RP retains 71st spot in global competitiveness ranking

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines retained its 71st spot out of 134 countries in the Global Competitiveness Ranking, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2008 and 2009 Global Competitiveness Report.

This is the second straight year that the Philippines was in 71st place. The Philippines ranked 75th in 2006 and 73rd in 2005, data showed.

In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked just below Vietnam at number 70 but performed better than Cambodia (109th) and Timor Leste (129th).

The United States topped the overall ranking while Chad was last.

The Global Competitiveness Index is based on different indicators such as institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size and business sophistication and innovation.

According to the report, the Philippines has seen an improvement in its macroeconomic stability since last year, with a shrinking government budget deficit, lower public debt and lower inflation.

“On the other hand, the main obstacles to great competitiveness are related to the quality of the country’s public institutions and a lack of efficiency in its labor market,” the report said.

It also noted that there is a perception that public spending is wasteful and that corruption remains rampant.

Furthermore, the report also noted that the threat of terrorism imposes significant costs on businesses in the country.

Makati Business Club (MBC) executive director Alberto Lim urged the government to act promptly to arrest the deterioration of public institutions and improve health and primary education in the Philippines.

“These account for 30 percent of the Global Competitiveness Index for the Philippines, which is classified by the World Economic Forum as belonging to the group of countries in the factor-driven stage of development,” Lim said.

The rankings are calculated from publicly available data and an executive opinion survey. The Switzerland-based World Economic Forum, which released the report, has tapped the MBC as its partner institute for the Philippines.

MBC has administered the conduct of the executive opinion survey among its members and those of the Management Association of the Philippines from April to June 2008.

This year, the respondents included over 12,000 business leaders in 134 global economies. – With Michael Punongbayan