AbstractA research project designed to help governments place their day-to-day actions in a context that is both long-term and world-wide, OECD'sInterfutures(more formally entitled a study of ‘the future development of advanced industrial societies in harmony with that of deveoping countries’) was launched two years ago.Intended to relate short and medium-term concerns to the long-term outlook, the Interfutures research project explores the problems which will face OECD countries between now and the year 2000. This means examining not only the likely course of events within these countries and in the developing world but also the interactions between the two, the aim being to assess the importance of structural changes which will affect the economy of the world as a whole.Eighteen countries are taking part in this project, which was initiated by Japan; Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition the project is given financial support by the European Communities.