IRELAND is now one of the top 20 most competitive countries in the world, according to a report by the World Economic Forum. It jumped to 16th place from 26th in a ranking of 53 countries in the 1997 Global Competitiveness Report published yesterday.
A strong economic performance together with high-quality management and technology boosted Ireland's performance in the competitiveness league. The latest favourable report on Ireland follows buoyant forecasts for future economic growth.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development this week forecast that the economy would continue to grow rapidly over the next two years, while the Economic and Social Research Institute expects the economy to grow by 5.5 per cent each year until the turn of the century.
The Swiss-based World Economic Forum carries out an annual assessment of competitiveness, ranking countries on 155 different criteria. These include economic performance, the development of financial markets, the quality of infrastructure, technology, business management and political institutions and the flexibility of labour markets.
The WEF Competitiveness Index is designed to pinpoint the countries with the best prospects for economic growth over the next five to 10 years. Competitiveness is defined as "the ability of a country to achieve sustained high rates of growth in gross domestic product per capita".
Singapore is the world's most competitive country, followed by Hong Kong. They are described as "dynamic, small, open economies which excel in nearly every major area that counts in terms of competitiveness.
The United States is ranked third on the Index and the most competitive large economy (those with populations of more than 10 million). It is followed by Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland. The United Kingdom moved into the top 10 on the index this year, jumping from 15th to 7th position, helped by restructuring involving privatisations and deregulation.
However, the report warns that the European Union is suffering from "a chronic crisis of declining competitiveness".
"Countries that were once world leaders in growth and overall economic performance are now labouring under chronic fiscal crises, high unemployment and relatively slow growth."
While Ireland and the United Kingdom have become more competitive, the average ranking for the continental EU countries fell to 27 from 25 last year.
"The EU has outstanding technology, management and manufacturing... The EU's problems centre not on these fundamental factors but on fiscal policy and labour market policy related to the extensive social welfare state. . .", according to the WEF.