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Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 1:00 PM UTC

OECD chief: Fight complacency on fixing economies

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Topics: From the Wires,

OECD chief: Fight complacency on fixing economiesSecretary-General of the OECD, Angel Gurria, right, gestures as he speaks at the Open Forum, while Spanish Economy Minister, Louis de Guindos Jurado looks on, on the sideline of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)(Credit: AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — One economic expert at Davos says there’s no rest for the weary: governments must not back off from making unpopular reforms that will help their economies grow faster.

Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, says “we have to keep fighting, keep pedaling” to improve educational opportunities, labor law and tax codes to promote long-term growth.

Gurria said Saturday that central banks already have cut interest rates and governments can’t afford stimulus spending as they try to reduce debts.

He told The Associated Press at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the key was to focus on structural reforms which made countries’ economies and labor markets more competitive.

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