In an interview to Eesti Päevaleht, Angel Gurria, General Secretary of OECD, says that as a small country Estonia can stay in front of others only by continuing to reform its economy,
Gurria said that although Estonia’s economic growth has been disappointing this year, it is important that Estonia continues to modernise its economy.
"The world does not stand still. A country like Estonia cannot tell the world what to do. Instead, it must be aware of what is happening in the world in order to be able to take the best out of it. This means that if Estonia wants to remain successful, it must be more flexible than others,” said Gurria.
"The first recommendation that I would give Estonia is to continue reforming its economy. Also my second and third recommendation are reforms,” he said. Gurria said that this is particularly important for Estonia because such small and open economies are much more vulnerable than large economies like France that has over the decades accumulated huge amounts of wealth.
"Small open economies like Estonia or Slovakkia must always remain on top and ahead of others, not to fall behind. This requires focusing on areas like knowledge and services. This is their competitive advantage,” he added. This also means education, innovation, competitiveness, regulation, decentralisation, labour market flexibility, flexible market of goods and services, taxation, healthcare system, R&D, etc. All these areas need a fresh look.
Gurria added that politicians tend to say that when a country carried out a tax reform two years ago, there is no need to reform the system for another ten years. "This is wrong. Countries must constantly ask themselves whether their system is working well and how it can be made more efficient.”
Toomas Hõbemägi
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