This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments  of its member countries.

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation.The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments  respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the
information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies.
The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, theCzech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand,Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD.OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members.