International Documents Collection

OECD Resources at Northwestern University:

This page describes the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) collection of the Gov Info department at Northwestern University Library. It provides some instruction for accessing OECD resources. "The OECD is a group of industrialised countries sharing a commitment to market economy, democracy and respect for human rights" (CCNM, p.3). It produces statistics and publications that are important for those researching the economies, social sciences and technology sectors of OECD countries. Gov Info receives all OECD books and serials in print and subscribes to SourceOECD, a web site of full-text books, serials and statistical packages.

Contents

1. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
   1. Overview
   2. The OECD web site
2. Gov Info's OECD collection
   1. Books, serials and cd-roms
   2. SourceOECD
3. OECD statistics
   1. Converting physical formats and file formats
   2. Statistics in print
   3. Statistics in electronic format

Overview

1. 30 member countries (currently)
   1. OECD Member Countries. This links to the OECD web site, which includes links to full-text documents.
   2. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech 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.
   3. The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD.
   4. The OECD works with 70 non-member economies (countries). The Centre for Co-operation with Non-Members describes some of this work.
2. Key activities
   1. The OECD promotes economic growth and stability; establishes policies regarding employment, education and social cohesion; promotes trade and international investment; promotes sustainable development; sets standards for governance; explores best use of new technologies, advances development co-operation; and participates in co-operative relations with non-members.
   2. Some ways in which the OECD performs these activities are by hosting forums, setting policies and standards, gathering and producing statistics, researching, and publishing.
   3. The OECD does not dispense money.
3. Operation of the OECD
   1. Bilingual - French and English
   2. Governing body is the Council of Permanent Representatives, permanent representatives and ministers meet.
      • Legal Instruments of the OECD
      • OECD Decisions, Recommendations and Other Instruments in Force
   3. Committees - there are over 150 specialized committees (CCNM p.4), member countries meet and exchange information.
   4. The Secretariat supports committees and undertakes analytical research, the Secretary-General directs the Secretariat and chairs the Council.
   5. The OECD is funded by Member countries, with national contributions based on the size of each country's economy (Overview). Countries may make separate voluntary contributions for particular programmes or activities" (CCNM p.4).
4. Timeline
   • 1947 - General Marshall proposed his plan at an address at Harvard University
   • 1948 - Organisation for European Economic Co-operation created. Its purpose was to continue work on a joint recovery program and distribute aid.
   • 1949 - OEEC moves into its HQ, the Château de la Muette, Paris
   • 1961 - OEEC succeeded by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The OECD web site

• The OECD home page is http://www.oecd.org/.

General Secretariat divisions

Each division of the OECD web site links to information, including documentation and statistics, about that division.

• Centre for Co-operation with Non-Members
• Development Co-operation Directorate
• Directorate for Education, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs
• Directorate for Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs
• Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries
• Directorate for Public Affairs and Communications
• Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry
• Economics Department
• Environment Directorate
• Executive Directorate
• Public Management Service
• Statistics Directorate
• Territorial Development Service
• Trade and Agriculture Directorate

• Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
• Development Centre
• European Conference of Ministers of Transport
• International Energy Agency
• Nuclear Energy Agency
• Sahel and West Africa Club

For many publications, the OECD web site links to information about how to purchase the publications, rather than providing free full-text. Patrons need not purchase OECD materials. Gov Info purchases all OECD books and periodicals. Search NUcat for print materials, SourceOECD for full-text on line.

• Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• OECD, Country / Territory focused documentation
• OECD, Documentation
• OECD Member Economies, Documents - Country Surveys/Reviews/Guides
  The full-text of the entire Economic Survey is not available on the OECD web site. However, the record for the survey often links to the full-text of the assessment, and a related Policy Brief.
• OECD Observer the full-text of the OECD's current events magazine.
• OECD Policy Briefs the full-text of the OECD's analyses, usually about 10 pages long, of economic and social issues being addressed at the OECD.

Books and serials in print

Gov Info purchases print copies of all OECD books and serials. In addition, the department subscribes to SourceOECD, a web site that provides access to the full-text of all OECD books and serials, and many statistical databases.

Collection description

• The OECD collection contains books and periodicals from the post-war years to the present.
• Most OECD materials circulate; please inquire at the Gov Info reference desk.
• Frequently used or invaluable resources are shelved in the Gov Info reference room; these materials do not circulate.
• Statistical methodologies and oversized multi-volume sets of statistics are shelved in the Gov Info Reference section; these materials do not circulate.

NUcat records link directly to the full-text of materials that are available through SouceOECD. Open the NUcat record, and click on the link labeled, "Link to resource(s) by clicking here."

To search by subject or keyword:
• Use a "Guided Search."
• Include the phrase "organisation for economic co-operation and development" in your search. (note: Organisation is spelt with an s. Co-operation has a hyphen)
• Include subjects or keywords in your search.

SourceOECD

Gov Info purchases access to all materials available via SourceOECD, a web site of full-text OECD books and serials, and many statistical databases. For assistance with this resource, please contact the International Documents Librarian by phone (1-847-467-3679) or e-mail (l-takacs@northwestern.edu), or simply stop by the Gov Info department.

Accessing SourceOECD

• SourceOECD is accessible via the Northwestern University network (NUnet) at http://new.sourceoecd.org
• Members of the Northwestern community using computers not on NUnet must enable proxy access.
• Or, while using a computer on NUnet, register with "MySourceOECD" (linked from the SourceOECD home page) to register a password that will enable off-site access.

Accessing books and periodicals via SourceOECD

• SourceOECD works erratically. If you find information you need, save it. You may not be able to access it later.
• The full-text of books and periodicals is available in PDF format.
• From the menu bar at the top of every page, choose "Books," "Periodicals," or "Statistics."
• Books are grouped into 20 themes: Agriculture & Food, Development, Education & Skills, Emerging Economies, Employment, Energy, Environment & Sustainable Development, Finance & Investment/Insurance & Pensions, General Economics & Future Studies, Governance, Industry, Services & Trade, National Accounts & Historical Statistics, Nuclear Energy, Science & Information Technology, Social Issues/Migration/Health, Statistics Sources and Methods, Taxation, Territorial Economy, Transition Economies, and Transport.
• Northwestern University Library's subscription provides access to all the materials the OECD makes available on SourceOECD.
  • SourceOECD uses smiley-face and frowney-face icons to label a patron's right to access individual issues of periodicals.
  • For resources marked with a frowney-face, SourceOECD advices users to "speak to your librarian or purchase e-books at a discount from our online bookshop." Patrons need not purchase these materials. Since our subscription covers all materials, the fact that a particular item is unavaiable is due to some problem at SourceOECD. Check NUcat for the print copy of the item.
• You cannot see a list of books, periodicals and statistics grouped by theme.

The OECD produces reputable, comparable statistics in all areas of its work. Since its inception, gathering statistics and producing analytical results have been a key part of the OECD's work. "The OECD's way of working consists of a highly effective process that begins with data collection and analysis and moves on to collective discussion of policy" (Overview). The OECD does not often include statistics about non-member countries in its publications. It is not unusual for patrons who require time-series data to use statistics from OECD publications in print, on SourceOECD, and the OECD web site.

LexisNexis Statistical indexes OECD publications

Statistics in print

• Most OECD publications contain statistics.
  • Books include tables and charts in addition to text.
  • Many OECD publications are compilations of statistics. Most of these are periodicals published monthly, quarterly or annually.
• Gov Info purchases all OECD books and periodicals.
• Many statistical publications are in the Gov Info reference section.

Statistics in electronic format

The OECD web site

1. The OECD web site, at www.oecd.org, provides full-text access to statistics, definitions of terms, and methodologies.
2. In some instances, it seems that the OECD web site contains information that is not available elsewhere.
3. Browse for statistics using both these methods. Each yields different results.
   1. Browse by theme:
      1. Choose a theme from the list along the left side of the OECD home page.
      2. From the theme home page, click on "Statistics" in the menu bar at the top of the page.
   2. Statistics portal
      1. From the Statistics Portal home page, click on the links to the OECD themes. These are along the right-hand side.
      2. The Statistics Portal, Non-member Economies is a source for non-member statistics.
4. Glossary of Statistical Terms
5. OECD Member Countries. Listed under each country is a link to "useful web sites." These sites include links to the statistical agencies of the member country.

Statistics via SourceOECD

• SourceOECD is accessible via NUnet at http://new.sourceoecd.org
• Members of the Northwestern community using computers not on NUnet must enable proxy access.
• Or, while using a computer on NUnet, register with "MySourceOECD" (linked from the SourceOECD home page) to register a password that will enable off-site access.
• SourceOECD provides access to statistical databases that can be exported to Beyond 20/20's format, Microsoft Excel, and comma delimited format.
• The OECD Databases available in SourceOECD are:

  Agriculture & Food
  Bank Profitability
  Economic Outlook
  Education at a Glance
  Employment and Labour Markets
  Globalisation
  ITCS International Trade by Commodity
  Indicators for Industry and Services
  Industrial Structure
  Institutional Investors
  Insurance
  International Development
  International Direct Investment
  International Migration
  International Trade and Competitiveness
  Main Economic Indicators
  Monthly International Trade
  National Accounts
  OECD Health Data
  Revenue
  STAN Industry Structural Analysis
  Science and Technology
  Services
  Social Expenditure
  Statistical Compendium
  Taxing Wages
  Telecommunications
  

• To access statistics please see the Finding Statistics on SourceOECD guide.
• The "Books" and "Periodicals" areas of SourceOECD contain pdf. files of statistical tables.