What is the OECD?

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that fosters policymaking cooperation between member, and many non-member, countries. It does this through the exchange of expertise, policy coordination, the identification and dissemination of best practice, and setting of international standards. It has 37 members, mainly middle- and high-income western market economies, including the UK. It was originally created — as the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) — to administer the European Recovery Plan, also known as the Marshall Plan, following the second world war.