Pro jednoduchost uvádíme předmluvu Generálního tajemníka OECD Angela Gurríi:

Foreword

A new OECD for new global challenges

The past year has been extremely challenging for the world economy. Open

markets for trade and investment are being threatened by rising protectionist

pressures. The world economy has been stumbling under the weight of

financial turbulence and a resulting slowdown. The price of food, oil and

metals is at an all time high. The dangers of climate change have climbed

to the top of the political agenda.

As this Annual Report sets out, the OECD has been at the very heart of

efforts to help countries generate innovative solutions by taking the lead

on analysing, diagnosing and developing policy options for the benefit of

its members and for the world at large.

A stumbling world economy

The United States is witnessing a severe economic downturn. The European

Union is struggling to cope under the resulting impact and the burden of

a strong euro. We are experiencing a global crisis of confidence. Oil, gold,

metals and food prices are hitting record levels because, among other

reasons, they are now being used as stores of value instead of the usual

financial assets.

Fortunately, emerging economies are still growing strongly. However, this

expansion cannot last long if things continue deteriorating in the OECD

economies. In a global economy there are no "decouplings". Developing

countries will also suffer if we do not find solutions fast, because they still

get most of their export earnings, foreign investment, loans and remittances

from North America, Europe and Japan.

The sub-prime crisis has revealed the vulnerability of the current financial

system. Innovation in finance, such as the securitisation of almost any

form of debt into a tradable asset, might have helped spread risk, but it

also introduced new weaknesses. National and international institutions,

including the OECD, need to react quickly and effectively in order to

anticipate crises and improve the communications regarding the issues

at stake.

Correctly harnessed, innovation will be key to helping us overcome current

difficulties. The new mandate from ministers to develop an Innovation

Strategy recognises its position at the very core of all OECD activity. Our

challenge will be to deliver a set of policy tools and recommendations to

understand the potential of innovation and boost it. This will include the

means to identify and benchmark innovation capacity and performance.

The Strategy will also address the relationship between innovation and

entrepreneurship, economic growth, social progress and global issues such

as health and climate change.

Climate change - the fierce urgency of now

Climate is a major planetary challenge. It is testing our capacity for

co-operation and our creativity as policy makers. The OECD Environmental

Outlook to 2030 shows that the ambitious and comprehensive policies

necessary to tackle climate change are achievable, available and affordable.

It explains that to put us on the path to stabilising greenhouse gases at an

acceptable level in the atmosphere would reduce global growth by about one-tenth

of 1% per year (on average) from now to 2050. This is not cheap, but it is

an affordable cost, given our expectations for growth and living standards in

the coming years and given that the cost of inaction would be far higher.

Countries have a range of financial and economic instruments at hand to

limit emissions. But the right solutions require that every country participate,

together with strong political will from both developed and developing

countries, and the best technical expertise.

The OECD has been working on the economics of climate change for several

decades. We stand ready to continue our support to policy makers in

identifying, developing and implementing effective and least-cost policies

to tackle climate change. The OECD's Ministerial Council Meeting, to be held

in June, will address climate change head-on, gathering ministers from the

major emerging economies at the same table with their OECD counterparts.

Only through such dialogue can we move the global agenda on climate

change forward, towards an economically, environmentally and socially

sustainable development.

Open markets under threat

As OECD work has clearly demonstrated, the Doha Development Agenda

provides a welcome opportunity for more open trade to contribute to the

growth of the world economy, and in particular to improve the economic

prospects of developing countries. But despite repeated deadlines, WTO

members have yet to reach an agreement. Of all the global challenges facing

the international community, agreeing on further trade liberalisation should

be the least diffi cult one to solve. The rising tide of protectionist sentiment

only heightens the urgency to do so.

Public concerns in some OECD countries about security issues have been

used as an excuse for the emergence of unjustified protectionist measures

against some foreign investment transactions. This is a dangerous,

threatening trend, which could set us back in our efforts of many decades to

build an open international investment regime. The OECD has been working

on a "Freedom of Investment Initiative" to define disciplines and principles

that will allow host countries to protect legitimate national security interests,

while minimising restrictions on international investment flows.

The most recent manifestation of protectionist sentiment has arisen

in connection with sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), whose size and

ownership have raised important questions. Some potential recipients fear

SWF investment decisions could be motivated more by political objectives

than profit considerations, with security-sensitive and other " strategic"

assets among those targeted for investment. Again, the OECD has led the

way in responding pragmatically and rationally to a complex issue.

Last year, at a meeting involving G7 finance ministers and authorities

from the SWF countries, the OECD was tasked with developing voluntary

guidelines and best practices for recipient countries' policies towards

investments by these funds. The outcome of our deliberations has been a

commitment by OECD countries to keep their investment frontiers open

to these funds as they do to other investors. Recipient governments and

markets will quite rightly want to be reassured that SWFs' investment

decisions are dictated solely by commercial motives and that they will

adhere to high standards of transparency and governance. For decades,

however, the OECD has developed rules and guidelines promoting the

freedom of capital movements and an open international investment

regime as main drivers of economic growth. These same principles should

be applied to investments coming from SWFs, which can bring benefits to

home and host countries alike.

International migration flows are also under the protectionist spotlight.

Since the 1960s, net migration to the OECD has tripled, and demographic

pressures associated with ageing populations are likely to lead to even faster

growth in the future. Managing migration in ways that will produce benefits

for both the host and home countries is a delicate task. Public concerns

can be addressed more easily if governments are able to identify and deal

with the specific issues arising from migration. Major common challenges

include attracting immigrants to match current and future labour needs

and, once the immigrants have arrived, integrating them and their families

into our economies and societies. The OECD's work and experience on this

subject is considerable and growing steadily, as we are constantly working to

provide more accurate information and a better understanding of patterns

of immigration.

A new and more relevant OECD

The OECD is undergoing historical change. In the "pursuit of relevance" on

the challenges of our time, we are becoming a real hub of dialogue on global

issues - a hub where we share experiences and knowledge to improve our

economies and to build a more harmonious globalisation. The OECD's strength

lies in its ability to help governments solve complex problems by addressing

the multiplicity of dimensions that characterise today's global challenges.

Economic reforms are never painless; but the cost of delaying them can be

considerable. OECD work on the political economy of reform is a new and

important area for the Organisation, as an increasing number of governments

are asking us to help design, promote and implement structural reforms

to improve their economic performance. This is like walking an extra mile

with our policy advice. To get the most out of our analysis, the OECD stands

ready not only to identify possible solutions to policy issues, but to help

in the approval of reforms and its implementation, hand in hand with its

member countries. Improving global governance and co-operation among

international institutions is another relevant task.

The Organisation is also strengthening its capacity to develop concerted

responses to global challenges by becoming more proactive, open and

representative. Only last year, OECD ministers initiated a two-tier process

of enlargement and enhanced engagement with ten new countries. These

economies account for nearly half the world's population, 15% of global

exports and a combined GDP of USD 5.8 trillion. Accession talks with

Chile, Estonia, Israel, the Russian Federation and Slovenia are already well

advanced. In parallel, we are enhancing our co-operation with Brazil, China,

India, Indonesia and South Africa with a view to possible membership,

recognising their weight in the world economy.

We are convinced that we need to work with these countries to successfully

address any global issue. It is already helping the OECD become more

sensitive to diversity and to better understand the many different paths

that lead to growth and development.

The OECD is also now better connected, reaching out to a wide range of

actors and institutions. Through our Partnership for Democratic Governance,

the OECD is also assisting developing countries in building their governance

capacity and improving service delivery to their citizens. At the G8 Summit

in Heiligendamm, the OECD was asked to become a "platform" for a dialogue

between G8 countries and five major emerging economies. We have already

strengthened our longstanding mandate to assure policy coherence on

development.

Late last year, I had the opportunity, along with the heads of four other

international economic organisations, to meet with German Chancellor

Angela Merkel to discuss how to provide coherent solutions to pressing

global challenges. It became clear that in order to stem the growing

opposition to globalisation, international organisations need to increase

their coordination, relevance, efficiency and legitimacy.

In this respect, I am delighted that we are working with other international

organisations to help them in their missions. For example, under the

initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the OECD was invited to join the

Steering Group that monitors progress on the Millennium Development

Goals, which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread

of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target

date of 2015. Regrettably, progress towards achieving these goals is far from

satisfactory.

Whilst we must strive to do better, it is important to take time to recognise

what has been achieved so far and what still lies before us. Herein lies

the value of this Annual Report , drawing together the many aspects of the

Organisation'. s work. After two years at the OECD, I am confident we are on

the right track, but I feel that our job has just begun.

OECD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 - © OECD 2008

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