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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The OECD civil servant: Caught between Scylla and Charybdis1

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ABSTRACT Civil servants in international secretariats are exposed to numerous, cross-cutting and, at times, conflicting pressures and expectations. The secretariat of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is no different. This study reveals a fundamental ‘misfit’ between external demands and internal dynamics in the OECD Secretariat. On one hand, the OECD analysts are employed on the basis of merit. Compared to the employees in the central administrations in many OECD member states, the OECD personnel are very competitive in terms of experience and academic skills. Thus, the OECD Secretariat can be seen as a veritable powerhouse of idea generation, data collection and analysis. On the other hand, the OECD member states seem to be reluctant to let the OECD do what it does best: produce bright, challenging and provocative ideas. In many regards, the OECD personnel are, in practice, being reduced to undertaking basic secretariat functions such as organizing meetings, writing summar...