Israël

Combatting climate change is among the most critical issues on the global policy agenda. The transition towards a greener economy will require a pivot towards more sustainable production processes and consumption patterns. Entrepreneurs have the potential to be a major driving force behind this effort through their capacity to develop and propagate innovative green solutions. To unlock this potential, it is crucial for policy makers to implement appropriate policies and measures that enable green entrepreneurs to thrive. This report identifies lessons from international policy practices in stimulating and supporting green entrepreneurship from three case study countries – Canada, Germany and Israel – to inform Denmark about effective policy practices and pitfalls to avoid as it implements initiatives to strengthen its green transition. Recommendations are offered across a number of areas such as promoting greater co-ordination between relevant policy actors, strengthening specialised support for green entrepreneurs and building green markets.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Israeli system of local government finance, with a focus on the role of the Israeli property tax, known as the Arnona. Local governments are financed through a combination of revenue, primarily from central government grants and from the Arnona, which is levied on residential and non-residential land and buildings but is based on their physical size rather than their value. The first chapter provides a description of the Israeli system of local government finance and compares it to local government finance in OECD countries. Using standard criteria for the evaluation of taxes, the second chapter assess the strengths and shortcoming of the Arnona and the intergovernmental grant system. Attention is paid to fiscal disparities among municipalities and to the ability of the current system to provide all Israelis with adequate and equitable access to economic and social services and infrastructure. The final chapter presents a set of 13 policy recommendations divided between proposals for improving the existing Arnona system and a longer-run blueprint for a more substantial reform of the system of local government finance in Israel based on the establishment of a value-based system of local property taxation.

Ce rapport est une édition spéciale du Tableau de bord de l’OCDE sur le financement des PME et des entrepreneurs, publication phare de l’OCDE. Il examine en détail les conséquences du COVID-19 sur l’accès des PME au financement, ainsi que les mesures prises en conséquence par les pouvoirs publics. Il apparaît qu’avant la crise, les conditions de financement étaient globalement favorables pour les PME et les entrepreneurs, qui bénéficiaient de faibles taux d’intérêt, de critères accommodants d’octroi des crédits et d’une offre de plus en plus diversifiée d’instruments de financement. Mais la crise du COVID‑19 a profondément bouleversé l’accès des PME au financement. Plus particulièrement, l’effondrement brutal du chiffre d’affaires des entreprises a provoqué de graves pénuries de liquidités qui ont mis en danger la survie de bon nombre d’entreprises viables. Ce rapport fait état d’une augmentation de la demande de prêts bancaires au cours du premier semestre de 2020, et d’une stabilité de l’offre de crédit grâce à l’action des pouvoirs publics. Parallèlement, on a observé un recul d’autres sources de financement, en particulier l’apport de fonds propres au stade du démarrage. Le rapport réunit des données sur le périmètre et l’ampleur des mesures prises par les gouvernements dans le monde, et en précise les principales caractéristiques. Il décrit les principaux enjeux stratégiques du financement des PME qui se poseront au cours des prochaines phases de la pandémie ; il s’agira en effet d’éviter le surendettement des PME, de promouvoir une gamme diversifiée d’instruments de financement, de stimuler la création d’entreprises et de renforcer la résilience des PME par des mesures structurelles.

This report examines spatial planning and policies in Israel. It describes the laws, policies and practices in the country as a whole, and provides a detailed assessment of arrangements and practices in two cities: Netanya, a fast-growing city on the Mediterranean coast; and Umm al-Fahm, the country’s third-largest city with a predominantly Arab population. Israel recently carried out a major reform of its land-use planning system, largely to address a housing shortage that has become critical. Detailed case studies highlight the trends and challenges faced in both cities and describe how policies designed at the national level affect local land-use issues. The report offers recommendations on how to strengthen the effectiveness of the spatial planning system and related policies to ensure that land is used in an effective and sustainable way.  

This report examines Israel’s performance in stimulating SMEs and entrepreneurship and makes recommendations for government policy. A dual economy has gradually emerged in Israel, in which high rates of successful technology-based entrepreneurship contrast with low average productivity and growth in traditional SMEs. Israel has excellent framework conditions and programmes for technology-based start-ups and SMEs in areas such as R&D, high-level skills generation and venture capital finance. These strengths need to be maintained. At the same time, more needs to be done to spread success to all types of SMEs and all groups of the Israeli population. This report recommends a range of new and expanded interventions for example in access to credit, broad innovation, workforce skills development, management support and entrepreneurship education. It recommends underpinning these actions with a national SME and entrepreneurship policy strategy and new arrangements for inter-ministerial co-ordination.

This report delivers evidence-based and practical recommendations on how to better support employment and economic development in Israel. It builds on sub-national data analysis and consultations with local stakeholders in Haifa and Yizreel. It provides a comparative framework to understand the role of the local level in contributing to more and better quality jobs. The report can help national and local policy makers in Israel build effective and sustainable partnerships at the local level, which join-up efforts and achieve stronger outcomes across employment, training, and economic development policies. Co-ordinated policies can help workers find suitable jobs, while also stimulating entrepreneurship and productivity, which increases the quality of life and prosperity within a community as well as throughout the country.