According to the OCED (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), Israel has far too much government regulation, and therefore, ranked last on the member nation list in this area. Today, five years later, Israel has moved up 16 places, now on par with Finland.

During the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commented on the report, stating, “Regarding regulation and the cost of living, over-regulation raises the cost of living. When you cannot freely import cornflakes, you use local cornflakes, which are more expensive. When you reduce regulation, you lower costs and in the end, this affects consumers’ pockets.

“The OECD measures us and we see the following: In 2013, out of all the OECD countries, we were almost in last place, meaning that we were over-regulated. Next to us and ahead of us, less good than us – was Turkey. I established and chair a ministerial committee to cut regulation and bureaucracy. I chair the ministerial committee on those of Ethiopian origin, the ministerial committee on national security, the Security Cabinet, and many [other] committees. Five years have passed, and the OECD issued a new report a few days ago. We were almost last and now we have jumped 16 places. This is unheard of. In 2018, we jumped to 18th place and are alongside Finland.

“Now, I am not satisfied with this. I want another jump forward. I want to be above the average; in the middle is not a good place. I want to be one of the least bureaucratic countries, least regulated countries, in the world, because this means money in consumers’ pockets. Last year, the activity that we undertook saved consumers and the State of Israel NIS 1.5 billion. Throughout this period, this jump has saved over NIS 4 billion. We will continue on this path. Today we will be briefed on reducing regulation. This is welcome activity, out of the public eye, but felt in the pocket”.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)