OECD’s Assessment of the Norwegian Economy
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Published under: Stoltenberg's 2nd Government
Publisher: Ministry of Finance
Press release 8/2007
Press release | Date: 30/01/2007 | Last updated: 10/02/2007
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) presented its economic survey of Norway today. The survey gives a comprehensive analysis of the Norwegian economy.
Press release
No.: 8/2007
Date: 30.01.2007
Contact: Frank Vatne, telephone +47 22 24 41 31 / mobile phone +47 91 33 57 02, Runar Malkenes, telephone +47 22 24 41 09 / mobile phone +47 95 21 42 83
OECD’s Assessment of the Norwegian Economy 2007
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) presented its economic survey of Norway today. The survey gives a comprehensive analysis of the Norwegian economy.
- The OECDs assessment of the Norwegian economy serves to stimulate the debate on important economic policy issues, says the Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen. The Norwegian authorities are in broad agreement with the OECD regarding the main challenges for the Norwegian economy. These include the need for maintaining a proper management of our oil wealth and to carry out the pension reform and to secure high participation in the labour market.
The OECD appreciates the good economic performance in Norway. The organization finds that a good policy framework and sound macroeconomic management have been important in making Norway well prepared to take advantage of the impact of globalisation.
The OECD recommends that the use of petroleum revenues should be somewhat below the 4 per cent path in the medium term, starting with the 2008 budget. Reasons for this recommendation include the need to compensate past overshoots and put fiscal policy on a sustainable path, avoid the risk of overheating the economy and avoid inefficient spending.
The OECD is concerned about the high proportion of the Norwegian working population on sick leave, disability and other medical related benefit schemes. The OECD also stresses the importance of reforming the pension system.
The country survey also includes a special chapter on innovation and policies for an innovative economy. The OECD gives a generally positive assessment of the Norwegian institutional framework for innovation support, and finds that the existing schemes to allocate public support to innovation through research grants and tax credits are well designed. Still, the analysis of innovation measures shows that Norwegian firms are somewhat below the OECD average when it comes to producing innovations on their own. However, the firms’ ability to adapt existing technologies to boost their productive efficiency is more in line with that found in other countries.