(Communicated by the Israel Ministry of Finance)
According to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) for 2011-2012 published by the World Economic Forum's Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance, Israel's main strengths remain its "world-class" capacity for innovation, derived from the presence of "the world’s best research institutions" and their collaborations with the business sector, and the high number of patents. Also, the report mentions Israel's favorable financial environment, particularly the solid availability of venture capital, which has "further contributed to making Israel an innovation powerhouse". According to the report, these elements have become stronger in the past year.
The report notes that increased budgetary discipline with a view to reducing debt levels would help the country maintain stability and support economic growth going into the future.
Israel's main advantages according to the current report are:
- Quality of scientific research institutions
- Venture capital availability
- Utility patents per million poplation
- Life expectancy
- Strength of investor protection
- Government procurement of advanced tech product
- Capacity for innovation
- Firm-level technology absorption
- University-industry collaboration in R&D
- Company spending on R&D
- Nature of competitive advantage
- Legal rights index
- Availability of scientists and engineers
About the Global Competitiveness Report (WCR) by the World Economic Forum (WEF):
The World Economic Forum's Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance is publishing the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) every year. It is considered the most comprehensive and authoritative assessment of the comparative strengths and weaknesses of national economies, used by governments, academics and business leaders.