Here is the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for 2009-2010
The top 25 ranking based on the interactive chart...
The report has the Switzerland dislodging the US for the top spot while Asia's Singapore has captured the 3rd spot.
Notice that 7 out of the top 20 most competitive countries are from Asia, particularly Singapore (3), Japan (8), Hong Kong (11), Taiwan (12), Australia (15), Korea (19) and New Zealand (20).
And the same Asian countries improved on their year on year rankings while most of the OECD economies has declined. (Hat Tip: News N Economics)
In other words, it can be deemed that Asia has used the crisis as an opportunity to lever up the competitive scales.
Unfortunately, for the Philippines, we still rank a dismal 87th, way below our ASEAN Neighbors.
Areas where we are systemically weak (red ellipses):
1) markets (goods, labor and financial/capital markets)
2) institutions
3) infrastructure
4) innovation
And the probable causes influencing such vulnerabilities...
Let me add that institutional and market weakness are interrelated. Yet innovation is mostly a byproduct of the market forces seeking to please consumers.
Institution/s captured by political related (rent seeking) forces won't likely be open to market reforms or development.
In addition, corruption is a symptom of big government, bureaucratic inefficiencies, political influences, instability of policies and unenforceable or selective implementation of regulations.
Whereas infrastructure weakness can always be resolved by economic openness or secondarily, government spending (not my choice)
Hence, the idea of virtuous leadership won't help unless it adopts more economic freedom and simultaneously act to tether on such dominant structural political forces that forestalls much needed market reforms, that leads to innovation and institutional stability.
The top 25 ranking based on the interactive chart...
The report has the Switzerland dislodging the US for the top spot while Asia's Singapore has captured the 3rd spot.Notice that 7 out of the top 20 most competitive countries are from Asia, particularly Singapore (3), Japan (8), Hong Kong (11), Taiwan (12), Australia (15), Korea (19) and New Zealand (20).
And the same Asian countries improved on their year on year rankings while most of the OECD economies has declined. (Hat Tip: News N Economics) In other words, it can be deemed that Asia has used the crisis as an opportunity to lever up the competitive scales.
Unfortunately, for the Philippines, we still rank a dismal 87th, way below our ASEAN Neighbors.
Areas where we are systemically weak (red ellipses): 1) markets (goods, labor and financial/capital markets)
2) institutions
3) infrastructure
4) innovation
And the probable causes influencing such vulnerabilities...
Let me add that institutional and market weakness are interrelated. Yet innovation is mostly a byproduct of the market forces seeking to please consumers. Institution/s captured by political related (rent seeking) forces won't likely be open to market reforms or development.
In addition, corruption is a symptom of big government, bureaucratic inefficiencies, political influences, instability of policies and unenforceable or selective implementation of regulations.
Whereas infrastructure weakness can always be resolved by economic openness or secondarily, government spending (not my choice)
Hence, the idea of virtuous leadership won't help unless it adopts more economic freedom and simultaneously act to tether on such dominant structural political forces that forestalls much needed market reforms, that leads to innovation and institutional stability.
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