Closer collaboration between local employment, training, and economic development agencies to develop the right skills in jobseekers is crucial to support export-oriented growth in Northern Ireland, according to a new OECD report.

The governments of 86 countries have taken a key step towards preventing value added tax from weighing on trade while also safeguarding state revenues by endorsing the first internationally agreed framework for applying national VAT rules to cross-border transactions.

The Netherlands is gradually emerging from a double-dip recession with strengthened public finances and reforms on track to improve the labour and housing markets and the health care and pension systems. These reforms are paying off, says the OECD. Growth is expected to reach 1% this year and 1.3% in 2015.

The international community continues making progress toward greater cooperation to ensure effective information exchange in tax matters. The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes issued today 12 new reports that highlight action being taken by jurisdictions to implement the international standard for exchange of information on request.

The shares of the richest 1% in total pre-tax income have increased in most OECD countries over the past three decades. This rise is the result of the top 1% capturing a disproportionate share of overall income growth over that timeframe: up to 37% in Canada and 47% in the United States, according to new OECD analysis.

OECD countries accounted for around 50% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expressed in Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) in 2011 - the latest benchmark year - compared with about 60% in 2005, the previous benchmark year, according to new data released today by the International Comparison Program (ICP).

Inequality – now at its highest level in decades in many countries – undermines economic growth and well-being, says a new OECD report. But policies to tackle the widening gap between rich and poor will only succeed if they also look beyond income and address better access to high-quality education, health care and public infrastructure, it adds.

Japanese users of the Better Life Index (BLI) worry most about safety, Australians seek work-life balance, Latin Americans strive for better education, and Danes want to be happy – user feedback shows as the Index marks its third birthday.

Smarter planning for natural and man-made disasters that increases collaboration between countries and encourages households and businesses to take more responsibility would improve resilience and reduce future economic losses, a new OECD report says.

The Southeast Asia region, with more than half-a-billion people, is among the fastest-growing regions in the world but levels of growth and prosperity within the region remain uneven. Good policies need to be implemented in the region to maintain strong growth and make it more inclusive, boosting productivity, reducing poverty, and avoid falling into the “middle income trap”.