OECD Economic Surveys France 2017 [Paperback]

GDP is set to grow fairly strongly in 2017-18, supported by private consumption and investment. The labor market has started to improve.GDP is set to grow fairly strongly in 2017-18, supported by private consumption and investment. The labor market has started to improve. However, productivity gains are too low to sustain social protection, high-quality public services and rising incomes in the long run. Recent reforms have strengthened competition in some services sectors, but it remains weak in others. Along with high and complex taxes, this weighs on employment and productivity growth. Poverty is low overall. Yet, many youngsters and low-skilled workers are excluded from the labor market, especially when they live in poor neighborhoods.? Health-care quality is high, but insufficient support for prevention, a lack of coordination among providers and generous coverage of expenditures for most households result in excessive use and spending. A long-term strategy is needed to reduce public expenditure without endangering social protection so as to allow lower taxes with sustainable public finances. Increasing the focus on infrastructure and education spending for the poor would improve equity. This Survey also makes recommendations to foster an inclusive development of skills and employment that will lead to stronger productivity growth and higher living standards.The OECD is an international organization that consists of 30 Member countries from the developed world that accept the principles of representative democracy and free market economy. It originated in 1948 as the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) to help administer the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Later its membership was extended to non-European states, and in 1961 it was reformed into the OECD. The organization provides a forum where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and co-ordinate l5