Monday, June 16, 2014

Things that take too long

I'm on a train heading up to the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Together with JDC's CEO, Alan Gill, I'm going to speak at a number of events to thank the Alliance for their support of the Joint and our partnership in places like Poland and Afula. But, train journeys being what they are ... my mind got wandering to things that take a long time. And sometimes, too long.

My colleagues at JDC's macroeconomic research institute, the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, have a fascinating review on labor productivity in Israel. One of their findings is how long it takes to start a business. The OECD average is 13 days. The US is 6 days.

Israel ... is 34 days. Over a month to overcome bureaucracy before you can start production. High concentration in the domestic market, lots of regulation, not enough competition. So ... higher domestic prices, lower attractiveness of the economic environment.

We have to fix this. Because money won't flow to physical and capital investment that slow down growth.


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