Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Founder States (1961)   Other Member States
Secretariat		Paris, France
Membership		34 states, 20 founder states (1961)
Leaders
-	Secretary General	José Ángel Gurría
Establishment
-	as the OEEC1	16 April 1948
-	reformed as the OECD	30 September 1961
Website www.oecd.org
1	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 an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies of its members.

The OECD originated in 1948 as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), led by Robert Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Later, its membership was extended to non-European states. In 1961, it was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a "very high" Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries.

The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, France.

History[link]

Organisation for European Economic Co-operation[link]

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.^[1] It started its operations on 16 April 1948. Since 1949, it has been headquartered in the Chateau de la Muette in Paris, France. After the Marshall Plan ended, the OEEC focused on economic issues.^[2]

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

Foundation of the OECD[link]

Following the 1957 Rome Treaties to launch the European Economic Community, the Convention 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 the Republic of Austria, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Dominion of Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Greece, the Republic of Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, the Portuguese Republic, Spain, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Swiss Confederation, the Turkish Republic, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. 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.^[3]

More than just increasing its internal structure, OECD progressively created agencies: 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 and Eastern Europe[link]

In 1989, after the political changes in Central and Eastern Europe, the OECD started to assist these countries 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 cooperation with Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.^[3][4] This programme also included a membership option for these countries.^[4] As a result of this, in 1994–2000 Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia as well as Mexico and the Republic of Korea became members of the organisation.

Reform and further enlargement[link]

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.^[5] In 1996, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania signed a Joint Declaration expressing willingness to become full members of the OECD.^[6] Slovenia also applied for membership that same year.^[7] In 2005 Malta applied to join the organization.^[8]

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.^[3] As a result of this work, on 16 May 2007, the OECD Ministerial Council decided to open accession discussions with Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russia and Slovenia and to strengthen co-operation with Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa through a process of enhanced engagement.^[9] Chile, Slovenia, Israel and Estonia all became members in 2010.^[10][11]

In 2011 President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia express the country's willingness to join the organization during a speech at the OECD headquarters.^[12]

Objectives and activities[link]

One of a number of posters created by the Economic Cooperation Administration to promote the Marshall Plan in Europe

Aim[link]

The OECD defines itself as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a setting to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies.^[13] Its mandate covers economic, environmental, and social issues. It acts by peer pressure to improve policy and implement "soft law"—non-binding instruments that can occasionally lead to binding treaties. In this work, the OECD cooperates with businesses, trade unions and other representatives of civil society. Collaboration at the OECD regarding taxation, for example, has fostered the growth of a global web of bilateral tax treaties.

The OECD promotes policies designed:

• to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy;
• to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as nonmember countries in the process of economic development; and
• to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, nondiscriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations.

International investments and multinational enterprises[link]

Between 1995 and 1998, the OECD designed the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, which was abandoned because of a widespread criticism from civil society groups and developing countries. In 1976, the OECD adopted the Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, which was rewritten and annexed by the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in 2000.

Among other areas, the OECD has taken a role in co-ordinating international action on corruption and bribery, creating the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which came into effect in February 1999. It has been ratified by thirty-eight countries.^[14]

The OECD has also constituted an anti-spam task force, which submitted a detailed report, with several background papers on spam problems in developing countries, best practices for ISPs, e-mail marketers, etc., appended. It works on the information economy^[15] and the future of the Internet economy.^[16]

PISA[link]

The OECD publishes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is an assessment that allows for a comparison of educational performances between countries.

Taxation[link]

The OECD publishes and updates a model tax convention that serves as a template for bilateral negotiations regarding tax coordination and cooperation. This model is accompanied by a set of commentaries that reflect OECD-level interpretation of the content of the model convention provisions. In general, this model allocates the primary right to tax to the country from which capital investment originates (i.e., the home, or resident country) rather than the country in which the investment is made (the host, or source country). As a result, it is most effective as between two countries with reciprocal investment flows (such as among the OECD member countries), but can be very unbalanced when one of the signatory countries is economically weaker than the other (such as between OECD and non-OECD pairings).

Since 1998, the OECD has led a charge against harmful tax practices, principally targeting the activities of tax havens (while principally accepting the policies of its member countries, which would tend to encourage tax competition). These efforts have been met with mixed reaction: The primary objection is the sanctity of tax policy as a matter of sovereign entitlement.^[17] The OECD maintains a 'blacklist' of countries it considers uncooperative in the drive for transparency of tax affairs and the effective exchange of information, officially called "The List of Uncooperative Tax Havens".^[18] In May 2009, all remaining countries were removed from the list.^[19]

On 22 October 2008, at an OECD meeting in Paris, 17 countries led by France and Germany decided to draw up a new blacklist of tax havens. The OECD has been asked to investigate around 40 new tax havens in the world where undeclared revenue is hidden and that host many of the non-regulated hedge funds that have come under fire during the 2008 financial crisis. Germany, France, and other countries called on the OECD to specifically add Switzerland to a blacklist of countries that encourage tax fraud.^[20]

Publishing[link]

The OECD publishes books, reports, statistics, working papers and reference materials. All titles and databases published since 1998 can be accessed via OECD iLibrary.

The OECD Library & Archives collection dates from 1947, including records from the Committee for European Economic Co-operation (CEEC) and the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), predecessors of today's OECD. External researchers can consult OECD publications and archival material on the OECD premises by appointment: www.oecd.org/libraryandarchives.

Books[link]

The OECD releases between 300 and 500 books each year. Most books are published in English and French. The OECD flagship titles include:

• The OECD Economic Outlook, published twice a year. It contains forecast and analysis of the economic situation of the OECD member countries.
• The Main Economic Indicators, published monthly. It contains a large selection of timely statistical indicators.
• The OECD Factbook, published yearly and available online, as an iPhone app and in print. The Factbook contains more than 100 economic, environmental and social indicators, each presented with a clear definition, tables and graphs. It is freely accessible online and delivers all the data in Excel format via Statlinks.
• OECD Observer, an award-winning magazine with six issues a year. News, analysis, commentaries and data on global economic, social and environmental challenges. Contains book reviews and special section listing the latest OECD books, plus ordering information.
• The OECD Communications Outlook and OECD Information Technology Outlook, which rotate every year. They contain forecasts and analysis of the communications and information technology industries in OECD member countries and non-member economies.
• In 2007 the OECD published Human Capital: How what you know shapes your life, the first book in the OECD Insights series. This series uses OECD analysis and data to introduce important social and economic issues to non-specialist readers. Other books in the series cover sustainable development, international trade and international migration.

All OECD books are available on the OECD iLibrary, the online bookshop or OECD Library & Archives.

Statistics[link]

The OECD is known as a statistical agency, as it publishes comparable statistics on a wide number of subjects.

OECD statistics are available in several forms:

• as interactive databases on iLibrary together with key comparative and country tables,
• as static files or dynamic database views on the OECD Statistics portal,
• as StatLinks (in most OECD books, there is a URL that links to the underlying data).

Working papers[link]

There are 15 working papers series published by the various directorates of the OECD Secretariat. They are available on iLibrary, as well as on many specialised portals.

Reference works[link]

The OECD is responsible for the OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals, a continuously updated document that is a de facto standard (i.e., soft law).

It has published the OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030, which shows that tackling the key environmental problems we face today—including climate change, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and the health impacts of pollution—is both achievable and affordable.

Structure[link]

The OECD's structure consists of three main elements:

• The OECD member countries, each represented by a delegation led by an ambassador. Together, they form the OECD Council. Member countries act collectively through Council (and its Standing Committees) to provide direction and guidance to the work of Organization.
• The OECD Substantive Committees, one for each work area of the OECD, plus their variety of subsidiary bodies. Committee members are typically subject-matter experts from member and non-member governments. The Committees oversee all the work on each theme (publications, task forces, conferences, and so on). Committee members then relay the conclusions to their capitals.
• The OECD Secretariat, led by the Secretary-General (currently Angel Gurria), provides support to Standing and Substantive Committees. It is organized in Directorates, which include about 2,500 staff.

Meetings[link]

Delegates from the member countries attend committees' and other meetings. Former Deputy-Secretary General Pierre Vinde estimated in 1997 that the cost borne by the member countries, such as sending their officials to OECD meetings and maintaining permanent delegations, is equivalent to the cost of running the secretariat.^[21] This ratio is unique among inter-governmental organisations. In other words, the OECD is more a persistent forum or network of officials and experts than an administration.

Noteworthy meetings include:

• The yearly Ministerial Council Meeting, with the Ministers of Economy of all member countries and the candidates for enhanced engagement among the countries.
• The annual OECD Forum, which brings together leaders from business, government, labour, civil society and international organisations. This takes the form of conferences and discussions and is open to public participation.
• Thematic Ministerial Meetings, held among Ministers of a given domain (ie. all Ministers of Labour, all Ministers of Environment, etc.).
• The bi-annual World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policies, which does not usually take place in the OECD. This series of meetings has the ambition to measure and foster progress in societies.

Secretariat[link]

Exchanges between OECD governments benefit from the information, analysis, and preparation of the OECD Secretariat. The secretariat collects data, monitors trends, and analyses and forecasts economic developments. Under the direction and guidance of member governments, it also researches social changes or evolving patterns in trade, environment, education, agriculture, technology, taxation, and other areas.

The secretariat is organised in Directorates:

• Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development
• Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
• Development Co-operation Directorate
• Directorate for Education
• Directorate for Employment, Labour, and Social Affairs
• Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs
• Directorate for Science, Technology, and Industry
• Economics Department
• Environment Directorate
• Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate
• Statistics Directorate
• Trade and Agriculture Directorate
• General Secretariat
• Executive Directorate
• Public Affairs and Communication Directorate

The work of the secretariat is financed from the OECD's annual budget, currently^[when?] around US$510 million or €342.9 million). The budget is funded by the member countries based on a formula related to the size of each member's gross national product.^[22] The largest contributor is the United States, which contributes about one quarter of the budget, followed by Japan with 16%, Germany with 9% and the U.K. and France with 7%. The OECD governing council sets the budget and scope of work on a two-yearly basis.

As an international organisation the terms of employment of the OECD Secretariat staff are not governed by the laws of the country in which their offices are located. Agreements with the host country safeguard the organisation's impartiality with regard to the host and member countries. Hiring and firing practices, working hours and environment, holiday time, pension plans, health insurance and life insurance, salaries, expatriation benefits and general conditions of employment are managed according to rules and regulations associated with the OECD. In order to maintain working conditions that are similar to similarly structured organisations, the OECD participates as an independent organisation in the system of co-ordinated European organisations, whose other members include NATO, the Western European Union and the European Patent Organisation.

Secretaries-General[link]

• 1948–1955: Robert Marjolin
• 1955–1960: René Sergent
• 1960–1969: Thorkil Kristensen
• 1969–1984: Emiel van Lennep
• 1984–1994: Jean-Claude Paye
• 1994: Staffan Sohlman (interim)
• 1994–1996: Jean-Claude Paye
• 1996–2006: Don Johnston
• 2006– : José Ángel Gurría

Committees[link]

Representatives of the 34 OECD member countries and a number of observer countries meet in specialised committees on specific policy areas, such as economics, trade, science, employment, education or financial markets. There are about 200 committees, working groups and expert groups. Committees discuss policies and review progress in the given policy area.^[23]

Special bodies[link]

• Africa Partnership Forum
• Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC)
• Development Assistance Committee
• OECD Development Centre
• International Transport Forum (ITF) – formally known as the European Conference of Ministers of Transport
• International Energy Agency
• Nuclear Energy Agency
• Partnership for Democratic Governance (PDG)
• Sahel and West Africa Club
• Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC)

Member countries[link]

Current members[link]

There are currently 34 members of the OECD.

Country	Membership[24]	Geographic location	Notes
Australia	01971-06-077 June 1971	Oceania
Austria	01961-09-2929 September 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Belgium	01961-09-1313 September 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Canada	01961-04-1010 April 1961	North America
Chile	02010-05-077 May 2010	South America
Czech Republic	01995-12-2121 December 1995	Europe
Denmark	01961-05-3030 May 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Estonia	02010-12-099 December 2010	Europe
Finland	01969-01-2828 January 1969	Europe
France	01961-08-077 August 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Germany	01961-09-2727 September 1961	Europe	Joined OEEC in 1949 (West Germany).[26] Previously represented by the Trizone.[25]
Greece	01961-09-2727 September 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Hungary	01996-05-077 May 1996	Europe
Iceland	01961-06-055 June 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Ireland	01961-08-1717 August 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Israel	02010-09-077 September 2010	Asia
Italy	01962-03-2929 March 1962	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Japan	01964-04-2828 April 1964	Asia
South Korea	01996-12-1212 December 1996	Asia
Luxembourg	01961-12-077 December 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Mexico	01994-05-1818 May 1994	North America
Netherlands	01961-11-1313 November 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
New Zealand	01973-05-2929 May 1973	Oceania
Norway	01961-07-044 July 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Poland	01996-11-2222 November 1996	Europe
Portugal	01961-08-044 August 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Slovakia	02000-12-1414 December 2000	Europe
Slovenia	02010-07-2121 July 2010	Europe
Spain	01961-08-033 August 1961	Europe	Joined OEEC in 1958.[27]
Sweden	01961-09-2828 September 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Switzerland	01961-09-2828 September 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
Turkey	01961-08-022 August 1961	Eurasia	OEEC member.[25]
United Kingdom	01961-05-022 May 1961	Europe	OEEC member.[25]
United States	01961-04-1212 April 1961	North America

The European Commission participates in the work of the OECD alongside the EU Member States.^[28]

Former members[link]

•  Free Territory of Trieste (Zone A) (until 1954).^[25]

Invited countries[link]

•  Russia: In May 2007 the OECD decided to open accession negotiations with Russia.^[9]

Relations with non-members[link]

  OECD members

  Accession candidate countries

  Enhanced engagement countries

Currently, 25 non-members participate as regular observers or full participants in OECD Committees. About 50 non-members are engaged in OECD working parties, schemes or programmes. The OECD conducts a policy dialogue and capacity building activities with non-members (Country Programmes, Regional Approaches and Global Forums) to share their views on best policy practices and to bear on OECD's policy debate. The OECD's Centre for Co-operation with Non-Members develops and oversees the strategic orientations of the relations with non-members.

On 16 May 2007, the OECD Ministerial Council decided to strengthen OECD's co-operation with Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, through a process of enhanced engagement.^[9]

The OECD explores the possibilities for enhanced co-operation with selected countries and regions of strategic interest to the OECD, giving priority to South East Asia with a view to identifying countries for possible membership.

Criticism[link]

The OECD has been criticised by several civil society groups and developing countries. The main criticism has been the narrowness of the OECD because of its limited membership to a select few rich nations.^[29] In 1997–1998, the draft Multilateral Agreement on Investment was heavily criticized by several non-governmental organisations and developing countries. Many critics argued that the agreement would threaten protection of human rights, labor and environmental standards, and the least developed countries. A particular concern was that the MAI would result in a 'race to the bottom' among countries willing to lower their labor and environmental standards to attract foreign investment. Also the OECD's actions against harmful tax practices has raised criticism. The primary objection is the sanctity of tax policy as a matter of sovereign entitlement.^[17]

Indicators[link]

The following table shows various data for OECD member states, including area, population, economic output and income inequality, as well as various indices, including human development, viability of the state, perception of corruption, economic freedom, state of peace, freedom of the press and democratic level.

Country	Area[30] (km²)	Population[30] 2010	GDP (PPP)[30] (Intl. $) 2010	GDP (PPP) per capita[30] (Intl. $) 2010	HDI[31] 2011	FSI[32] 2011	CPI[33] 2011	IEF[34] 2011	GPI[35] 2011	WPFI[36] 2011/2012	DI[37] 2011	Income inequality[30] 1993-2009 (latest available)
Australia	7,741,220	22,299,000	850,921,670,835	38,160	0.929	28.1	8.8	82.5	1.455	4.00	9.22	35.2
Austria	83,870	8,390,000	335,651,908,177	40,006	0.885	27.3	7.8	71.9	1.337	-8.00	8.49	29.2
Belgium	30,530	10,896,000	410,028,052,709	37,631	0.886	34.1	7.5	70.2	1.413	-2.00	8.05	33.0
Canada	9,984,670	34,126,000	1,332,626,009,839	39,050	0.908	27.7	8.7	80.8	1.355	-5.67	9.08	32.6
Chile	756,090	17,113,688	270,041,323,664	15,779	0.805	40.7	7.2	77.4	1.710	29.00	7.54	52.1
Czech Republic	78,870	10,520,000	257,928,339,127	24,518	0.865	42.4	4.4	70.4	1.320	-5.00	8.19	25.8
Denmark	43,090	5,547,000	222,781,886,776	40,163	0.895	23.8	9.4	78.6	1.289	-5.67	9.52	24.7
Estonia	45,230	1,340,000	27,688,998,902	20,663	0.835	49.3	6.4	75.2	1.798	-9.00	7.61	36.0
Finland	338,420	5,364,000	195,638,761,225	36,473	0.882	19.7	9.4	74.0	1.352	-10.00	9.06	26.9
France	549,190	64,895,000	2,214,424,844,973	34,123	0.884	34.0	7.0	64.6	1.697	9.50	7.77	32.7
Germany	357,120	81,777,000	3,058,645,251,108	37,402	0.905	33.9	8.0	71.8	1.416	-3.00	8.34	28.3
Greece	131,960	11,316,000	321,469,098,066	28,408	0.861	47.4	3.4	60.3	1.947	24.00	7.65	34.3
Hungary	93,030	10,000,000	205,454,014,567	20,545	0.816	48.7	4.6	66.6	1.495	10.00	7.04	31.2
Iceland	103,000	318,000	11,334,228,026	35,642	0.898	30.1	8.3	68.2	1.148	-7.00	9.65	N/A
Ireland	70,280	4,475,000	181,077,867,866	40,464	0.908	25.3	7.5	78.7	1.370	-4.00	8.56	34.3
Israel	22,070	7,624,000	217,843,073,595	28,573	0.888	N/Aa	5.8	68.5	2.901	31.25	7.53	39.2
Italy	301,340	60,483,000	1,932,684,377,298	31,954	0.874	45.8	3.9	60.3	1.775	19.67	7.74	36.0
Japan	377,940	127,451,000	4,299,287,787,846	33,733	0.901	31.0	8.0	72.8	1.287	-1.00	8.08	24.9
Korea, South South Korea	99,900	48,875,000	1,422,314,851,971	29,101	0.897	38.8	5.4	69.8	1.829	12.67	8.06	N/A
Luxembourg	2,590	507,000	43,665,012,298	86,124	0.867	26.1	8.5	76.2	1.341c	-7.00	8.88	30.8
Mexico	1,964,380	113,423,000	1,651,879,443,740	14,564	0.770	75.1	3.0	67.8	2.362	72.67	6.93	48.3
Netherlands	41,540	16,616,000	700,605,399,392	42,165	0.910	28.3	8.9	74.7	1.628	-9.00	8.99	30.9
New Zealand	267,710	4,368,000	129,006,762,969	29,535	0.908	24.8	9.5	82.3	1.279	-5.33	9.26	36.2
Norway	323,780	4,889,000	279,801,821,220	57,231	0.943	20.4	9.0	70.3	1.356	-10.00	9.80	25.8
Poland	312,680	38,184,000	759,271,825,466	19,885	0.813	46.8	5.5	64.1	1.545	-0.67	7.12	34.1
Portugal	92,090	10,638,000	270,370,552,557	25,416	0.809	32.3	6.1	64.0	1.453	5.33	7.81	38.5
Slovakia	49,040	5,430,000	126,534,384,733	23,303	0.834	47.1	4.0	69.5	1.576	0.00	7.35	N/A
Slovenia	20,270	2,049,000	55,169,755,734	26,925	0.884	35.5	5.9	64.6	1.358	9.14	7.76	31.2
Spain	505,370	46,071,000	1,484,884,850,942	32,230	0.878	43.1	6.2	70.2	1.641	9.75	8.02	34.7
Sweden	450,300	9,378,000	365,968,702,539	39,024	0.904	22.8	9.3	71.9	1.401	-5.50	9.50	25.0
Switzerland	41,280	7,826,000	363,005,021,856	46,384	0.903	23.2	8.8	81.9	1.421	-6.20	9.09	33.7
Turkey	783,560	72,752,000	1,141,250,450,911	15,687	0.699	74.9	4.2	64.2	2.411	70.00	5.72	39.0
United Kingdom	243,610	62,232,000	2,220,823,584,121	35,686	0.863	34.1	7.8	74.5	1.631	2.00	8.16	36.0
United States	9,831,510	309,349,000	14,586,736,313,339	47,153	0.910	34.8	7.1	77.8	2.063	14.00	8.11	40.8
zzzOECDb	36,137,530	1,236,521,688	41,946,816,228,388	33,923	0.871	36.3	6.9	71.7	1.607	6.44	8.23	33.6
Country	Area (km²)	Population 2010	GDP (PPP) (Intl. $) 2010	GDP (PPP) per capita (Intl. $) 2010	HDI 2011	FSI 2011	CPI 2011	IEF 2011	GPI 2011	WPFI 2011/2012	DI 2011	Income inequality 1993-2009 (latest available)

^a The FSI index supplies no figure for Israel, but rather supplies a figure (84.4) for "Israel/West Bank".
^b OECD total used for indicators 1 through 3; OECD weighted average used for indicator 4; OECD unweighted average used for indicators 5 through 12.
^c Data are for 2010.
Note: The colors indicate the country's global position in the respective indicator. For example, a green cell indicates that the country is ranked in the upper 25% of the list (including all countries with available data).

See also[link]

• Competition regulator
• Developed Country
• Frascati Manual
• German Marshall Fund
• Good Laboratory Practice
• Gulf Co-operation Council
• International organisations in Europe
• OECD Better Life Index
• Official statistics
• OSCE countries statistics
• SourceOECD
• Transfer pricing
  

References[link]

External links[link]

• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• OECD iLibrary - OECD's portal for books, reports, statistics, working papers and journals
• International Futures Programme
• OECD Forum
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The Right Honourable David Willetts MP
Minister of State for Universities and Science
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Lord Drayson (Science and Innovation)
Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills)
In office 6 December 2005 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	David Cameron
Succeeded by	Andy Burnham (as Shadow Secretary of State for Education) John Denham (as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills)
Member of Parliament for Havant
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Ian Lloyd
Majority	12,160 (27.7%)
Personal details
Born	(1956-03-09) 9 March 1956 (age 56) Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Sarah Butterfield
Children	2
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

David Linsay Willetts (born 9 March 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician and the Minister of State for Universities and Science. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the constituency of Havant in Hampshire.

Education[link]

Willetts was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Willets graduated with a first class degree.

Policy researcher[link]

Having served as Nigel Lawson's private researcher,^{[citation needed]} Willetts took charge of the Treasury monetary policy division at 26 before moving over to Margaret Thatcher's Policy Unit at 28. Aged 31, he subsequently took over the Centre for Policy Studies.^[1]

First period in government[link]

Aged 36, Willetts entered Parliament in 1992 as the MP for Havant. He quickly established himself in Parliament, becoming a Whip, a Cabinet Office Minister, and then Paymaster General in his first term (when that role was split between the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury as a policy co-ordination role). During this period Willetts' gained "Two Brains" as a nickname, a monicker reportedly coined by The Guardian's former political editor Michael White.^[2] However, Willetts was forced to resign from the latter post by the Standards and Privileges Committee over an investigation into Neil Hamilton in 1996, when it found that he had "dissembled" in his evidence to the Committee over whether pressure was put onto an earlier investigation into Hamilton.

Shadow Cabinet[link]

Despite the resignation, Willetts was able to return to the shadow front bench a few years later while William Hague was Leader of the Opposition, initially serving in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Education Secretary before becoming Shadow Social Security (later Shadow Work and Pensions) Secretary. He carved out a reputation as an expert on pensions and benefits. Since leaving the DWP post, he has been recruited as an external consultant by the actuaries Punter Southall.

After the 2005 election, he served as Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the Shadow Cabinet under Michael Howard. In August 2005, after ruling out running for leader owing to a lack of support, commentators speculated that he was gunning for the post Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer position and would cut a deal with either David Davis or David Cameron. On 15 September he confirmed his support for Davis, at that time the bookies' favourite. Willetts, a centrist moderniser, went to ground following the announcement of the Davis tax plan since it was widely speculated that he disagreed with the seemingly uncosted and widely derided^[3] tax plan and found it impossible to defend. Davis then lost the candidacy race to Cameron. Following Cameron's win, Willetts was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills in Cameron's first Shadow Cabinet in December 2005, the role Cameron had vacated, and later becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills. His title became Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills since Gordon Brown's merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform into the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in June 2009.

On 19 May 2007, Willetts made a controversial speech on grammar schools in which he defended the existing Conservative Party policy of not reintroducing grammar schools. The speech received a mixed reception. The analysis was applauded by The Guardian and The Times.^[2][4][5][6] However, the more right-wing Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail were both strongly critical of the speech, which was unpopular with some Conservative Party activists.^[7][8] The speech was made more controversial when David Cameron weighed into the argument, backing Willetts' speech and describing his critics as "delusional", accusing them of "splashing around in the shallow end of the educational debate" and of "clinging on to outdated mantras that bear no relation to the reality of life".^[9]

The Department for Education and Skills was abolished by the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who established two new departments. On 2 July 2007, Cameron reshuffled Willetts down to the junior of the two departments: the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Second period in government[link]

Following the 2010 general election, Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Willetts as the Minister of State for Universities and Science. In this capacity, he attends the meetings of the Cabinet, although he is not a full member.

Willetts is in the unusual position of being a junior Conservative minister in a department headed by a Liberal Democrat minister. This has created some tension over which bits of his speeches are recognised as statements of BIS policy and which are not.^[10]

Feminism claim[link]

In June 2011 Willetts said during the launch of the Government’s social mobility strategy that movement between the classes had “stagnated”. Willetts attributed this partly the entry of women into the workplace and universities for the lack of progress for men. “Feminism trumped egalitarianism,” he said, adding that women who would otherwise have been housewives had taken university places and well-paid jobs that could have gone to ambitious working-class men. He went on to say that “One of the things that happened over that period was that the entirely admirable transformation of opportunities for women meant that with a lot of the expansion of education in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the first beneficiaries were the daughters of middle-class families who had previously been excluded from educational opportunities,” he said. He said that “And if you put that with what is called 'assortative mating’ — that well-educated women marry well-educated men — this transformation of opportunities for women ended up magnifying social divides. It is delicate territory because it is not a bad thing that women had these opportunities, but it widened the gap in household incomes because you suddenly had two-earner couples, both of whom were well-educated, compared with often workless households where nobody was educated.”^[11]

Free votes record[link]

According to the Public Whip analyses,^[12] Willetts was strongly in favour of an elected House of Lords and was strongly against the ban on fox-hunting. TheyWorkForYou additionally records that, amongst other things, Willetts was strongly in favour of the Iraq War, strongly in favour of an investigation into it, moderately against equal gay rights, and very strongly for replacing Trident.^[13]

"Two brains"[link]

Due to his careful intellectual approach, ties to academia, his unusually policy-heavy background and his high hairline,^{[citation needed]} he has acquired the nickname "Two Brains".^[14] He is currently a visiting professor at the Cass Business School, a board member of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford (part of the University of Oxford), Willetts is the author of several books on conservatism, including "Why Vote Conservative" (1996) and "Modern Conservatism" (1992), as well as numerous articles. He was a founding signatory in 2005 of the Henry Jackson Society principles, advocating a proactive approach to the spread of liberal democracy across the world, including when necessary by military intervention.^[15][16] He is an honorary member of Conservative Friends of Poland.^[17]

Civic conservatism[link]

Willetts has pioneered the idea of "civic conservatism" [D. Willetts, "Civic Conservatism", SMF (1994)]. This is the idea of focusing on the institutions between the state and individuals as a policy concern (rather than merely thinking of individuals and the state as the only agencies) and is one of the principles behind the increasing support in the Conservative Party's localist agenda and its emphasis on voluntary organisations. During an interview with The Spectator, he was referred to as 'the real father of Cameronism'.^[18]

Fourteen years after the publication of "Civic Conservatism" Willetts gave the inaugural Oakeshott Memorial Lecture to the London School of Economics in which he made an attempt to explain how game theory can be used to help think about how to improve social capital. The lecture^[19] was described by the Times as "an audacious attempt by the Conservative Party's leading intellectual to relate a new Tory narrative".^[20]

"Civic conservatism, like free market economics, proceeds from deep-seated individual self-interest towards a stable cooperation. It sets the Tories the task not of changing humanity but of designing institutions and arrangements that encourage our natural reciprocal altruism."^[21]

Personal life and member's interests[link]

Willetts is married to the artist Sarah Butterfield. The couple have one daughter and one son. His wealth is estimated at £1.9m,^[22][23] and his declarations for the Register of Members' Financial Interests may viewed here.

References[link]

For Willetts' roles in the 1980s–1990s as a welfare specialist:

• Timmins, Nicholas (2001). The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State. ISBN 0-00-710264-X. 

Bibliography[link]

• Willetts, David (1991). Happy Families? Four Points to a Conservative Family Policy. ISBN 1-870265-62-9. 
• Willetts, David (1992). Modern Conservatism. ISBN 0-14-015477-9. 
• Willetts, David (1992). Welfare to Work. ISBN 1-874097-18-6. 
• Willetts, David (1996). Blair's Gurus. ISBN 0-14-026304-7. 
• Willetts, David (1997). Why Vote Conservative?. ISBN 0-14-026304-7. 
• Willetts, David (1997). Blair's Gurus. ISBN 1-897969-47-3. 
• Willetts, David (1998). Who do we think we are?. ISBN 1-897969-81-3. 
• Willetts, David (2003). Left Out, Left Behind. ISBN 0-9545611-0-4. 
• Willetts, David (2003). Old Europe? Demographic Change and Pension Reform. ISBN 1-901229-47-5. 
• Willetts, David (2010). The Pinch: How the Baby Boomers Took Their Children's Future – And Why They Should Give It Back. ISBN 1-84887-231-3. 

External links[link]

• David Willetts MP official constituency website
• Profile at the Conservative Party
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Article archive at The Guardian
• The Tories don't have to make a false choice between roots or freedom, David Willetts, The Times, 2 June 2005
• Works by or about David Willetts in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• David Willetts collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Profile: David Willetts BBC News, 22 October 2002