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A Jewel of a Nation on the Mediterranean

[Weekly Standard] Willy Stern - Israel today is a vibrant jewel of a nation on the eastern Mediterranean. Tel Aviv looks like San Diego or Barcelona. In the fourth quarter last year, when the global economy went all to hell, Israel's GDP was only off 0.5%, the best figure in the industrialized world. (The United States was off 6.3% and Japan 12.1%.) What's the secret? Ayelet Nir, chief economist at IBI, an Israeli investment firm, lists six major reasons Israel's economy has done well of late: a very conservative banking system - without most of the problematic financial instruments found in the U.S., no mortgage crisis, a current account surplus since 2003, negligible inflation, prudent governmental fiscal policy, and healthy integration into the world economy. Israel produces more science papers per capita than any other country. Israel lags behind only the U.S. in number of companies listed on NASDAQ. 24% of Israel's workforce has a university degree; only the U.S. and Holland have a higher number. Israel leads the world in scientists and technicians per capita. Why has this produced a tech boom? Haim Harari, retired president of the Weizmann Institute of Science, says: "If the science Olympics were held in Europe, we'd be second to none. I claim our success has to do with the national character of Israelis. The Israeli - or Jewish - character is ambitious, chaotic, undisciplined, unorganized, often brilliant, and we think we know better than everybody else all the answers. These are the exact same skills you need in a high-tech start-up." An alternative theory, espoused by many serious Israelis, is that the prototypical pushy Jewish mother is driving the high-tech boom. Study hard! Make something of your life!
2009-07-24 06:00:00
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