This Selected Issues Paper states that Israel’s growth performance is impressive, with real GDP growing at a faster pace than many other OECD countries. The secular Jewish population enjoys a high level of living standards, whereas most Arab and Haredi people are poor, with poverty incidence...

This 2012 Article IV Consultation reports that Israel has emerged from the 2008–09 global crisis with strong economic growth, a resilient banking system, and unemployment at historic lows. Exports, at 40 percent of GDP, depend on global demand for high-technology products, such as electronics...

This paper reviews economic developments in Israel during the 1990s. The paper analyzes tax revenue shortfalls in 1995–97. The factors that have contributed to overruns in the budget deficit relative to its targeted level are examined. The analysis indicates that the main difficulty has...

Contents include: Budget deficit - concepts, measurements, and developments; definition, accounting basis, scope, and coverage. Structural reform issues: privatization; capital market reform; exchange and trade liberalization; other government intervention - investment subsidies and price...

This report analyzes the Israeli economy and its financial system in detail. A strong macroprudential framework is believed to be an effective tool in identifying in advance and extenuating threats that arise within the financial domain. It is also stated that the present fragile global economic...

Fiscal consolidation has become an important policy prescription for many emerging market countries (EMCs), particularly for the highly indebted ones. Although prudent fiscal policies tend to reduce vulnerabilities, their implementation is usually postponed. This paper represents, to the best of...

We propose a fiscal rule that fulfills a specific debt reduction objective while maintaining significant fiscal flexibility-two overarching concerns in Israel. Not unlike the Swiss ""debt brake,"" the rule incorporates an error-correction mechanism (ECM) through which departure from the debt...

This paper examines the role of exchange rate appreciation and the minimum wage in the relative decline of traditional sectors in Israel. It finds little evidence to indicate that real exchange rate appreciation is primarily responsible for this decline. Rather, the evidence indicates that...

Israel is on the threshold of a marked improvement in economic performance. Passage of a revised Bank of Israel law along the lines recommended by the Levin Commission and endorsed by the Bank of Israel should be achieved as soon as possible. Continued vigilance regarding real exchange rate...

This paper investigates the meaning of the bottom of target bands in inflation targeting regimes. It is argued that the design of lower limits on target bands, if not done with care, can lead to a lack of transparency, potentially confusing markets about how the authorities will react to a fall...