Ireland’s economy grows more competitive

Has India’s economic performance improved so much that the country’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index of World Economic Forum (WEF) jumps 16 places to 55th position? The top five countries that featured in the report were Switzerland, Singapore, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands.

According to the report, the most problematic factors for doing business in Taiwan were policy instability, an inefficient government bureaucracy and an insufficient capacity to innovate. On the other hand, WEF stated that investor protection in our country is quite strong (30th position), the country credit rating was also very well evaluated (31st position). “Its business environment is welcoming to investment and characterised by regulations that are easy to comply with, a fairly efficient labour market and the presence of sophisticated businesses”, it added.

Japan had moved up the ranks over the past few years, from 10th in 2012 to sixth in 2014, the position it retained this year.

Emerging markets represent the greatest cause for concern, with numerous larger markets seeing reverses this year, having failed to enact crucial institutional and market reforms during better times (India being the notable exception).

The study assesses 140 countries on the basis of factors driving their productivity and prosperity.

Taiwan’s competitiveness ranking fell one notch to 15th in the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Report and remained fourth in the Asia-Pacific region.

“The results of the 2015/16 Global Competitiveness Index shows that South Africa has made significant improvements towards ensuring we are a globally competitive destination”.

The report contains detailed profiles highlighting competitive strengths and weaknesses for each of the 140 economies featured. But the report noted that India and South Africa appear to be bucking this trend, with both countries moving up in the rankings.

Since 2010, the Philippines has risen 38 places, making the country among the world’s most improved economies during the six-year period.

Overall, the report said that “despite substantive efforts to re-ignite recovery, global economic growth remains low and unemployment persistently high”. Budget deficits and massive public debt continue to drag down its overall ranking.