Typing on a computer, illustrative. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

CTech – The Israeli technology sector does more for increasing economic growth and reducing social and economic inequality than any government reform, said Shmulik Arbel, head of the corporate division at Leumi. Arbel spoke at Calcalist’s annual Mind the Tech conference in New York.

While the local industry is already the Israeli economy’s largest growth engine, Arbel said, it can do more to create jobs and boost wages, and also reduce the cost of living by disrupting traditional technologies and thus reducing the price of goods and services. The government must incentivize the industry by providing benefits not just to global giants such as Intel, but to smaller startups that could potentially become giants with the right support, he said.