Twice a year, the OECD Economic Outlook analyses the major trends and examines the economic policies required to foster high and sustainable growth in member countries. Developments in major non-OECD economies are also evaluated. The present issue covers the outlook to end-2008. Together with a wide range of cross-country statistics, the Outlook provides a unique tool to keep abreast of world economic developments.

In addition to the themes featured regularly, this issue contains a special chapter entitled Has the rise in debt made households more vulnerable?, which addresses the following questions:

• What factors explain the observed rise in household debt in many OECD countries?
• Have asset price movements offset the impact on households’ financial positions?
• Are some sectors or groups particularly vulnerable to adverse asset market or income developments?

Editorial: Smooth Rebalancing?
I. General Assessment of the Macroeconomic Situation
-Overview
-Forces Acting and Risks
-Steady Growth Ahead
-Challenges for Macroeconomic Policy
-Annex I.1: Gauging Liquidity Abundance
-Annex I.2: The OECD Synthetic Indicator of Risk Premiums
-Annex I.3. Have Real House Prices Peaked? A Probit Approach
II. Developments in Individual OECD Countries and Brazil, China, India and the Russian Federation
III. Has the Rise in Debt Made Households More Vulnerable?
-Introduction and Summary
-The Debt Run-Ups: Broad Trends and some Underlying Causes
-Macroeconomic Measures of Vulnerability
-Evidence from Micro Data
-Statistical Annex
Special Chapter in Recent Issues of the Economic Outlook
Statistical Annex
-Real GDP
-Nominal GDP
-Real Private Consumption Expenditure
-Real Public Consumption Expenditure
-Real Total Gross Fixed Capital Formation
-Real Gross Private Non-Residential Fixed Capital Formation
-Real Gross Private Residential Fixed Capital Formation
-Real Total Gross Demand
-Foreign Balance Contributions to Changes in Real GDP
-Compensation per Employee in the Private Sector
-Labour Productivity for the Total Economy
-Unemployment Rates: Commonly Used Definitions
-Standardised Unemployment Rates
-Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment
-GDP Deflators
-Private Consumption Deflators
-Consumer Price Indices
-Oil and Other Primary Commodity Markets
-Employment Rates, Participation Rates and Labour Force
-Potential GDP, Employment and Capital Stock
-Structural Unemployment and Unit Labour Costs
-Household Savings Rates
-Gross National Savings
-General Government Total Outlays
-General Government Total Tax and Non-Tax Receipts
-General Government Financial Balances
-Cyclically Adjusted General Government Balances
-General Government Primary Balances
-Cyclically Adjusted General Government Primary Balances
-General Government Net Debt Interest Payments
-General Government Gross Financial Liabilities
-General Government Net Financial Liabilities
-Short-Term Interest Rates
-Long-Term Interest Rates
-Export Volumes of Goods and Services
-Import Volumes of Goods and Services
-Export Prices of Goods and Services
-Import Prices of Goods and Services
-Competitive Positions: Relative Consumer Prices
-Competitive Positions: Relative Unit Labour Costs
-Export Performance for Total Goods and Services
-Shares in World Exports and Imports
-Geographical Structure of World Trade Growth
-Trade Balances for Goods and Services
-Investment Income, Net
-Total Transfers, Net
-Current Account Balances
-Current Accounts Balances as a % of GDP
-Structure of Current Accounts Balances of Major World Regions
-Export Market Growth in Goods and Services
-Import Penetration
-Quarterly Demand and Output Projections
-Quarterly Price, Cost and Unemployment Projections
-Contributions to Changes in Real GDP in OECD Economies
-Household Wealth and Indebtedness
-Central Government Financial Balances
-Maastricht Definition of General Government Gross Public Debt
-Monetary and Credit Aggregates: Recent Trends