Singapore is No. 2 for global competitiveness

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has launched its Global Competitiveness Report 2016.

The report finds that declining openness is threatening growth and prosperity. Monetary stimulus measures, such as quantitative easing are not enough to sustain growth and must be accompanied by competitiveness reforms. For emerging economies, updated business practices and investment in innovation are now as important as infrastructure, skills and efficient markets. Switzerland, Singapore and the US remain the world’s most competitive economies. The rest of the top 10 is dominated by European economies, with Japan and Hong Kong also featuring in 8th and 9th place respectively.

China, ranked 28th among the 139 economies covered by the report, remains top among the BRICS grouping. India has risen the highest, climbing 16 places in the last year, the WEF said. Bhutan was also highlighted for climbing up eight places compared to last year.

The report reflects the nomenclature used in previous reports.



According to the WEF, Singapore takes second place behind Switzerland for the sixth year in a row. Strong infrastructure, higher education and training, and goods market efficiency have contributed to the ranking.

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World Economic Forum sounds alarm over economic resilience in global competitiveness report

Source: World Economic Forum.

A failure to embrace long-term structural reforms that boost productivity and free up entrepreneurial talent is harming the global economy’s ability to improve living standards, solve persistently high unemployment and generate adequate resilience for future economic downturns, according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016*.

The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving productivity and prosperity in 140 countries. This year’s edition found a correlation between highly competitive countries and those that have either withstood the global economic crisis or made a swift recovery from it. The failure, particularly by emerging markets, to improve competitiveness since the recession suggests future shocks to the global economy could have deep and protracted consequences.

The report’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) also finds a close link between competitiveness and an economy’s ability to nurture, attract, leverage and support talent. The top-ranking countries all fare well in this regard. But in many countries, too few people have access to high-quality education and training, and labour markets are not flexible enough.

First place in the GCI rankings, for the seventh consecutive year, goes to Switzerland. Its strong performance in all 12 pillars of the index explains its remarkable resilience throughout the crisis and subsequent shocks. Singapore remains in 2nd place. Japan (6th) and Hong Kong SAR (7th) follow, both stable.

Among the larger emerging markets, the trend is for the most part one of decline or stagnation. However, there are bright spots: India ends five years of decline with a spectacular 16-place jump to 55th. Macroeconomic instability and loss of trust in public institutions drag down Turkey (51st). China, holding steady at 28, remains by far the most competitive of this group of economies. However, its lack of progress moving up the ranking shows the challenges it faces in transitioning its economy.

Among emerging and developing Asian economies, the competitiveness trends are mostly positive, despite the many challenges and profound intra-regional disparities. While China and most of the Southeast Asian countries are performing well, the South Asian countries and Mongolia (104th) continue to lag behind. The five largest members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Malaysia (18th, up two), Thailand (32nd, down one), Indonesia (37th, down three), the Philippines (47th, up five) and Vietnam (56th, up 12) – all rank in the top half of the overall GCI rankings.

It’s a mixed picture in the Middle East and North Africa. Qatar (14th) leads the region, ahead of the UAE (17th), although it remains more at risk than its neighbour to continued low energy prices, as its economy is less diversified. These strong performances contrast starkly with countries in North Africa, where the Levant is led by Jordan (64th). With geopolitical conflict and terrorism threatening to take an even bigger toll, countries in the region must focus on reforming the business environment and strengthening the private sector, the WEF said.

“The fourth industrial revolution is facilitating the rise of completely new industries and economic models and the rapid decline of others. To remain competitive in this new economic landscape will require greater emphasis than ever before on key drivers of productivity, such as talent and innovation,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

“The new normal of slow productivity growth poses a grave threat to the global economy and seriously impacts the world’s ability to tackle key challenges such as unemployment and income inequality. The best way to address this is for leaders to prioritise reform and investment in areas such as innovation and labour markets; this will free up entrepreneurial talent and allow human capital to flourish,” said Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Professor of Economics at Columbia University.

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*The Global Competitiveness Report’s competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2004. Defining competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that collectively make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness. The 12 pillars are: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.

World Economic Forum launches first online leadership module for professionals

Registration is now open for the World Economic Forum’s first online leadership module for professionals – Global Information Technology Outlook. Designed for senior executives and accelerated leadership programmes, the six-week online module will provide a 360º perspective on the key emerging technologies that are transforming industry and societal landscapes.

Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, said: “Today, leaders are under increasing pressure to make sense of the complex, volatile and uncertain environment in which they operate. A key reason for this is the pace of technological change. Recognising this need, our inaugural Forum Academy module will help leaders by providing greater contextual awareness of the transformations underway in the area of information technology.”

The Global Information Technology Outlook module is designed to provide participants with a deeper understanding of the key emerging technologies driving change and their impact and draws on a cross-section of over twenty global industry leaders, top practitioners, technology pioneers and leading scientists. Topics discussed include robotics, artificial intelligence, big data and sensor networks.

The module will begin on 17 June through Forum Academy, the online global learning platform of the World Economic Forum which provides continuous leadership development and updating for professionals and organisations to enhance their strategic knowledge in a fast-changing world.

Forum Academy was launched during the Annual Meeting 2014 in partnership with edX, a non-profit initiative for online education created by founding partners Harvard University and MIT. Anant Agarwal, President of edX said: “EdX’s partnership with the World Economic Forum represents a shared goal to enrich the professional and leadership development of leaders around the world using next-generation technologies. We are excited that the Global Information Technology Outlook module is launching and believe that online learning is naturally suited to impart insights into the fast-paced, disruptive and strategic impact of global technology on business and society.”

For further information and to sign up for Forum Academy modules, please visit http://forumacademy.weforum.org