The global economic crisis has undermined trust in government. Today only four out of ten citizens in OECD countries say they have confidence in their national authorities. Not surprisingly, trust declined in the countries hit hardest by the crisis, such as Ireland, Greece, Slovenia and Portugal.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria welcomed today Liechtenstein’s announcement of plans to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and take further steps to increase transparency and international co-operation.

The OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Switzerland, to be published on Thursday 21 November 2013, assesses the country’s strong recent performance, its short-term outlook and the policy challenges it faces in the longer term. The Survey also looks at what Switzerland can do to meet environmental targets while maintaining energy security, to boost productivity and to better integrate women into the workforce.

Provisional estimates show that quarterly real gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area increased by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2013, the same rate as in the previous quarter.

The global economy is expected to continue expanding at a moderate pace over the coming two years, but policymakers must ensure that instability in financial markets and underlying fragility in some major economies are not allowed to derail growth, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.

Total health spending has fallen in one of three OECD countries between 2009 and 2011, with those hardest hit by the crisis most affected. This is a sharp reversal from the strong growth in the years prior to the crisis, according to a new OECD report.

International efforts to combat tax evasion and avoidance got a boost today as additional countries and jurisdictions agreed to join more than 60 other countries in tax co-operation through a key multilateral tax instrument during the first day of a global meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The international community has taken new steps to strengthen transparency and boost the comprehensive exchange of information between governments worldwide.

Recent reforms of pension systems have helped to contain the rise in future costs resulting from ageing populations and increasing life expectancy. Governments now need to do more to encourage people to work longer and save more for their retirement to ensure that benefits are adequate enough to maintain standards of living into old-age.

An 11-month investigation by the OECD in cooperation with the Greek authorities has identified a wide range of regulations and legal provisions that undermine competition.