OECD

OECD

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. It was established in 1961 and it is located in Paris, France. Thirty countries are members of the OECD (Mexico has been member since 18 May 1994). Thanks to this organization, governments from the different countries can compare policy experiences, they look for answers for problems they have in common (such as the economic crisis), and identify and coordinate domestic and international policies.

Its mission:
- Support sustainable economic growth
- Boost employment
- Raise living standards
- Maintain financial stability
- Assist other countries’ economic development
- Contribute to growth in world trade

The OECD helps governments to encourage prosperity and fight poverty through economic growth and financial stability by using its wealth of information.

The Council, the committees,  and the secretariat are the ones who drive the OECD’s work.
The Council is the decision-making power; the Council meets frequently at the level of permanent representatives to OECD and by consensus, the decisions are made.
Committees: the representatives of the members of the OECD meet in this committees to advance ideas and review progress in some policy areas like economics, trade, etc.
The OECD Secretariat is made up of about 2,500 staff (includes economists, lawyers, scientists, etc) and they support the activities of the committees.

http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36761791_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36761681_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36734103_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

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José Ángel Gurría

José Ángel Gurría is a Mexican economistand diplomat. He is the current secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since June 1, 2006.

Gurría graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and undertook postgraduate studies at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom and at Harvard University, in the United States. He served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1994–1999) and as Secretary of Finance (1999–2000) in the Ernesto Zedillo administration.

The OECD is an international organisation of 30 countries (list) that accept the principles of representative democracy and free-market economy. Most OECD members are high-income economies and are regarded as developed countries.

José Ángel Gurría in action

In the video provided, Gurría answers the question "Should hunger be high in the agenda for the G8?" He claims that if not for ethical and moral reasons, perhaps for their self interests, the large economies of the world should care about Food Programmes. He says hunger is determinant for national security, stability, and world peace.

LINK: http://www.wfp.org/videos/aspen-1

Regarding unemployment, Ángel Gurría says the global recession could cost 25 million people their jobs. The unemployment rate across the 30 most industrialised nations in the OECD was 8.5% for July, the highest since World War II. It was 5.6% at the end of 2007. Spain, the Irish Republic and the US were worst hit in the OECD, with unemployment rates rising by 9.7 percentage points, 7.8 percentage points and 4.5 percentage points respectively between the start of 2007 and July this year.

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8259032.stm

http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36734103_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Development

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