'Israel could be a leader in the post-coronavirus digital world'
"As in every crisis, there are new opportunities and there is a lot of activity in Israel to detect what these possibilities will be," Prof. Leonardo Leiderman said in a webinar.
By EYTAN HALONProfessor Leonardo Leiderman(photo credit: screenshot)
The State of Israel has the ability to be "one of the world leaders" in the increasingly digital world set to emerge after the coronavirus outbreak," according to Prof. Leonardo Leiderman, chief economic advisor at Bank Hapoalim and professor of economics at Tel Aviv University."As in every crisis, there are new opportunities and there is a lot of activity in Israel to detect what these possibilities will be," said Leiderman during a webinar hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce and the Israeli Federation of Chambers of Commerce."The labor market will be much more online, and a lot of technological change will be needed to support all these features of the new world. Israel, as the start-up nation, has the ability to be one of the world leaders in this aspect."Leiderman emphasized the need for the Israeli government to do "everything that is reasonable but very aggressive" to avoid a deep recession, that would be very painful for both the domestic economy and its population.New and aggressive economic and fiscal policies have been implemented quickly, he said, in a similar manner to decisions announced in the United States and Europe. While the fiscal deficit is already increasing, years of fiscal discipline means that Israel entered the crisis in a strong economic position.The government should expand its involvement to assist over a million unemployed Israelis currently applying for assistance, Leiderman said."There is a lot of work being done in Israel nowadays regarding what will be the proper exit strategy: balancing the need to not endanger significantly the population but also not to prolong this lockdown for a significant amount of time," said Leiderman."The first industries to be suppressed will be the last ones to be relaxed," he added, highlighting the tourism industry, cultural activities and the return of children to kindergartens and schools.
