The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The OECD’s mission is to improve the economic and social well-being of people worldwide through research that informs policy. Photo credit: istockphoto.com/Thai-Son LIM

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), based in Paris, was originally created following World War II to administer U.S. and Canadian reconstruction aid for Europe provided under the Marshall Plan. OECD was founded in its current form in 1960 with a new mission: to improve the economic and social well-being of people worldwide through research that informs policy:

Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

Today, OECD’s 38 member countries span the globe, from North and South America to Europe and Asia-Pacific. HUD’s International and Philanthropic Affairs Division works closely with U.S. Department of State staff at the U.S. Mission to the OECD in Paris. The U.S. Mission acts as a liaison between the United States and all OECD committees, working groups, and policy research projects. We work closely with our State Department counterparts on housing and urban development issues. For example, HUD provides annual input for OECD’s Global State of National Urban Policy report and Affordable Housing Database. We also provide reviews of OECD documents by subject-matter experts. HUD’s primary engagement with OECD centers on the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC) and its Working Party on Urban Policy.

The OECD Working Party on Urban Policy (WPURB) “is a unique practitioner-based forum that provides direction for the work of the OECD Urban Development program, oversees country assessments (peer reviews), and facilitates collaboration among senior officials seeking to address challenges facing cities and metropolitan areas across OECD countries.” The committee’s recent peer reviews include assessments of how OECD countries engage in national urban policy, affordable housing issues, and other urban development topics. WPURB meets biannually in Paris, although in recent years it has met virtually.

HUD’s delegate to WPURB is Kurt Usowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs at HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research. Dr. Usowski was recently selected as a vice chair of the WPURB. In addition, Dr. Usowski serves on the Steering Group for OECD’s Horizontal Project on Housing, a collaborative effort among multiple OECD policy committees, including RDPC, to address common housing affordability problems among OECD member states and develop policy responses.

Below is a list of recent OECD publications on topics of interest to policymakers:

• Mortgage finance across OECD countries
• Estimating regional house price levels: Methodology and results of a pilot project with Spain
• A Review of Local Government Finance in Israel: Reforming the Arnona System
• Innovation and Data Use in Cities: A Road to Increased Well-being
• Fiscal Federalism 2022: Making Decentralisation Work
• Firms Going Digital: Tapping Into the Potential of Data for Innovation
• Bridging digital divides in G20 countries
• Unlocking infrastructure investment: Innovative funding and financing in regions and cities
• Constraints and demands on public finances: Considerations of resilient fiscal policy
• Main Economic Indicators: Volume 2022, Issue 1
• Gender-Responsive COVID-19 Recovery: Strengthening Country Systems Through Official Development Assistance and Gender-Responsive Budgeting
• Is the German Middle Class Crumbling? Risks and Opportunities
• The E-Leaders Handbook on the Governance of Digital Government
• An updated OECD framework on drivers of trust in public institutions to meet current and future challenges
• OECD Framework and Good Practice Principles for People-Centred Justice
• The middle class in Emerging Asia: Champions for more inclusive societies?
• Enhancing regional convergence in the European Union
• The Annual Climate Action Monitor: Helping Countries Advance Towards Net Zero
• The Role of Telework for Productivity During and Post-Covid-19: Results From an OECD Survey Among Managers and Workers
• Regional Innovation in Piedmont, Italy: From Innovation Environment to Innovation Ecosystem
• Managing the distributional effects of environmental and climate policies: The narrow path for a triple dividend
• Eight Ways to Institutionalise Deliberative Democracy
• Case Studies on the Regulatory Challenges Raised by Innovation and the Regulatory Responses
• Private Philanthropy for Development, Second Edition: Data for Action
• Achieving Cross-Border Government Innovation: Surfacing Insights And Experimenting Across Borders
• Achieving Cross-Border Government Innovation: Governing Cross-Border Challenges

OECD also hosts events focused on economic development issues. A list of upcoming events can be found here.

For more information on upcoming events and publications, please contact Aaron Weaver at bradley.a.weaver@hud.gov. The International and Philanthropic Affairs Division coordinates OECD engagement.