The Economist, a laymen’s magazine, rated Israel as the fourth best-performing economy among the OECD countries for 2022.
This has raised the question about the source of Israel’s economic resilience over the past 20-plus years.
Except for 2020 (Covid), Israel has had positive economic growth every year since 2003 — including during the Great Recession, which racked the United States and Europe.
Where does this resiliency come from? Can we count on it, and invest in it, in the years to come?
Prof. Micheal Humphries. Photo courtesy of JCT
Reason 1: Arab boycott
In answering these questions, I start with the Arab boycott of Israel, still in force with some of our neighbors.
Economic growth is fueled by exports. The positive consequence of the boycott was to force Israel to trade with distant partners, particularly Europe and the Americas.
Trading with these partners entailed tremendous transportation…
