Blogs and Opinions
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How collaboration can help us tackle our biggest challenges
Wednesday 20th of January 2021
As we reflect back on 2020, words like cooperation and collaboration may not immediately spring to mind. Not only were we physically separated from each other – but many divisions seemed to widen.
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This is how countries can rebuild competitive economies for people and planet
Wednesday 16th of December 2020
As 2020 comes to a close, countries are looking to what lies ahead in 2021.
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Which countries are making the most progress in digital competitiveness?
Monday 7th of September 2020
We are in the middle of a technological revolution in which artificial intelligence, 3D printing, virtual reality and other technologies are converging. This will affect every industry and every economy around the globe. A country’s ability to navigate these changes and to build competitiveness around these digital technologies will not only determine its future wealth but also its geopolitical position.
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3 reasons we can’t compare countries’ coronavirus responses
Tuesday 5th of May 2020
Some countries have been praised for their swift responses to the coronavirus, while others have been criticized for doing too little, too late.
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These countries are the best at attracting and producing talent
Wednesday 5th of February 2020
How artificial intelligence is shaping talent competitiveness around the world.
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Amazon’s $1 billion ‘peace offering’ to India
Wednesday 15th of January 2020
Amazon.com Inc CEO Jeff Bezos said his company will invest $1 billion to bring small and medium-sized businesses online in India and expects to export $10 billion worth of India-made goods by 2025.
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These are the world’s 10 most innovative economies
Friday 18th of October 2019
What makes a country innovative? The excellence of its academic institutions? The amount it spends on coming up with new ideas or its willingness to work with a diverse mix of talent?
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5 trends in the global economy – and their implications for economic policymakers
Wednesday 9th of October 2019
The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 is a much-needed economic compass, building on 40 years of experience of benchmarking the drivers of long-term competitiveness and integrating the latest learnings about the factors of future productivity.
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What could a no-deal Brexit mean for developing countries?
Tuesday 9th of April 2019
The Brexit vote of 2016 came as a powerful reminder that progress in economic integration can be reversed. And the raging debates in the UK parliament come as an equally powerful reminder that Brexit never was the easy choice its advocates suggested. To be or not to be is never an easy question, and even less so in an interconnected world.
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How to future-proof India’s economy
Friday 16th of November 2018
Steady and resilient growth performance by multiple Asian economies has led to the centre of gravity of global geopolitics shifting towards Asia. Amid the changing power balance between nations, India has emerged as a bright spot and potential global leader. With an average growth rate of 7.2%, a favourable demographic profile and a large and growing consumer market, India is likely to be the most compelling growth story of the decade.
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The world’s most competitive economy and other top stories of the week
Friday 19th of October 2018
Welcome to the World Economic Forum’s weekly update, where we highlight the biggest stories on our radar.
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How do you measure competitiveness?
Wednesday 17th of October 2018
How do you measure competitiveness?
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Diversity makes the workplace more competitive. Here’s why
Wednesday 17th of October 2018
While many companies adopt a strong approach to diversity simply because it is the right thing to do, they often reap multiple economic benefits from nurturing an inclusive and diverse workforce. Diversity and inclusion bring additional skills, ideas and perspectives.
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These are 2018’s most competitive economies
Tuesday 16th of October 2018
How well countries adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) will determine whether they ‘thrive’ or ‘stagnate’ and could further divide workforces and increase social tensions, according to the latest version of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.
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What makes America the world’s most competitive economy?
Tuesday 16th of October 2018
Any international economic index that finds America at the pinnacle of global success is sure to invite questions around whether such success can be attributed to the actions of any one leader or administration. To apply this question to the Global Competitiveness Report 2018, let’s first take a look at the facts.
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10 things you – and your government – should know about competitiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Tuesday 16th of October 2018
Even as globalization has led to unprecedented gains for many from the movement of goods, services, people and ideas, there are those who have lost out – economically, politically or culturally. This has in part contributed to the rise of polarized political debate and populist, nationalist and, at times, extremist agendas, both in the West and in emerging markets. Against this context of citizens’ concerns about jobs, inequality and globalization, policymakers are looking for new pathways to prosperity.
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Here’s how ageing populations could increase productivity
Friday 31st of August 2018
People are generally living longer than previous generations across most parts of the world. Rising life expectancy is a result of advances in medicine as well as improving living standards and healthier lifestyles. But while this should be celebrated for social reasons, is it beneficial in economic terms? Does the increase in the older population create an economic burden on society or can older people be mobilised to enhance the productivity of communities in which they work and live?
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These economies are the most competitive in the Arab world
Tuesday 14th of August 2018
The United Arab Emirates is the Arab world’s most competitive economy, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum and the World Bank Group.
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Asia’s young entrepreneurs need help with the hustle
Friday 10th of August 2018
China witnesses the world’s largest migration every year. When the moon is full, in January or February, people leave behind their tower blocks and subway commutes to trek across the country to be reunited with their kin. Roughly 385 million people head to their home towns and villages to celebrate Chinese New Year, and the same ritual is repeated year after year.
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This is how workplace friendships could make you more productive
Friday 29th of June 2018
Business magnate Henry Ford may have captured the power of friendship in the workplace when he said: “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me”, but can that special relationship be the key to employee happiness and productivity?
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What Twitter reveals about a company’s reputation and productivity
Friday 22nd of June 2018
Reputation plays an important signalling role in an imperfect information world and companies endeavour to preserve it. In this study, I evaluate empirically the role of reputation for companies that engage in Twitter. The results confirm that getting negative tweets, many expressing grievances, strongly correlates with low firm performance, suggesting the importance of social media (SM) in times when information spreads fast and easily.
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Speaking more than one language can boost economic growth
Tuesday 6th of February 2018
Multilingualism is good for the economy, researchers have found. Countries that actively nurture different languages reap a range of rewards, from more successful exports to a more innovative workforce.
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What happened to Canada’s economic competitiveness?
Tuesday 10th of October 2017
Canadians have figured out winter, transcontinental travel and space robotics. Competitiveness, not so much.
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The most competitive economies, renewable energy blockchain and other top stories of the week
Friday 29th of September 2017
The Sustainable Development Impact Summit: outcomes and solutions.The US tops Germany and Japan. The world’s most competitive economies.
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What exactly is economic competitiveness?
Wednesday 27th of September 2017
What is economic competitiveness? There are actually a number of definitions out there. The World Economic Forum, which has been measuring competitiveness among countries since 1979, defines it as “the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country”. Others are subtly different but all generally use the word “productivity”.
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4 reasons why your country should be more competitive
Wednesday 27th of September 2017
Economic competitiveness matters. But not as an end in itself – it matters because nations that are more competitive are more productive, and are therefore more able to provide for the social needs of their people.
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Companies benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but do countries?
Wednesday 21st of June 2017
By now we can see that the fourth industrial revolution can provide a solid competitive edge for companies who create innovative business models enabled by advanced technologies. But when it comes to national economies, where and how is the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) enhancing competitiveness?
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Who are the 100 most famous athletes in the world?
Wednesday 31st of May 2017
ESPN has released their “World Fame 100” list, naming the 100 most famous athletes in the world, and Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James top the list.
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Is there a link between chess and intelligence?
Thursday 18th of May 2017
The stereotype of the chess player is someone who is smart, logical and good at maths. This is why so many parents around the world are keen to get their children playing chess – in the hope that the game might help to boost their son or daughter’s intelligence levels and help them succeed in a wide variety of subjects.
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South Africa must resist the dangerous spiral of economic nationalism
Monday 8th of May 2017
South Africa faces tough choices before winter if it’s going to improve its flagging economy. Economic inequality is one of the highest in the world, GDP per capita has fallen, while youth unemployment is going up. The current economic model – consisting of a current account deficit that is higher than most of the other emerging market countries, combined with the rapidly increasing government indebtedness – is unsustainable.
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Panama’s secret to economic growth? Immigrants
Thursday 6th of April 2017
Latin America is in the economic doldrums. After almost a decade of progress, GDP has been negative for the past two years, making it the region’s worst contraction since the 1980s.
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Low-cost airlines have democratized travel. It’s time airports did their part
Thursday 6th of April 2017
Mobility – the movement of people and goods – is both a fundamental right and a linchpin of the global economy. But without air travel, it can’t happen. Making air travel accessible to all is therefore crucial, and airlines, airports, regulators, governments and relevant stakeholders have a duty to work together to make this a reality.
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The one question to ask when making a difficult decision
Tuesday 4th of April 2017
People often ask me how I had the guts to move to Singapore when I’d barely even heard of the place just weeks before moving there. (In my defense: That was in the early 1990s, when the country was a lot less well-known in the West.) Or they wonder what made me decide to move to Moscow when I’d just signed on to stay in Singapore. Even switching from a highly successful career in consulting to an in-house role—and then back again more than a decade later—caused some serious eyebrow-raising among my associates.
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Sometimes, it’s wrong to be right. Here’s how
Wednesday 22nd of March 2017
One of the best pieces of career advice I’ve ever received is to say yes as much as you can. Of course, there are so many situations where saying yes feels risky. But saying yes opens up opportunities for personal growth that you might not have known existed. Unfortunately, it’s in our nature to focus on what’s not going to work, causing us to avoid risky situations that could actually turn out to have positive outcomes.
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No currency can compete: Here’s why the US dollar still rules
Friday 3rd of March 2017
Since the end of World War II, the United States’ share in world GDP has fallen from nearly 30% to about 18%. Other advanced economies have also experienced sustained declines in their respective slices of the global pie. But you wouldn’t know it from looking at the international monetary system.
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10 must-read economics stories of the week
Friday 27th of January 2017
A list of some of the week’s most interesting stories on economic growth and social inclusion.
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10 must-read economics stories of the week
Friday 13th of January 2017
A list of some of the week’s most interesting stories on economic growth and social inclusion.
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What a game of chess can tell us about the gender gap
Thursday 12th of January 2017
Recent explanations for the persistence of both the gender wage gap and the under-representation of women in top jobs have focused on behavioural aspects, in particular on differences in the responses of men and women to competition. This column suggests that it may not be competition itself that affects women, but the gender of their opponent. Analysis of data from thousands of expert chess games shows that women are less likely to win compared with men of the same ability, and that this is driven by women making more errors specifically when playing against men.
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10 must-read economics stories of the week
Friday 6th of January 2017
A list of some of the week’s most interesting stories on economic growth and social inclusion.
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10 must-read economics stories of the week
Friday 30th of December 2016
Here’s a round-up of some of the most interesting stories of the last week of the year, on economic growth and social inclusion.
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10 must-read economics stories of the week
Friday 16th of December 2016
A list of some of the week’s most interesting stories on economic growth and social inclusion
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10 must-read economics stories of the week
Friday 9th of December 2016
A list of some of the week’s most interesting stories on economic growth and social inclusion
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This is how Tanzania’s economy outperforms the US
Tuesday 6th of December 2016
The US has maintained its third place on the Global Competitiveness Index for a third year in a row, but seriously lags behind other, much smaller countries in some of the most basic measures, the latest Global Competitiveness Report reveals.
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Why being extremely happy might be a bad thing
Friday 11th of November 2016
Even if you’re a relatively happy person, you’re bound to run into people who are even more annoyingly happy than you. You know the type — that person who is chipper even before their morning coffee, who makes excessive use of exclamation points, whom bad news just rolls right off.
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Placed your trust in the wrong person? Blame your parents
Monday 7th of November 2016
The economic consequences of individuals being persistently mistaken in their trust beliefs can be as large as those from not going to college. This column sheds light on how trust assessments are made. It documents a large role for moral considerations, which may ultimately contribute to the persistence of mistakes in trusting behaviour. Assessing the trustworthiness of others is a ubiquitous and fundamental process. If these trustworthiness assessments translate into trusting behaviour, understanding how ‘trust beliefs’ are formed is consequential. The current US presidential election may hinge on voter assessments of the trustworthiness of candidates. The victims of the US investment fraudster Bernie Madoff are reminders of the potentially severe financial consequences of misallocated trust. Kenneth Arrow (1972) famously asserted that trust is a prerequisite for most economic activity. A large and lively body of research in economics focuses on trust and its aggregate economic consequences, documenting strong relationships between general levels of trust between nations and everything from GDP growth to cross-country trade patterns (Knack and Zak 2001, Knack and Keefer 1996, Guiso et al. 2004, Tabellini 2008, Algan and Cahuc 2010, Guiso et al. 2009). Despite the economic importance of trust, surprisingly little is known about what causes us to trust others. Although previous research suggests that both pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors (‘betrayal’ or ‘control’) play a role, it is not clear which non-pecuniary factors are particularly important or persistent, or precisely how these factors affect trust (Bohnet and Zeckhauser 2004, Cox 2004, Ashraf et al. 2006, Bohnet et al. 2008, Butler and Miller 2015, Bolton et al. 2016). Furthermore, while common sense dictates one determinant of trust must be trust beliefs, even less is known about what shapes these beliefs or their relationship, if any, with trusting behaviour. Moral determinants of trust and trust beliefs
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Your job title means more than you might think
Monday 7th of November 2016
One of the fundamental questions in labour economics is why some workers are paid more than others within the same industry. This column uses data from adverts on a large US job website to investigate what’s behind these wage differences. The job titles used in adverts capture more variation between jobs than standard occupational classifications. By failing to recognise this, the previous literature has attributed too much of wage inequality to luck and too little to differences in worker and firm characteristics.
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The world is changing – can the US maintain its competitive edge?
Friday 14th of October 2016
At the World Economic Forum, we’ve been measuring nations’ competitiveness for nearly four decades because we believe it is the best way to assess countries’ future productivity. Productivity, of course, is important as we believe it is the best way to boost income – after all you can only earn more if you work harder or smarter – and this, at the end of the day plays a large (but not exclusive by any means) factor in determining wellbeing.
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No, China is not the ‘next Japan’
Thursday 13th of October 2016
Recently, many observers have been drawing parallels between China today and Japan in the late 1980s – just before its “lost decade”, where the country experienced 10 years of secular stagnation.
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Asia’s cities are increasingly competitive. Now it’s time to focus on liveability
Wednesday 5th of October 2016
As a real estate firm, JLL talks a lot about cities. For obvious reasons cities and the buildings they contain are at the centre of our business and, increasingly, cities represent the economic backbone of the world economy. This reality has led us into a new era of global competition where cities compete with each other for talent and capital. The winners will be those able to adapt to the changing world of work, answer new environmental challenges, and nurture the opportunities of new technologies. This battle will be won or lost on the basis of liveability as much as innovation.
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New global competiveness rankings, the end of meat and other must-read stories of the week
Friday 30th of September 2016
How competitive is your economy? The Forum’s latest global rankings are out and Switzerland is top.
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Thousands of talented expats want to transform their home countries. Let’s give them the chance
Friday 30th of September 2016
Every year, thousands of trained and educated African and developing market expatriates choose to leave their host country in advanced economies to return home in the hope of playing a key role in their country’s development.
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10 must-read economics stories of the week
Friday 30th of September 2016
A list of some of the week’s most interesting stories in economic growth and social inclusion – featuring the release of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2016-17.
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India’s growth is outpacing China’s. Here’s how they did it
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
Watch India’s Turn to Transform from this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here.
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Lessons in corporate health – from ancient China
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
In ancient China, it’s been said, people paid their doctors retainer fees for staying healthy. If a person got sick, the payments would be suspended until the doctor brought a patient back to health. To a Western healthcare consumer, this approach may seem unorthodox. Yet, each paradigm has its own merit; and, perhaps, the lessons from healthcare can be translated into the lessons of business strategy.
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How can Latin America escape it’s middle-income trap?
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
This year’s Global Competitiveness Report has good, bad and ugly news for Latin America and the Caribbean. The top performing country in the region remains Chile (33th), rising two places in the rankings, followed by Panama (42th), which moves up eight places. Costa Rica falls slightly to 54th, while Mexico (51st) moves up six. In fact, 4 of the top 10 highest movers this year come from the Latin America and Caribbean region: Jamaica, Panama, Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Among the economies falling in the ranking are El Salvador, Ecuador, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bolivia.
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Can Africa diffuse its demographic time-bomb?
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
Africa’s growth is slowing down. After registering a GDP increase of over 5% in 2014, regional growth is estimated at a more modest 3.4% for 2015 and 3% for 2016. From lower resource prices to slower trading partners’ growth and overall weakening macroeconomic stability, the continent’s traditional sources of growth no longer deliver the numbers they used to.
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What makes South Asia the fastest growing region in the world?
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 shows that most countries in South Asia have improved their competitiveness over the course of the last year. This part of the world is experiencing positive economic momentum, and in 2016 is set to grow more quickly than China for the first time in more than 20 years, making it the fastest growing region in the world. Over the past decade, the sub-continent has focused on improving overall health and primary education levels and upgrading infrastructure, areas of particular importance for future diversification and preparedness given the resource-driven nature of the regional economies.
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Europe’s competitiveness is under threat – unless it tackles these obstacles to prosperity
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
Europe is pushing the competitiveness frontier in many ways, as illustrated by the latest edition of the Global Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum’s annual assessment of the drivers of productivity and prosperity in 138 countries. Indeed, the Europe region – which includes the EU28, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, the Balkans, and Turkey – performs well above the global average in terms of competitiveness. This result is driven by the performance of several regional champions, most notably Switzerland, which leads the global rankings for the eighth consecutive year, as well as seven more European countries in the top 12: the Netherlands (4th), Germany (5th), Sweden (6th), the United Kingdom (7th), Finland (10th), Norway (11th), and Denmark (12th).
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We’re less productive than in the past. Here are five potential explanations
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
In the decades after Robert Solow identified technology as a driver of growth, productivity grew hand in hand with innovation. But that’s no longer the case.
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It matters how competitive your country is. Here are three reasons why
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
It happens every year: as the World Economic Forum publishes its annual Global Competitiveness Report, national media around the world headline their reports with their own country’s ranking, congratulating or criticising the government accordingly.