The links between productivity and each of the 12 categories explained in this chapter are translated into pillars of the updated GCI and measured through variables and proxies detailed in Table 1 below.

In general, the objective of this framework is to measure current outcomes at pillar level, which are inputs for competiveness. Therefore we focus on measuring the current quality and quantity of each of the 12 pillars and on identifying bottlenecks and areas of strength. For example, in the infrastructure pillar we measure whether the current provision of transport, energy, and ICT infrastructures and connectivity meet the needs of a country’s economy by combining quantitative and qualitative measures.

Although they are relevant for policymaking, we tend to exclude input measures—such as expenditures, investment regimes, and partnership models—for two reasons. First, mixing input and output measures risks double counting. Second, ample evidence shows that input measures, including monetary investment, are poor indicators of either quantity or quality of the dimension measured.

There are, of course, some limitations: as is often the case, data gaps force us to rely on proxy measures to capture certain concepts. For instance, in the case of ICT infrastructure, we use ICT uptake among the population to approximate uptake among businesses.

The structure presented here is preliminary, as some of the indicators have yet to be tested and calibrated.

Table 1: Preliminary index structure

* Existing: indicator included in the current GCI methodology; New: new indicator considered for inclusion in the updated GCI methodology.
† EOS = Executive Opinion Survey; Non-EOS = other sources.