OECD Podcasts

Guest: Frida Grundhal, Project Co-ordinator, Yalla Trappan. In this edition of OECD Podcasts, Katrina Baker and Shayne MacLachlan are Joined by Frida Grundahl from Yalla Trappen; a groundbreaking social enterprise dedicated to creating job opportunities and fostering financial independence for Sweden’s foreign-born women. Statistically, foreign-born women are said to be one of the most distant fro...

In this edition of OECD Podcasts, Shayne MacLachlan from the OECD Centre of Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities is joined by Jesse Shapins from Urban Partners. Together they discuss how Urban Partners’ involvement in projects on local, municipal and national levels can help to achieve climate action and social sustainability. In their conversation, they cover the concept of green and thrivi...

Young entrepreneurs have a huge role to play as slow productivity growth, climate change, demographic change and the digital transition come together in a perfect storm for many economies. The new OECD-EU “Missing Entrepreneurs” report finds that if youth (18-29 years old) participated in early-stage entrepreneurship at the same rate as “core age” men (30-49 years old), there would be an additiona...

According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 100 million people were forcibly displaced in 2022. With Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, Europe has seen the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War with more than 6 million people fleeing Ukraine. This is a big challenge for refugee protection and reception systems. Clearly something public services cannot stem on their own. This...

Digitalisation in procurement comes with a variety of opportunities, but also challenges. Can digital resources such as artificial intelligence, e-procurement and data systems improve the ways governments obtain services and goods? This podcast is the third and final episode of a series in collaboration with the MAPS Initiative, Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems. Edwin Lau, OECD, Head...

As urban heat waves become more frequent and severe, meet the leaders on the frontlines of responding to extreme heat in cities. The Chief Heat Officers for Santiago, Chile, and Athens, Greece, discuss their innovative strategies to spread awareness of the dangers of heat, keep vulnerable residents safe in scorching temperatures, and create more green spaces to cool their cities down. Guests: Cris...

Extreme heat is creating major challenges for cities. The urban “heat island” effect traps cities in a bubble of scorching temperatures, which endangers lives and puts pressure on emergency services and infrastructure. Often the poorest neighbourhoods bear the worst consequences of rising heat waves. Andrew Lombardi discusses how heat exacerbates inequalities in cities and breaks down what cities...

In 2015, the United Nations released the Sustainable Development Goals to help create a more sustainable and equitable world. The 17 goals included procurement systems, calling governments to procure in a more sustainable manner. But how does this actually work? How can governments include sustainability in their procurement systems? And can sustainable public procurement help mitigate the climate...

Over the past few decades, as trade and investment barriers have lessened, and transport and communication costs have declined, multinational enterprises or MNEs have become an increasingly important fixture in the global economy. As these entities begin to represent a larger share of global economic activity, the importance of monitoring them and understanding their behaviour has never been great...

When governments need to buy anything from office supplies to infrastructure, the process is more complex than your ordinary shopping trip. How do we know that governments are using good judgement when purchasing items or awarding contracts? Who advises governments on these processes to ensure that they are transparent, efficient, and cost effective? That's where MAPS, the methodology for assessin...

Retaining talent of all ages has become one of the most important issues facing employers today. How are people 55 to 64 faring in today’s labour market and how can we build an effective, multi-generational workforce? The OECD’s Shruti Singh and AARP’s Lona Choi-Allum explore what needs to be done to ensure that everyone's talents and skills are put to best use. Guests: Lona Choi-Allum, Senior Res...

Bertrand Piccard est un « savanturier » psychiatre et explorateur. Il a fait le premier tour du monde en ballon en 1999, puis en avion solaire avec l'avion Solar Impulse en 2015-2016. En tant que Président de la Fondation Solar Impulse, il est aussi un « explorateur de solutions » face au plus grand défi de notre temps : le changement climatique. Après avoir survolé la terre, il travaille à sa sau...

Is the current state of the modern man something to be concerned about? Does childhood well-being vary greatly between boys and girls? This podcast explores those questions and more with Richard Reeves, author of "Of Men and Boys Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why It Matters and What to Do About It" and Olivier Thevenon, OECD economist and the Observatory on Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainabili...

L'Enfance est une période critique au cours de laquelle les individus développent un grand nombre de compétences nécessaires pour s'épanouir plus tard dans la vie. La promotion du bien-être des enfants n'est pas seulement une fin importante en soi, mais elle est également essentielle afin de préserver la prospérité et la soutenabilité de l'économie pour les générations futures. Cependant, le bien-...

The social economy can help boost prospects for women… and men. One of the big problems in tackling gender equality is breaking down gender stereotypes that drive women into what have often been called “pink collar jobs”. These are jobs like childcare, education, personal and household services, plus social work. Nitya Nangalia from SEWA Bharat and Natalie Laechelt from the OECD unpack the role of...

As technology continues to advance, we're more connected than ever. But with more benefits also come more risks. How can we ensure that we are protected from digital threats? In December 2022, the OECD released its Digital Security Recommendations to help keep individuals, businesses and governments secure online. Audrey Plonk, head of Digital Economy Policy division for the OECD's Science, Techno...

In 2022, OECD Podcasts did not shy away from the hard issues plaguing society today. Misinformation, domestic violence and burnout are only a few of the topics discussed this year with a variety of experts. Let's take a listen to some of the best podcast interviews done this year that you may have missed. Host: Robin Allison Davis Producer: Samia Basille Guests: Margaret Johnston Clarke, Ingrid Ba...

The last two years have seen unprecedented disruptions in global supply chains, brought about by a perfect storm of causes, with wide geopolitical implications that look to continue well into the future. How prepared were the public and private sectors? And what have we learned? We speak with Marion Jansen on how to make supply chains more resilient. Host: Christopher Mooney Guest: Marion Jansen,...

For almost three years now, the tourism sector has been going through a really tough time. It was smashed by the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions. After hitting 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals in 2019, international tourist arrivals worldwide plummeted by over 70%. It rebounded strongly in 2022 driven by pent up demand, household savings and the easing of travel restrictions –...

Young people are increasingly prioritising careers with positive social and environmental impacts. Globally, two-in-five young people see social impact as one of the deciding factors for their career choices. At the same time, almost 50% of young people in OECD countries would prefer to be self- employed rather than work as employees. Young people are seizing opportunities and leading social enter...

Inequalities not only affect our lives, but also the lives of our children in generations after us. How can we ensure that our children have more opportunities than we have, that generations after us are rising in society and not limited by sticky floors? Romina Boarini, director of the OECD Centre on Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity, helps us understand social mobility,...

Misinformation and disinformation have become some of the biggest threats to democracy in the 21st century. It's everywhere from stories of election fraud to vaccines. How can we combat misinformation and disinformation while still protecting freedom of speech? What can governments do to curb myths and disinformation? This podcast is the second in a series on Reinforcing Democracy in partnership w...

With temperatures rising and natural disasters occurring more frequently, the climate crisis is on everyone's minds. Countries have come together in an effort to address climate change via international cooperation. However, the climate crisis is worsening. Calls for concrete policy action are deafening; but to generate world class policy advice, we need world class evidence. The OECD compiles and...

For a country to take on the most critical problems of our day, like climate change, it needs its people to be engaged and committed. Yet, as countries recover from the biggest health, economic and social crisis in decades, the trust citizens have in their government is under strain. How can this trust be won back? What drives public trust? How can policymakers build people's confidence in their g...

While the European Union is developing the Data Act, the Data Governance Act and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, the issue of the data governance remains at the fore. In today’s podcast, we will try to answer some of these questions: What are the policy options for Europe’s data governance framework, especially with regard to AI, that align with a data justice perspective? How to foster a po...