World Atlas 2011-2012 [900 illustrations, high-level formatting] (Shliman World series) by Shliman Alex

Author:Shliman, Alex [Shliman, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

Economy

Luxembourg's stable, high-income economy features moderate growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, which was dominated until the 1960s by steel, has diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. During the past decades, growth in the financial sector has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Services, especially banking and other financial exports, account for the majority of economic output. In March 2010, the Sunday Telegraph reported that most of Kim Jong-Il's $4bn in secret accounts is in Luxembourg banks. Luxembourg is the world's second largest investment fund center (after the United States), the most important private banking center in the Eurozone and Europe's leading center for reinsurance companies. Moreover, the Luxembourgish government has tried to attract internet start-ups. Skype and eBay are two of the many internet companies that have shifted their regional headquarters to Luxembourg. Concern about Luxembourg's banking secrecy laws, and its reputation as a tax haven, led in April 2009 to it being added to a "grey list" of nations with questionable banking arrangements by the G20. Luxembourg adapted some months later the OECD standards on exchange of information and moved into the category of 'Jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard.'

Agriculture is based on small, family-owned farms. Luxembourg has especially close trade and financial ties to Belgium and the Netherlands (see Benelux), and as a member of the EU it enjoys the advantages of the open European market. Luxembourg possesses the highest GDP per capita in the world (US$87,995 as of 2006), the 24th highest Human Development Index, and the 4th highest rated in the quality of life index. As of March 2006, unemployment is 4.8% of the labor force. For the fiscal year of 2005 and 2006, Luxembourg ran a budget deficit for the first time in many years, mostly because of slower international economic growth. The country ranks with 80 billion $ of U.S. Treasury securities (November 2010) twelfth in the world. The ranking is however imperfect as some foreign owners entrust the safekeeping of their securities to institutions that are neither in the United States nor in the owner's country of residence. Luxembourg is promoting economic relations with foreign firms and countries.

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