The IMF has just handed the Israeli economy the thumbs up sign. And the stats are impressive.

Israel has strengthened its economic achievements in 2016, reduced the debt-to-gross domestic product ratio, and the government’s deficit stood at 2.1% of GDP, compared to a target of 2.9%. Israel’s economy grew by 3.8% and its unemployment dropped to a historic low of only 4.4%.

And the positive signs keep rolling in.

• Tax collection in January 2017 was at a record high, even if bloated by some one-off anomalies.
• Exports for the second half of 2016 recovered all the downturn of the first half of the year.
• Unemployment has dropped again, now at 4.3%.
• Even the BDS campaign, promoting an economic boycott of Israel, has had no measurable commercial effect.

So where are the concerns?

I would sum them up under two categories.

First, in the words of the Governor of the Bank of Israel, Karnit Flug, there is a lack of “inclusivity“. In a wide ranging interview, she pointed out the lack of serious investment in primary education, the widening gaps of inequality between different sectors, regulation that helps those who have, and several other concerns.

Personally, all this points yet again to what I see as an economic success, which secures the place in society of the few rather than enhancing the wealth of the overwhelming majority. That does not bode well for the future.

Second, there are clear structural issues that demand resolving. Israel’s transportation system is a mess – continuous traffic jams between cities and within the main cities. As the ports cry out for privatisation, the consumer continues to pay out for their over-manning and burdensome costings. Food companies – local manufacturers and importers – seem to have near monopolies. You do not have to look very far to see how the protected interests continue to be protected.

I am not a lover of government interference. I do believe that central policy makers should facilitate change and improvement that will encourage its population to take initiatives. However, whenever I look at today’s government in Jerusalem, I feel that I am confronted with a coalition determined primarily to hang on to power. Thus, bettering the lives of others is of secondary importance.

Yes, they would argue otherwise. All I want to know is what is the clear and precise economic vision of these controllers of power – a string of sentences not coated in empty political slogans but replete with purposeful direction. Sadly this is lacking. And thus, I fear that the wonderful numbers quoted by the IMF will not be felt by the majority of the country. That is not acceptable.