With genuine deregulation, privatization, tax simplification and deep tax cuts, Israel's entrepreneurship in the high-tech arena could spread to the rest of the economy, quickly lowering the 8% unemployment rate.
Economic liberalization, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and has served to accelerate the country's growth, which has averaged more than 7% per year since 1997.