OECD Delivers Strangely Mixed Report on Israel

According to a report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Sunday, Israel ranks low for income, housing market, poverty, and public perception of government corruption, but, strangely, high for satisfaction with life, health, and education levels. The report on the nation’s “well-being,” was a surprising mix of results.

According to a report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Sunday, Israel ranks low for income, housing market, poverty, and public perception of government corruption, but, strangely, high for satisfaction with life, health, and education levels. The report on the nation’s “well-being,” was a surprising mix of results.

According to the OECD, complicated combinations of factors may cause the seemingly conflicting results. For example, while Israelis have a high number of advanced degree holders, Israelis often test poorly compared to those of other nations with comparable education, according to a recent test by PISA. The OECD explained in the report that in order to quantify a nation’s quality of life, one must consider a number of differences between different populations, both within and without the country. Israel has a highly varied population, and the report identified significant differences in the quality of life between the Jewish and Arab populations.

It also identified variations among different groups within those ethnic categories. As many might predict, the Arab population ranked much lower in all categories. They experience far worse poverty, have less participation in the job market, and receive a smaller amount of healthcare and education. Unfortunately, these factors tend to create a self-feeding cycle, where, for example, lower education equates to fewer employment opportunities.

Thus, the report expressed concern about how to help this group break free from this cycle. On the other hand, ultra-Orthodox Jews have the highest levels of poverty, lowest participation in the job market, and lowest levels of education. Nevertheless, they scored higher than other factions of the population did on satisfaction with life, economic conditions, housing, and health.

The seemingly conflicting results do not end there. Another confusing set of factors relate to public trust versus sense of corruption. The report noted fairly high levels of trust in the government. Nevertheless, the rates of public perception of corruption in the government were high, with many feeling that corruption was “common.”

According to the YNetNews, OECD analysts believe this could be a reason for concern and bears further investigation. Despite these confusing and somewhat disappointing results, the OECD ends its report on a more positive note. Apparently, compared to other nations with similarly limited resources, Israel has done more to improve its situation over time. Moreover, the financial meltdown of 2008 had a significantly lower impact on Israel’s economic production and growth.