Over the past year, the Israeli Institute for Economic Planning collaborated with the Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Joint Organization to explore the optimal employment model for times of crisis. This research aimes to evaluate the cost-benefit of a flexible employment model compared with the "full furlough" model previously used in Israel.

The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector (5-99 employees) is of great importance to economic growth and employment. However, small businesses struggle to compete with larger enterprises. Data shows tens of thousands of small and medium businesses close yearly. This research aims to track the reasons for these businesses' low competitiveness and identify the factors leading to their closure.

This research presents a historical and theoretical background to the concept of "cost of living", the current state of the cost of living in Israel, and various policy proposals to deal with the factors that affect the cost of living.

After years of analyzing international competitiveness indices, IEP has created its own fully dedicated competitiveness index, the IEP Comp index, which is unique in several dimensions: (1) it is based solely on quantitative indices ("hard data"); (2) it combines unique aspects of the Israeli economy regarding various sectors and the differences between the periphery and the center; and (3) it creates a comparative ranking to Israel's economy in comparison to the 10 best countries in the OECD. The index is intended to assist institutions, decision-makers, researchers, media journalists and students in identifying the weaknesses and strengths of the Israeli economy and administration, examining the effectiveness of policy measures and proposing practical solutions based on empirical data in order to solve fundamental problems in the Israeli economy.

In June 2015, Mr. Dror Strum, IEP's CEO, was appointed as the Head of the Committee for Increasing Competition in the Israeli Banking and Financial services. The members of the Committee were all governmental agencies, including the Bank of Israel, Ministry of Finance, and the Competition Authority. The Committee's recommendations led to a structural reform and were published in September 2016 and adopted by the Knesset in the Increasing Competition and Reducing Concentration in the Banking Market Law, enacted in 2017 (also known as the Strum legislation). The recommendations were published and are available on the web (Hebrew).

For over two years, the IEP is conducting a comprehensive and pioneering research on corruption in local government, in collaboration with Prof. Doron Navot of the University of Haifa, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel and other bodies involved in this field. The objective of this project is to form systematic solutions that will lead to a substantial reduction in corruption while optimizing the decision-making framework and reducing the time of decision-making.

This project reviews the unique model of organized work in the Israeli labor market and its effects on economic measures. In this context, we examine the role of labor unions in monopolistic government companies in the Israeli economy. This study examines the quality of performance of these companies as a function of labor union's models, the productivity of these bodies and their ability to maintain managerial flexibility alongside job security, in a way that optimizes work, reduces costs to the public and reduces unequal distribution of resources.

This study addresses the barriers facing small and medium size businesses in their attempt to promote innovation. In this project, IEP examines the ability of small and medium size businesses to develop innovation, and the contribution of innovation to the competitiveness of businesses and the Israeli economy.

This study examines the objectives of Israel's tax policy and its ability to advance Israel's economic goals. In this project, we seek to offer a broad view of the main weaknesses in the tax system in Israel - one of the most important and vital systems for advancing the economy - and examine the causes of these weaknesses and how they can be addressed.

Defending Energy Market from Monopolies & Cartels: The Antitrust Perspective. The paper was submitted to CCCWS Journal and which formed the basis of the presentation to the "2013 Contemporary World Multilateral Dialogue" in Beijing.