Israel's Booming Economy

On 10 May, Israel was formally admitted as a member to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), despite a concerted effort by the Palestinian lobby to block its accession.

On 10 May, Israel was formally admitted as a member to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). It is telling that Israel's admission was unanimous from each of the 31 member states, despite a concerted effort by the Palestinian lobby to block its accession.

The reason Israel has been admitted into the OECD is because the organization has, rightly so, recognised the strength of Israel's economy, the ingenuity of her people and how much it has to offer the global community. It is perhaps also a sign that Israel is not as isolated as we instinctively tend to think.

Israel is one of the few OECD countries that navigated through the turbulent GFC unscathed (its banks for example, did not receive a single shekel from the government during the crisis). It is a leader in the IT, agriculture, biotechnology and environmental fields. Per capita, Israelis have the most tertiary degrees, and following the U.S., Israel has the most number of companies on the NASDAQ. Israel has also produced more start-ups than Japan, China and India and has the most number of patents approved in the world. Significantly, Israel is also one of the first nations to offer aid in situations of crisis, like in Haiti recently.

The OECD's decision is an acknowledgment that Israel has a successful, developed free market and fiscally responsible economy - much more than can be said of many of her neighbours, even those laden with oil riches.