OECD report shows way to reforms but will governments follow?

The 2006 ‘Going for Growth’ report of the OECD indicates that EU countries need to do more to increase the number of people in the workforce. Government actions in that area, however, are being contested in the streets in France and Germany.

The OECD’s second ‘Going for Growth report’ shows a mixed picture. On the one hand, restrictions on business activities have been lifted in several countries. But there has been much less progress on increasing the number of people in the workforce. Lots of countries have shown “little enthusiasm for easing employment protection”, says the press release for the report.

This year’s report also highlights the importance of innovation, benchmarking areas such as the R&D intensity and public and private R&D investments.

A special chapter is devoted to GDP as a measure of well-being. “GDP suffers from many shortcomings. It does not incorporate environmental degradation, nor the value of leisure. Neither does it take into account the influence on well-being of income distribution,” states the report.

The OECD’s recommendations for reform might be not always be easy to implement for governments, as France and Germany are experiencing these days. Plans by French Prime Minister de Villepin to loosen labour rules for the employment of people under 26 were heavily contested by street protests in France on 7 February. In Germany, civil servants in one of the regions went on strike to protest against the Merkel government’s plans to introduce longer working hours in the public sector.

Read more with Euractiv

China's patent applications up by 212% since 2000

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) the growth rate for patent applications from Japan, Republic of Korea and China remains exceptional.