The world's developed countries are experiencing the worst recession since the early 1980s, said a Tuesday report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

"Many OECD economies are in or are on the verge of a protracted recession of a magnitude not experienced since the early 1980s," Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, OECD's chief economist, said in the report.

OECD members will see their economies contract by 0.4 percent in 2009, against the 1.4 percent growth predicted for 2008, the Paris-based organization said in its semi-annual economic outlook.

OECD members will enter recession in the third quarter of this year and experience four consecutive quarters of negative growth of gross domestic product (GDP) until the third quarter of 2009, it said.

As a result, the U.S. economy will contract by 0.9 percent next year, while that of the eurozone and Japan will shrink by 0.6 percent and 0.1 percent respectively, the OECD said.

Britain, which is set to bear the brunt of the economic crisis among OECD members, will see its GDP slump by 1.1 percent, followed by a negative growth of 1.0 percent in Italy, 0.9 percent in Spain and 0.4 percent in France, it said.

The OECD says it supports active fiscal rescue measures, including tax cuts, provided they are targeted and temporary. It also advocates government moves to increase spending to alleviate the impact of the unfolding financial crisis.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2008)