensure that gender considerations are mainstreamed into its analysis, research and policy advice. In 2023, the OECD adopted its first Gender Strategy, entitled OECD Contribution to Promoting Gender Equality, which sets out OECD actions to step up the level of ambition of the Organisation’s work on gender equality, identifying opportunities around four main pillars: data; mainstreaming; staying at the policy frontier; and outreach.
The OECD provides a wide range of policy analysis on gender equality, which includes work to examine existing barriers to gender equality in education, employment, social norms, budgeting, and more. The OECD also works extensively on LGBTI+ inclusion, which was initiated in 2014 based on a “Call to Action” by Ireland and 11 other member countries. Gender equality, diversity and inclusion are priorities for Ireland in its engagement at the OECD.
Free Trade and Investment
Since its foundation, promoting standards that facilitate free and fair international trade has always been a central pillar of the OECD. The OECD promotes open, rules-based international trade by providing data and analysis to help identify areas for reform. In doing so, it aims to improve the contribution of international investment to global growth and sustainable development. Since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the OECD has actively contributed to the preparation of negotiations on the rules for cross-border trade between over 160 countries. Ireland has ratified various OECD instruments that work to facilitate international trade and investment.
The OECD embodies the principles that have underpinned the remarkable redevelopment of Ireland’s economic fortunes in the last sixty years. Ireland has consistently supported the OECD in its efforts to promote the benefits, to Members and non-Members alike, of free trade and investment.
SMEs and Entrepreneurship
SMEs are central to Ireland’s objective of generating broad-based growth and prosperity that builds on and extends its successes in attracting high-quality foreign direct investment. Ireland has a historically strong profile on SME policy at the OECD. In 2019, Ireland’s Ambassador to the OECD founded the OECD’s Friends of SMEs, a group that brings together OECD ambassadors and delegations, SME policy experts, civil society and SME owners to discuss emerging challenges and opportunities. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment engages with the Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship. The organisation’s expertise plays an important role for policy making and the development of best standards to apply in an Irish context across a range of relevant policy issues.
Public Governance and Transformation
The Public Governance Committee’s main objective is implementing evidence-based and innovative policies that strengthen public sector institutions’ ability to promote systemic change as a way to respond to economic, social and environmental challenges, and thereby improve outcomes for citizens and strengthen democracy. The Committee is supported by several working parties and engaged with Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, and Department of the Taoiseach in producing the 2023 editions of “Government at a Glance”.
The Horizontal Project “A Better Future for Young People in Ageing Societies” (2023-24) will deliver a Youth Policy Toolkit to support adherents in the implementation of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People by providing hands-on practical guidance to policy makers.
Education and Skills
Ireland has engaged with the OECD on education policy since the OECD policy conference on Economic Growth and Investment in Education in October 1961. The work of the OECD has assisted Irish education policymakers in reforming and improving the education system and educational outcomes of students in the six decades of our membership. Ireland continues to engage closely with the OECD on skills development, lifelong learning and human capital policy.
Agriculture
The OECD Committee for Agriculture (COAG) was established in 1961 and steers the organisation’s work on agriculture and food policy. It provides the evidence base and analysis to support governments in improving policy performance and creating an environment that allows the agricultural sector to thrive. The OECD’s work on this sector assists policymakers in key areas pertaining to agricultural policy, including trade, policy monitoring and evaluation, productivity and innovation, and anti-microbial resistance. Recognising the importance of agriculture to Ireland’s economy and society, Ireland engages actively at the OECD in this field and is represented at COAG and other agri-food related meetings by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.