A very interesting article in Cyprus Mail explaining why Cyprus economy can only become competitive again by either cutting down on public payroll spending or by investing on research and technology.

The erosion of Cyprus’s competitiveness is demonstrated in the way prices of domestic and imported goods develop, according to Matsis.

Domestic products were on average 20.9 per cent more expensive in 2010 compared to 2005, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service. In the same period, imported goods became 4.8 per cent cheaper.

If Cypriot scientists could develop a desalination plant working on solar thermal energy, this “would be a fantastic innovation for Cyprus,” Musyck said.

“The price that this product would command on the international market would be very high indeed; an order of magnitude above the value of our red soil potatoes,” he added.

Read the article at cyprus-mail.com.