RP more competitive in new WEF report

WASHINGTON — The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked the Philippines 85th out of 139 economies polled in its the Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011.

Last year the Philippines ranked 87th in the Global Competitiveness Index among 133 economies.

Rankings are determined by 12 different components including a country’s institutions and laws, the quality of infrastructure, public health and education and levels of technology and innovation.

The Philippines, for example, scored poorly in items related to public institution and innovation ranking 135th in ethics and corruption, 126th in business costs of terrorism, 123rd in transparency of government policymaking and 108th in quality of scientific research institutions.

It did relatively better in quality of educational system, domestic market size and financial market development.

Six of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were deemed more business friendly than the Philippines. They were Singapore (ranked 3rd), Malaysia (26th), Brunei (28th), Thailand (38th), Indonesia (44th), and Vietnam (59th).

Of the remaining ASEAN members Cambodia was ranked 109th while Laos and Myanmar they were not included in the rankings.

Indonesia jumped from 54th to 44th place primarily because of a steady improvement in the country’s schools while Vietnam went from 75th to 59th place in the rankings.

The Forum cited Vietnam for having one of the most efficient labor forces in the world and investing comparatively large amounts in research and development.

China at 27th was among the most competitive of the developing economies, benefiting from a high savings rate, rising research investment and improvements in school enrollment.

The following were the top 10 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index with their rankings last year in brackets.

1. Switzerland (1)

2. Sweden (4)

3. Singapore (3)

4. United States (2)

5. Germany (7)

6. Japan (8)

7. Finland (6)

8. Netherlands (10)

9. Denmark (5)

10. Canada (9).

Jose Katigbak, STAR Washington Bureau (The Philippine Star)