Israeli Election Promises Lack Cost Estimates, Hiding True Policy Choices
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
Israeli political parties are making numerous economic promises during election campaigns without providing clear cost estimates, making it difficult for voters to assess their feasibility. Despite Israel's high cost of living and rising national debt, platforms often lack financial details, unlike in countries like the Netherlands or the UK where independent bodies analyze party proposals. Economist Inbal Roebs argues for a systematic mechanism to cost these promises, enabling informed public decision-making and accountability.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israeli election platforms lack cost estimates, hindering voter assessment of economic promises.
- Israel's cost of living is exceptionally high relative to its per capita income.
- Rising public debt and defense spending increase the urgency for fiscal transparency.
- International models exist for costing and analyzing political economic pledges.
- Economist Inbal Roebs advocates for detailed, costed economic plans from parties.
Israeli election campaigns are characterized by numerous economic promises from political parties, yet these pledges often lack concrete cost estimations, hindering voters' ability to make informed decisions. While parties propose improvements in education, health, infrastructure, and reductions in taxes and the cost of living, they rarely provide a clear budget for these initiatives. Some parties, like Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism, have not even presented a formal economic platform. This absence of financial data limits public discourse, shifting the focus from the feasibility and funding of proposals to their mere existence.
Israel's high cost of living, particularly relative to its per capita income, exacerbates the issue. The OECD reported in 2025 that Israel has the largest positive gap between actual prices and expected prices based on per capita GDP among surveyed nations. For lower-income households, essential expenses like food, housing, and transportation consume nearly their entire net income. Parties' promises to lower the cost of living are vague, as different methods, such as VAT reduction or market liberalization, have varying budgetary impacts and consequences for local producers.
International examples highlight potential solutions. In the Netherlands, parties can submit their platforms to the CPB for independent analysis. In the UK, major parties publish pricing documents examined by the IFS. Australia's PBO analyzes parties' commitments post-election, and Canada legally requires its parliamentary budget officer to cost party proposals. These systems, while not perfect, provide voters with quantifiable data and allow for accountability.
Despite possessing professional economic institutions like the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel, Israel lacks a systematic mechanism to present parties' economic commitments on a comparable basis before elections. Such a system would compel parties to reveal their priorities by detailing the costs and funding sources of their promises. This is crucial given the rising public debt-to-GDP ratio and increased defense spending following the recent conflict. The author, Inbal Roebs, an economist, argues that voters should not have to decide based solely on declarations but on detailed, costed economic plans that can be scrutinized both before and after elections.
Mentioned
