Manufacturers Association president Shraga Brosh has again criticized the government’s cuts in its R&D budget in recent years. He claims that more than 25,000 high-tech workers have left Israel since 2000 because of the accumulated NIS 4.5 billion budget cut.
Brosh says that these workers have found jobs in electronics and software companies whose development centers are located in the US. The Manufacturers Association estimates the loss of potential know-how of these workers at NIS 6.5 billion.
Brosh says that government support for R&D is proportionally less than many countries, at 5% of total business R&D, down from 20% in 1990-96. In comparison, the proportion in Poland is 12.6%, Italy - 12.2%; Czech Republic - 12.1%; and France -10.3%.
Israel is ranked 17th among developed countries, behind the UK, US, Norway, New Zealand, Mexico, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Austria, South Korea, and Portugal, among others. Brosh called on Minister of Finance Ronnie Bar-On to increase the government’s 2008 R&D budget by NIS 800 million to NIS 2 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 20, 2007
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