Israel’s Economy – Introduction

### Objective difficulties in collecting data in many areas Collecting and compiling raw economic data is a complex task. In light of this, the data are the result of an estimate based on samples. Since a sample is not a complete count, it does not always reflect the “true figure”. #### Example The average height of first-grade children, calculated based on a sample of 100 children, is 1 meter. If they had calculated the average height of all first-grade children, the result might have been 1.03 meters or 95 centimeters. A complete count is an impossible task for many reasons, not just financial ones. To measure the height of all Israeli children, thousands of surveyors would have to be sent out at the same time, if they do not want to reach the students when they are in third grade. In addition, some of the data is received from government and other bodies, which are responsible for compiling it. In many cases, it turned out in retrospect that there were disruptions, deficiencies and errors that were discovered only years later. ### Source of data in the book – LMS All the data and tables in the book are based on data from LMS. However, here and there we have “handled” the data in order to simplify it for the novice reader. It is possible that the handling “went” on the edge of a few “Yodds”. ### Rounding of data The main goal of the book is to present you with a focused picture of the Israeli economy in sharp outlines. To this end, we have rounded the data, sometimes even roughly. Insisting on accuracy is like focusing on details that make it difficult to grasp the overall picture. The circles serve to sharpen the scale, at the expense of details that are useless in sixty. ### Statistical differences row – “lifeline” We have previously explained the complexity of collecting data and the dependence of the parking lot on external bodies. As a result, 2+1 does not always equal 1. We will explain using an example. The number of cars entering the parking lot is supposed to equal the number leaving. But when one body is responsible for estimating the number of entries and another body is responsible for estimating the number of exits (in both cases, the estimates are based on samples that last only 10 minutes), then it turns out in the end that 1,000 cars entered and 2,000 left. To correct the distortion, we add the “statistical differences” row in the following format: – **Entry**: 1,000 cars
– **Exit**: 2,000 cars
– **Statistical differences**: 1,000
– **Total**: 2,000 ### Bible – Mt. = billion