OEEC

The Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) was an international organization established in 1948 to coordinate and oversee the distribution of Marshall Plan aid and to promote economic cooperation among Western European economies. It brought together the governments of Western Europe, with the United States and Canada participating in its work as partners in the reconstruction effort.

The OEEC's core tasks included evaluating aid plans, coordinating macroeconomic and structural reforms, promoting trade liberalization, and aligning policies related to investment, finance, and industrial development. It produced economic data, conducted surveys, and facilitated technical cooperation among member states to support postwar reconstruction, stabilization, and growth.

In the early 1950s the OEEC expanded its role beyond aid administration to broader economic policy coordination, contributing to the liberalization of trade and the harmonization of economic policies that underpinned European integration. The organization also provided a framework for measuring progress and sharing best practices among member economies.

In 1961 the OEEC was reorganized into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with a broader mandate that extended beyond Europe to include non-European members and a wider array of policy areas, such as education, science, and social policy. The OECD continued the OEEC’s tradition of economic analysis and policy coordination, while expanding its global scope.

Legacy: The OEEC played a pivotal role in coordinating relief and economic reform in postwar Europe and laid groundwork for European economic integration. Its successor, the OECD, built on its methodologies and data practices to promote international economic cooperation on a broader international stage.