Fili’s world

The Global Competitiveness report has been published for the year 2006-2007 with some interesting changes in the world ranking.

"Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are the world's most competitive economies according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, released by the World Economic Forum on 26 September 2006. Denmark, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom complete the top ten list, but the United States shows the most pronounced drop, falling from first to sixth."

Here's a summary of the Asian ranking:

1. Singapore - 5
2. Japan - 7
3. Hong Kong SAR - 11
4. Taiwan (,China) - 13
5. (Israel - 15)
6. Korea, Republic - 24
7. Malaysia - 26
8. Thailand - 35
9. India - 43
10. Indonesia - 50
11. China - 54

Asia is home to some of the most, as well as some of the least competitive economies in our rankings. Singapore leads the pack, ranked 5th overall, followed by Japan in 7th place, Hong Kong in 11th and Taiwan in 13th place overall. These economies all have high-quality infrastructure, flexible and efficient markets and healthy, well-educated workforces. They are also operating on the outer boundaries of the technology  frontier, both at the firm and consumer level.

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China 

After all the big buzz about the Chinese economy, weren't you expecting to see China higher on the list? You want t to know why?

China's ranking has fallen from 48 to 54.Its performance is highly uneven and this raises a number of concerns. Consistent with the cautious macroeconomic management of its authorities and extremely high GDP growth rates,the macroeconomy pillar of the GCI shows a very chasing power.However,as the country is not addressing its many structural problems and institutional shortcomings quickly enough,their long-term effects may be  partly disguised by the booming economy.The banking sector is largely state-controlled and the capacity to price risk is limited. [...]

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Singapore

In an Israeli newspaper, not too long ago, there was an interesting piece by Haaretz's financial report Nehemia Shtrasler "The quietest conference" :

What sort of regime are we talking about? A dictatorship? A democracy? Apparently the most appropriate name would be a Big Brother regime: It does not favor freedom of speech or press, because it simply does not favor criticism. And in this way, the same party has stayed in power for the last 40 years, with an absolute parliamentary majority.

Economically, Singapore is a great success. It has a free market economy, but also government involvement. Growth is high, unemployment is nearly nonexistent, and the same goes for inflation. The per capita gross domestic product, an indication of the standard of living, in this country of 3.4 million residents is $28,000 - 50 percent higher than Israel's, and ten times higher on average than those of the countries surrounding Singapore, from Malaysia to China. So perhaps democracy is not a necessary prerequisite for growth?

My thoughts exactly.

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Japan

Japan has been in the Israeli newspapers more often than usual with the retiring prime minister, who - as newspaper put it - "transformed the entire Japanese society". It is said that the Japanese economy is starting to show signs of pulling out of a very long crisis :

In Japan,economic recovery has begun with deflation on the wane,yet a number of challenges,mainly in management of the public finances and market efficiency

remain,as outlined in Box 5.Nevertheless,private sector commitment to R&D,sophisticated production processe and a highly educated labor force contribute to deliver one of the most innovative economies in the world.

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Taiwan

Taiwan, referred to by the report as Taiwan-China, has been disappointed by the drop to the 13^th place - as Taipei Times reports  :

The nation's ranking also fell from being the second-most competitive economy in Asia last year to fourth place this year [...]

While Taiwan fared well in terms of innovation and higher education, and performed modestly in the category for public health services and macroeconomics, poor institutional infrastructure held the country back, the forum said.

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Israel

Israeli newspapers celebrated this report as the national mood is quite depressing after the war with Lebanon. Any good news, especially regarding the economy, becomes excellent news, so going up to the 15^th place despite the recent regional problems has served a real cause for celebration. Here's a bit from Haaretz :

Israel's most significant achievements related to technology, improved macroeconomic management, market efficiency and infrastructure. External factors, including the global economic recovery, a rise in global trade and the recovery of the hi-tech sector, also helped boost Israel's competitiveness.

But it was the market reforms that garnered the most praise. Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist and director of the Global Competitiveness Network, wrote in the report: "Israel has become a world technology powerhouse, and this is beginning to have a favorable demonstration effect on the rest of the economy, an excellent omen for the future." Lopez-Claros also remarked, "More importantly, Israel has benefited from the development of a culture of innovation."

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Other world comparisons :

• Freedom 2006: Taiwan first and North Korea last in Asian ranking
• The top universities in Asia
• The most expensive cities in the world…
• Cost of living ranking
• Miss Universe 2006 : Israel and Asia
• Miss World 2006 : Asia