Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development

Topic: Fostering Economic Resilience in the Era of Global Financial Fragmentation: Circumventing Systemic Risks and Building on Regional Cooperation

In a contemporary economy, subjected to and easily swayed by the ever-escalating geopolitical tensions and international crises, such as COVID-19, it is only natural that governments would opt for protectionism and the increasing use of cross-border restrictions on national security grounds. This economic splintering, a recourse towards more de-globalized financial models, undoubtedly threatens economic prosperity.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development embarked on this campaign almost a decade ago, publishing the “OECD G20 Policy Paper on Economic Resilience and Structural Policies”, a comprehensive document highlighting how structural policies are a key ingredient to both ex-ante and ex-post economic resilience. While, indeed, significant progress has been made, to the point that the latest OECD’s Economic Outlook projects a resilient global economy for the two upcoming years and the ease of inflation, the situation, still remains quite volatile. The looming threat of economic destabilization in a fragmented global economy provides the perfect stepping stone for the further enhancement of resilience and the fostering of regional cooperation.

Starting from systemic shocks and strategies to mitigate the impact of global crises (geopolitical rifts, pandemics, climate change), OECD’s mandate provides a multi-faceted arsenal of measures and policies to explore the role of digitalization in enhancing economic resilience, achieve supply chain and inclusive resilience. The topic should revolve around the role of the OECD as a coordinator of regional and multilateral cooperation, with due respect to the diversity of regional economic systems.