Israel is the world’s no. 2 high-tech and industrial exports manufacturer, second only to Ireland, a Bank of Israel report revealed yesterday. The report, due to be published in April, reviews data pertaining to recent years up to 2006, and focuses on OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) members’ manufacturing and exporting of high-tech services, traditional industry services and mixed services. According to the report, Israel also maintained its global lead in electronics exports, although its forte remains in high-tech. industry experts ascribed the difference to the fact that the manufacturing of high-tech services requires more human capital, which it has in abundance.
The report did not note startup exports as an independent category, classifying them as research and development services – a subsection of high-tech services – instead; but nevertheless indicated that Israel has maintained its comparative advantage in the field since the 1990s.{Ynet/Matzav.com Newscenter}
