A country in a semi-permanent state of war hardly sounds promising for investors. But Israel is worth a look. It has "transformed itself from a semi-socialist backwater into a high-tech superpower", as The Economist puts it.
An overdose of public spending and money printing in the early 1980s sent inflation rocketing to 950%. Politicians finally bit the bullet, slashing government spending, deregulating the economy and bolstering the central bank's independence. Sound management continued, with an emphasis on reining in spending, keeping inflation low and debts manageable. The state's share of the economy has dwindled from 56% in 1988 to 43% now.
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