At the time, Asian economies were also emerging rapidly, based on a complex cocktail of export promotion, strong state intervention and non-democratic politics.

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, a number of these Asian economies were ‘economically qualified’ for OECD membership in terms of GDP per capita. But politically, there was never any suggestion that they might join.

Politics has always trumped economics at the OECD, even though economics is its core business. In the 1990s, for example, four central European countries were rushed in as members (following Mexico’s 1994 membership), while they were still fledgling market economies and democracies. They were the lost sheep of the North Atlantic community, having been occupied by the Soviets, and Western Europe and the US strongly supported their membership ambitions.

But Korea’s membership was very much a different case in point. It was economically better qualified, with a GDP per capita more than 60 per cent higher than the other five new members. It was perhaps even more qualified politically. Nevertheless, it is widely recognised that the OECD went soft on Mexico and the central European countries during the membership process, and went much tougher on Korea.

By 2007 when it came to inviting other countries to join the OECD, none of the most interesting possible members — Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa — had expressed interest in joining. They were offered and accepted a program of ‘Enhanced Engagement’, which was designed to prepare them for possible future membership.

Today the OECD finds itself with 34 members, with some 24 from Europe and only two from Asia. In contrast, the WTO’s list of the world’s 34 leading exporters includes 10 Asian economies. Many of these Asian countries are also internationally significant in areas such as investment, finance and carbon emissions — and school students from Shanghai now outperform all OECD countries in the organisation’s Programme for International Student Assessment, which measures literacy, numeracy and scientific ability. But while the Enhanced Engagement countries participate in a wide array of OECD activities, none of them are interested in membership. A very senior OECD official once described this program as a ‘one-way love affair’.

So the OECD, which has sometimes called itself a ‘hub of globalisation’, seems destined to have a membership which accounts for an ever-declining share of the world economy. It stands at a crossroads, bypassed by Asian-led globalisation at a time when the G20 has more member countries from Asia than Europe.

What are the main problems and solutions?

Even though it is essentially an economic organisation, the OECD has retained a strong North Atlantic political identity. This is partly because it is governed by foreign ministries and also because of the US’ dominant role. And as the recent UN vote on Libya showed, there are still vast political gulfs between the Enhanced Engagement and OECD countries.

New members are also forced to accept and align their policies with a now vast array of instruments and conditions they had no role in creating. From an OECD point of view, this means becoming a ‘responsible stakeholder’. From an emerging country point of view, it means being a ‘rule-taker’, that is, swallowing an OECD agenda now increasingly questioned in light of recent financial crises.  The OECD also has too many European members.  Something must be done about this ‘eurocentricity’, such as establishing constituencies, to improve the organisation’s effectiveness.

Overall, the OECD must adapt much more radically to the changed world and offer a more flexible and pragmatic approach to the application of its values and instruments through its membership. It must then launch a major campaign to recruit the Enhanced Engagement countries as members. The OECD Secretariat and its membership have not yet managed to convince emerging Asian economies of the organisation’s manifest benefits. But the OECD is still in many ways the best idea in town, with its excellent analysis and opportunities for policy dialogue. And emerging Asia has much to learn from the OECD experience in many areas, like developing social safety nets, economic upgrading, dealing with ageing populations, and public-sector reform.

As well as revitalising the OECD, this strategy could contribute to improving relations between the two major blocs which divide the world today — the OECD countries and the Enhanced Engagement countries.

John West is Editor-in-Chief at MrGlobalization.  This article is based on his paper ‘The OECD and Asia: Worlds Apart in Today’s Globalization’, published in Revista de Economia Mundial No. 28 (2011), 67–92.