Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Books
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1961 to promote economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development among its member countries through evidence-based policy analysis and international cooperation.
Known for: 21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next
Books by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next
Some technological shifts arrive gradually, then suddenly redefine the rules of society. In 21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next, the OECD returns to its influential 1998 outlook and asks a harder question: what actually happened, what surprised us, and what should governments, industries, and citizens do next? The report tracks the dramatic rise of information and communication technologies, breakthroughs in biotechnology, the growing promise of nanotechnology, and the strategic urgency of cleaner, more secure energy systems. But its real value lies in showing that technology never advances in isolation. Innovation changes labor markets, reshapes competition, raises ethical dilemmas, stresses regulatory systems, and forces societies to rethink risk, equity, and sustainability. Because it comes from the OECD, the analysis carries unusual authority: it is grounded not in hype, but in cross-country policy expertise, economic evidence, and long-term institutional perspective. This makes the book especially relevant for readers who want more than trend spotting. It is a compact but powerful guide to understanding how emerging technologies move from scientific possibility to social reality—and why wise governance matters as much as invention itself.
Read SummaryKey Insights from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
A Decade That Rewrote Expectations
The most dangerous assumption in technology forecasting is that change will unfold in a straight line. One of the report’s central insights is that the period between 1998 and 2008 did not merely extend existing trends; it accelerated and recombined them in ways that exceeded most expectations. Glob...
From 21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next
ICT Became the Invisible Operating System
The most transformative technologies are often the ones we stop noticing. The report shows how information and communication technologies evolved from discrete tools into the invisible operating system of modern economic and social life. In the late 1990s, the internet was still commonly treated as ...
From 21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next
Biotechnology Expands Promise and Responsibility
When humans gain the power to engineer life more precisely, the scientific breakthrough is inseparable from an ethical one. The OECD highlights biotechnology as one of the most consequential frontiers of the early 21st century because it reaches across medicine, agriculture, industrial production, a...
From 21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next
Nanotechnology Magnifies Small-Scale Possibilities
Some revolutions begin where the naked eye cannot see. The report presents nanotechnology as a field with outsized potential because manipulating matter at extremely small scales can alter material properties in ways that are impossible at larger dimensions. Strength, conductivity, reactivity, and o...
From 21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next
Energy Innovation Means Security and Sustainability
Energy systems reveal whether a society can translate technological ambition into durable prosperity. In revisiting the technological agenda, the OECD emphasizes that energy is not just another sector; it is the enabling foundation of growth, industrial capacity, environmental stewardship, and geopo...
From 21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next
Innovation Accelerates Through Technological Convergence
Breakthroughs increasingly happen not within disciplines, but at their intersections. One of the most forward-looking arguments in the report is that the greatest transformative potential lies in convergence: information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, cognitive science, and advanced mate...
From 21st Century Technologies Revisited: What is Happening and What is Next
About Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1961 to promote economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development among its member countries through evidence-based policy analysis and international cooperation.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1961 to promote economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development among its member countries through evidence-based policy analysis and international cooperation.
Read Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s books in 15 minutes
Get AI-powered summaries with key insights from 1 book by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).