The OECD Risks that Matter (RTM) programme (http://oe.cd/rtm) was first launched as a key output of the 2018 OECD Social Policy Ministerial in Montréal, Canada under the supervision of the OECD’s Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee. Ministers called on the OECD to help governments better incorporate citizens’ opinions in the policy making process, better understand both real and perceived risks people face, and better adapt social protection to a world characterised by rapidly changing risks and opportunities. These priorities were outlined in the Social Policy Ministerial Statement, titled “Social Policy for Shared Prosperity: Embracing the Future” (https://www.oecd.org/social/ministerial/).
Results from RTM 2018 showed that people in even the wealthiest countries in the world were clearly worried about their health and economic security, and they wanted government to do more when providing social protection. Informed by these findings, the 2020 wave of RTM focused on economic insecurity and social service delivery during the pandemic.
The latest wave of RTM, which surveyed 27 000 respondents in 27 OECD countries at the end of 2022, offers an important update on people’s perceived risks and social protection preferences as we emerge from the COVID‑19 pandemic and face the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The timing of the survey means that RTM captures respondents’ experiences of the longer-term effects of COVID‑19, the economic recovery following the downturn in 2020, and during a time of rapidly increasing costs of living.
The current report presents an overview of general risk perceptions and preferences for government policies across OECD countries from the RTM 2022 survey. As in the 2018 and 2020 survey waves, most people want to see more government intervention in the areas of health, financial security, and support for older people in the form of pensions and long-term care.
The OECD Risks that Matter Survey continues to illustrate a widely-held truth: across OECD countries, many people rely on governments’ social safety nets to help ensure their economic security and give them the foundation to live healthy, productive and happy lives.