1 / 13

The Economics of Jerusalem

The Economics of Jerusalem. Leila Farsakh University of Massachusetts Boston CIS- MIT New York, June 12 2006. The Economics of Jerusalem. What are the economic realities of Jerusalem today and how can they impact the future? Economic growth in Jerusalem has relied on 3 main factors:

Jims
Download Presentation

The Economics of Jerusalem

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Economics of Jerusalem Leila Farsakh University of Massachusetts Boston CIS- MIT New York, June 12 2006

  2. The Economics of Jerusalem • What are the economic realities of Jerusalem today and how can they impact the future? • Economic growth in Jerusalem has relied on 3 main factors: • Its religious dimension: a double edged sword • Population growth • State intervention • Can it be any different in the future: markets versus states, globalization versus nations

  3. Which Jerusalem? • East and West • Municipal Jerusalem • Greater Jerusalem • Metropolitan Jerusalem • The Wall: Israel and the West Bank

  4. Religion and Jerusalem • Its raison d’etre, but is it also its source of growth? • Potentially a means to generate growth via its effect on Tourism: • Tourism generates $2.4-4.5 billion, roughly 4% of Israel’s GNP • Jerusalem accounts for 31% of all overnight staying tourists 2004, higher than Tel Aviv • Yet it accounts for 20% of total income from tourism • Income from accounts for 20% of the Jerusalem city’s income • Historically an obstacle to economic activity Source: Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics

  5. The population of Municipal Jerusalem, 2005: Consumers or Producers? • 67% of the population is Jewish • 30% of which are Haredi, or ultra-orthodox, Jews • 31% of the population under the age of 15 • 22% of households live under the poverty line • 33% of the population are Palestinian • 41% of the population under the age of 15 • 42% of live under the poverty line • Jerusalem is considered one of the poorest cities in Israel, per capita income is 1/3 the Israeli national average • Migration: More people leaving Jerusalem than entering it: • Net loss of 81,700 residents between 1990 and 2002, 50% of which moved to metropolitan Jerusalem • Source: ICBS, Statistical Abstract of Jerusalem

  6. The Labor Force in Jerusalem • Less than 32% of the population is economically active compared with 40% in Tel Aviv • Increasing number of foreign workers: • estimated 20% of the estimated 250,000-350,000 foreign workers live in Israel, mainly in low skilled jobs • Different economic structure between Israelis and Palestinians

  7. The Economically Active Jerusalemites: • Israelis • 49% of all employment in the public sector • 26% in tourism industry • 10% in high tech, a particularly growing and promising sector • 49% work in East Jerusalem • 51% in work West Jerusalem • 59% of the population living in Metropolitan Jerusalem work in Municipal Jerusalem, • Jewish Sector of the city growing between 2-4% per annum since 1996 Source: ICBS: Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem

  8. Employment Distribution in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, 2005 • Source: Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics

  9. The Economically Active Jerusalemites: • Palestinians • 85% of total employment in the private sector • 20% in construction, mainly in the Israeli sector • 27% in commerce and tourism • 5% in public services • 55% work in West Jerusalem • 44% work in East Jerusalem • Economic activity in East Jerusalem has been falling by 10% since 2000

  10. Implications for the Future Changing demographics: • More people leaving Jerusalem than those living in it • Jerusalem more a dormitory than an economic hub? How can the future change this tendency • The doubling of the Palestinian population by 2050: how to deal with them:

  11. Population in Municipal Jerusalem, 1995-2050 • Source: ICBS: Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem

  12. Sources of Growth for the Future • Religion: • Population growth: • State versus market: • Globalization: of industries and people • Investment in technology • Open borders

More Related