The Economy of Israel [antikvár]

FOREWORD This is a condensed description of the economy of Israel in its development since the foundation of the State, and particularly as of 1965. Israel is interesting to the non-Israeli mainly for characteristics distant from, or—it would be better to say— far broader than, economics: the absorption of hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants; self-defence under arms against seemingly overwhelming odds; such social experiments as the kibbutz; historical and religious geography, and the pulse of the people. The economist who does not keep himself oriented to this background, who deals with Israel as if it were any country of this size, these natural resources, this location, this demography, runs the risk of irrelevancy. While it is not possible to be an Israeli economist without taking full account of Israel, it is possible to be interested in Israel without knowing anything of her economy. However, we think that it helps. The major sources for this booklet are described at the end. The conclusions of the original analysts have sometimes been modified; furthermore, in bringing the analyses up to date I have aimed at quick and rough accuracy rather than the greater precision which is possible only with a lag of several years' time. Events, our knowledge of events, and our attitudes toward them have so changed in the three years since the first edition of this booklet was written that much of the text had to be completely re-done. Avner Hovne {Mr. Hovne is Economic Adviser to the Minister of Labour. This booklet does not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the Ministry.)