Improving the business environment and boosting skills are key to reviving economic growth, OECD says | Report

The OECD released a new report on April 9, 2026, in Paris, calling for urgent structural reforms to revive economic growth prospects worldwide, according to a press release by the organization. Economic growth is under pressure from short-term uncertainty linked to geopolitical tensions and longer-term challenges including low productivity growth, weak business investment, skills shortages, and population ageing. The report argues there is an urgent need to reignite the structural drivers of growth. Countries must remain competitive and resilient in a rapidly transforming global landscape.

The first edition of Foundations for Growth and Competitiveness provides an evidence-based tool for countries to implement productivity-enhancing structural reforms. It covers 48 countries and builds on a comprehensive new indicator database. The initiative identifies three broad structural reform priority areas: enabling factors, market incentives and allocative efficiency, and targeted and sectoral measures. Individual country notes help policymakers identify bottlenecks and design reform packages tailored to country circumstances.

OECD analysis suggests that AI could raise annual labour productivity growth across OECD countries by between 0.7 and 1.2 percentage points per year over the next decade, depending on the speed of adoption. One of the main barriers to productive AI adoption is the lack of workers with adequate skills. The skills agenda should focus on adapting curricula of academic and vocational education, expanding access to lifelong learning, and deepening links between universities and labour markets. Addressing excessive barriers to firm entry and restrictive product market regulations would boost firm dynamism. Reducing barriers to participation for women, older workers, and other underrepresented groups is also identified as essential.

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann stressed the urgency of action.

Reversing three decades of a declining economic growth trajectory is essential to securing and sustaining meaningful gains in household incomes and living standards,” he said. “The priorities are clear: improve the business environment, drive innovation, and invest in skills and employment.”

He added that getting this right will unlock stronger growth and competitiveness, cushion the fiscal pressures of ageing populations, and position countries to harness the full potential of AI and other transformative technologies. OECD Chief Economist Stefano Scarpetta noted that the objective of regulatory reforms should be to ensure that competition, openness, and mobility allow innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish.

The report identifies innovation policy, energy security, and the green energy transition as areas where well-designed, targeted interventions can address market failures. Public support for research and development, when combined with strong human capital and competitive markets, can amplify productivity gains. Energy market reforms that reduce entry barriers and encourage investment in renewables and efficiency strengthen both resilience and competitiveness.