The Singer Series: State of the Nation Report 2010
The Taub Center’s State of the Nation Report discusses the connection between society, the economy and policy in Israel.
Too often, public discourse and policy making are driven by preconceptions and gut feelings rather than facts. The purpose of this report is to provide an extensive factual, professional and impartial foundation to be used by the public and by policy leaders to understand where we were, where we are, where trends are leading us, what they mean, and how policy can change the reality even when it feels like force majeure.
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Table of Contents
Public Spending in Israel over the Long Run
Welfare and Employment Among Single Mothers: Israel from a Comparative Perspective
Developments in Israel's Education System
Education Reform and Narrowing Educational Gaps in Israel
The Demographic Cost: Birth Rates and Achievement in International Tests
School Discipline and Scholastic Achievement in Israel
Israel's Educational Achievements: Updated International Comparisons
Select quotes from the press on Taub Center research:
“An Economic Bombshell”
“The economic dialogue in Israel is changing in front of our very eyes […] Decisive evidence of this change appears in the findings of the State of the Nation Report which was published this week by the Taub Center. In a series of in-depth, original studies, the Center’s economists report new findings on inequality and poverty in Israeli society.”
“This past year, the Taub Center has made an impressive turnabout and has begun to examine much more significant and painful areas: those areas where if a change is really going to be made, there will need to be a confrontation with the strong factions in the economy that enjoy the current status quo.”
“The writing on the wall burns like a missile with a non-conventional warhead: if the Haredim continue to educate and be educated for a life of non-work – the State of Israel will disintegrate.”
“The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel has published its annual report, and it includes findings that I believe are no less than sensational … worse than the Iranian atom.”
“…the issue [of core curriculum, educational achievements, and how the education system is run] wasn’t even discussed ten years ago…only in recent years has it come to the popular view, thanks to the efforts of the Taub Center.”
“…Forget E1, forget about the meaningless gesture of withdrawing the British ambassador. And forget about Hamas. There is only one true existential danger Israel faces today, and it’s contained in the Taub Center’s latest report…”
“Prof. Dan Ben-David’s research created a storm … The published numbers [on employment, education, and long-run trends] completely unnerved the public.”
“Prof. Dan Ben-David has provided a great service to Israeli society … with the publication of The State of the Nation Report.”
“A report about the state of the country recently published by the Taub Center, which researched social policy in Israel, joins the fear list. Big time.”
“The Taub Center’s new Report is disturbing, one that really shakes you up. In a normal country, no news story would be more important than this and there would be a demand for a response from the Prime Minister while cabinet ministers would be required to show results or resign.”
“In the past year, it seems that Ben-David, the head of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, has succeeded in conveying his message. His words resound in almost every major senior forum, and insights that were once the purview of economists are now the ruling axioms.”
“Away from the spotlight, an internal threat is brewing that is no less dangerous [than the national security threat], one slowly wearing the country down and placing it in danger of collapse. As summed up last week in a study led by Dan Ben-David of the Taub Center, the Zionist dream is itself under threat of extinction.”
“The annual report of the Taub Center on the social situation in Israel, that was published last week, is one of the most thorough and important documents that I have read recently.”