Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

International economic organisation

Not to be confused with Economic Cooperation Organization.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentOrganisation de coopération et de développement économiques

Logo

     Founding member countries (1961)
     Other member countries

Abbreviation

OECD OCDE

Formation1948 as the OEEC^a
Reformed in 1961 as the OECD
TypeIntergovernmental organisation
HeadquartersParis, France

Membership

35 states

AustraliaAustriaBelgiumCanadaChileCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyJapanLatviaLuxembourgMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPolandPortugalSlovakiaSloveniaSouth KoreaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUnited States

Official languages

English French

Secretary-General

José Ángel Gurría

Deputy Secretary-General

Rintaro Tamaki

Deputy Secretary-General

Mari Kiviniemi

Deputy Secretary-General

Douglas FrantzWebsitewww.oecd.orga. Organisation for European Economic Co-operation.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (French:Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, OCDE) is anintergovernmental economic organisationwith 35 member countries, founded in 1960 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum of countries describing themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries.

In 1948, the OECD originated as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC),^[1] led by Robert Marjolin ofFrance, to help administer the Marshall Plan(which was rejected by the Soviet Union and its satellite states^[2]). This would be achieved by allocating American financial aid and implementing economic programs for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. (Similar reconstruction aid was sent to the war-torn Republic of China and post-war Korea, but not under the name "Marshall Plan".^[3])

In 1961, the OEEC was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and membership was extended to non-European states.

The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, France.^[4] The OECD is funded by contributions from member states at varying rates.^[5] and had a total budget of EUR 363 million in 2015.^[6]

HistoryEdit

Organisation for European Economic Co-operationEdit

The Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) was formed in 1948 to administer American and Canadian aid in the framework of the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II.^[7]It started its operations on 16 April 1948, and originated from the work done by theCommittee of European Economic Co-operation in 1947 in preparation for the Marshall Plan. Since 1949, it was headquartered in the Château de la Muette in Paris, France. After the Marshall Plan ended, the OEEC focused on economic issues.^[8]

In the 1950s, the OEEC provided the framework for negotiations aimed at determining conditions for setting up aEuropean Free Trade Area, to bring theEuropean Economic Community of the six and the other OEEC members together on a multilateral basis. In 1958, a EuropeanNuclear Energy Agency was set up under the OEEC.

By the end of the 1950s, with the job of rebuilding Europe effectively done, some leading countries felt that the OEEC had outlived its purpose, but could be adapted to fulfill a more global mission. It would be a hard-fought task, and after several sometimes fractious meetings at the Hotel Majestic in Paris starting in January 1960, a resolution was reached to create a body that would deal not only with European and Atlantic economic issues, but devise policies to assist less developed countries. This reconstituted organisation would bring the US and Canada, who were already OEEC observers, on board as full members. It would also set to work straight away on bringing in Japan.^[9]

FoundingEdit

Following the 1957 Rome Treaties to launch the European Economic Community, theConvention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was drawn up to reform the OEEC. The Convention was signed in December 1960 and the OECD officially superseded the OEEC in September 1961. It consisted of the European founder countries of the OEEC plus the United States and Canada, with Japan joining three years later. The official founding members are:

AustriaBelgiumCanadaDenmarkFranceWest GermanyGreeceIcelandIrelandItalyLuxembourgThe NetherlandsNorwayPortugalSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUnited States

During the next 12 years Japan, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand also joined the organisation. Yugoslavia had observer status in the organisation starting with the establishment of the OECD until its dissolution as a country.^[10]

The OECD created agencies such as the OECD Development Centre (1961), International Energy Agency (IEA, 1974), and Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.

Unlike the organizations of the United Nations system, OECD uses the spelling "organisation" with an "s" in its name rather than "organization" (see -ise/-ize).

Enlargement to Central EuropeEdit

In 1989, after the Revolutions of 1989, the OECD started to assist countries in Central Europe (especially the Visegrád Group) to prepare market economy reforms. In 1990, the Centre for Co-operation with European Economies in Transition (now succeeded by the Centre for Cooperation with Non-Members) was established, and in 1991, the Programme "Partners in Transition" was launched for the benefit of Czechoslovakia,Hungary, and Poland.^[10][11] This programme also included a membership option for these countries.^[11] As a result of this, Poland,^[12]Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, as well as Mexico and South Korea^[13] became members of the OECD between 1994 and 2000.

Reform and further enlargementEdit

  OECD members

  Started or promised accession talks

  Expressed interest in joining

In the 1990s, a number of European countries, now members of the European Union, expressed their willingness to join the organisation. In 1995, Cyprus applied for membership, but, according to the Cypriot government, it was vetoed by Turkey.^[14] In 1996, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania signed a Joint Declaration expressing willingness to become full members of the OECD.^[15]Slovenia also applied for membership that same year.^[16] In 2005, Malta applied to join the organisation.^[17] The EU is lobbying for admission of all EU member states.^[18]Romania reaffirmed in 2012 its intention to become a member of the organisation through the letter addressed by the Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta to OECD Secretary-General José Ángel Gurría.^[19] In September 2012, the government of Bulgariaconfirmed it will apply for full membership before the OECD Secretariat.^[20]

In 2003, the OECD established a working group headed by Japan's Ambassador to the OECD Seiichiro Noboru to work out a strategy for the enlargement and co-operation with non-members. The working group proposed that the selection of candidate countries to be based on four criteria: "like-mindedness", "significant player", "mutual benefit" and "global considerations". The working group's recommendations were presented at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting on 13 and 14 May 2004. Based on these recommendations work, the meeting adopted an agreement on operationalisation of the proposed guidelines and on the drafting of a list of countries suitable as potential candidates for membership.^[10] As a result of this work, on 16 May 2007, the OECD Ministerial Council decided to open accession discussions with Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russiaand Slovenia and to strengthen co-operation with Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa through a process of enhanced engagement.^[21] Chile, Slovenia, Israel and Estonia all became members in 2010.^[22][23]

In 2011, President Juan Manuel Santos ofColombia expressed the country's willingness to join the organisation during a speech at the OECD headquarters.^[24]

In 2013, the OECD decided to open membership talks with Colombia and Latvia. It also announced its intention to open talks with Costa Rica and Lithuania in 2015.^[25]Latvia became a full member on 1 July 2016.^[26]

Other countries that have expressed interest in OECD membership are Argentina, Peru,^[27]Malaysia,^[28] and Kazakhstan.^[29]

In March 2014, the OECD halted membership talks with Russia in response to its role in the2014 Crimean crisis.^[30][31]

On January 19, 2017, during his visit to theWorld Economic Forum in Davos, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated that "Croatia wants to be part of a new wave of OECD enlargement", adding that "it would give more legitimacy to Croatia especially in regards to the international investors".^[32]