Greece must continue to strengthen social safety nets, ease regulation in network industries, enhance efficiency in public administration; improve the fairness and efficiency of its tax system and improve the quality of its education system. This is according to a report released on Friday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) “Going for Growth 2017”.
In addition to the above recommendations, the report also noted a that Greece’s GDP per capita was now 50 pct below the best-performing OECD countries, after a continuous decline since 2009 due to a drop in employment and labour productivity. In that time and until 2013, there was also an increase in inequality, with the income of the poorest dropping more than that of the population as a whole.
The OECD report said Greece had made some progress in implementing reforms based on its recommendations, such as in tax compliance and the social safety net, “whereas reforms in the areas of education and the public administration have been modest.”
“Fully implementing policies to reduce poverty and inequality, such as the Guaranteed Minimum Income, would alleviate the severe social cost of the crisis while boosting consumption and growth. Easing further regulations in network industries and strengthening the capacity and independence of regulatory agencies would raise competitiveness. Continuing to streamline regulation would improve the business environment.
Pursuing the fight on tax evasion and further broadening the tax base is key to raising revenues in a more inclusive and growth-friendly way. Better exploiting EU structural funds to boost investment in education, research and innovation, and information and communication technology will enhance skills and human capital, and lay the foundation for stronger economic growth,” the OECD report said.
(source: ana-mpa)
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