This report was produced by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director, as part of the Programme of Work of the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC). The project was funded by the Prime Minister’s Office of Israel and implemented by the OECD.
The report was led and co-ordinated by Jaebeum Cho, Economist and Policy Analyst, under the supervision of Andrés Fuentes Hutfilter, Head of the Environmental and Land Use Economics Unit within the Economic Analysis, Data and Statistics Division (EDS) of the CFE, led by Rüdiger Ahrend. Chapters 1 and 3 were drafted by Jaebeum Cho. Chapter 2 was drafted by Joshua Wood, Policy Analyst, under the supervision of Maria Varinia Michalun, Head of the Governance and Strategic Planning Unit within the Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division of the CFE, led by Dorothée Allain-Dupré. Chapter 4 was drafted by Nurit Alfasi, Professor in the Department of Geography at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, together with Jaebeum Cho. Eric Gonnard, Statistician (EDS), and Ana Moreno Monroy, Head of the Territorial Statistics and Analysis Unit (EDS) provided statistical support.
The OECD would like to thank the Israeli authorities for their co-operation and support during the study process. Special thanks are given to the local team composed of Gilboa Zinger, Head of the Spatial Planning and Development Team in the Department of Home Affairs, Planning and Development of the Prime Minister’s Office of Israel, and Nir Kaplan, Director of Spatial Planning and Development in the same department, who provided support for implementation of the project and helpful comments on the report draft. The report also benefitted from comments and suggestions from representatives of the Ministry of Construction and Housing, Israel Land Authority and the Israel Planning Administration during an online seminar conducted in January 2025. The OECD gratefully acknowledges fruitful discussions with the Ministries of Health; Education; Welfare and Social Affairs; Economy and Industry; Finance; Interior; Energy and Infrastructure; Transport and Road Safety; and Agriculture and Rural Development; as well as with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Israel Planning Administration (headquarters and District Planning Committees), during the fact-finding mission that took place in May 2023. The OECD is also thankful to Noam Zabari, Economic Advisor at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the OECD for her support and guidance throughout the project. The draft also benefited from comments by delegates of the RDPC and its Working Party on Territorial Indicators.
Jack Waters in the CFE managed the publication process.