News
IMAD takes on the tasks of national productivity board
As of this week, the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development is assuming the tasks of national productivity board. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Ordinance on the Organisation and Work of the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development of the Republic of Slovenia, by which it extended the scope of the Institute’s work. Following the Council recommendation on the establishment of national productivity boards, the Government decided to assign the tasks of the productivity board (monitoring and analysing developments in the field of competitiveness and making them publicly available in an annual report) to IMAD. These are areas of work where IMAD has already been engaged for many years.
The new ordinance, which replaces the current decision, formally extends IMAD’s scope of work. IMAD thus assumes the key tasks of a national productivity board, which include analysis of productivity and competitiveness developments in Slovenia and preparing annual productivity reports. Thereby Slovenia is fulfilling the Council’s recommendation for euro area Member States to establish national productivity boards by the beginning of 2018.
"In our assessment, improving competitiveness is the key challenge to long-term progress in the area of economic development. With regard to the decline in the working-age population as a consequence of demographic change, raising productivity will be increasingly important in the future," emphasised Boštjan Vasle, the Acting Director of IMAD, adding that "IMAD has therefore already carried out extensive research on competitiveness and productivity issues in previous years and is well prepared to take on the new tasks.” The topic of productivity as one of the key challenges of Slovenia’s economy was also addressed at the international conference held by IMAD last year, when we also presented our analysis.
The new ordinance preserves all tasks the Institute has carried out thus far, such as (i) analysing the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development, (ii) publishing annual development reports, (iii) preparing macroeconomic forecasts and (iv) analyses that serve as the basis for strategic decision-making and development policy measures, and (iv) research work.