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  • [ — Divider — ]
  • Preface
  • Chapter 1.1 Reaching Beyond the New Normal: Findings from the Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016
    • Introduction
    • Methodology
    • The Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016
    • Results overview
    • Country highlights
    • Conclusions
    • References
    • Box 1: The Inclusive Growth and Development Report
    • Box 2: The Case for Trade and Competitiveness
    • Box 3: The most problematic factors for doing business: Impacts of the global crisis
    • Box 4: China’s new normal
    • Appendix: Methodology and Computation of the Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016
  • Chapter 1.2 Drivers of Long-Run Prosperity: Laying the Foundations for an Updated Global Competitiveness Index
    • Introduction
    • What competitiveness is and why it matters
    • Institutions
    • Infrastructure and connectivity
    • Macroeconomic environment
    • Health
    • Education
    • Product and service market efficiency
    • Labor market efficiency
    • Financial market efficiency
    • Technological adoption
    • Market size
    • Ideas ecosystem
    • Ideas implementation
    • Conclusions
    • Bibliography
    • Appendix A: Measurement of Key Concepts and Preliminary Index Structure
    • Appendix B: Acknowledgments
  • Chapter 1.3 The Executive Opinion Survey: The Voice of the Business Community
    • Introduction
    • The Survey in numbers
    • Survey structure, administration, and methodology
    • Data treatment and score computation
    • Conclusions
    • Box 1: Example of a typical Survey question
    • Box 2: Insights from the Executive Opinion Survey 2015
    • Box 3: Score calculation
  • Competitiveness Practices
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Global Competitiveness Report 2015 Home
  • Report Home
  • Report Highlights
  • Competitiveness Rankings
  • Interactive Heatmap
  • Competitiveness Dataset (XLS)
  • Blogs and Opinions
  • Top 10 Infographics
  • Videos
  • Press Releases
  • [ — Divider — ]
  • Preface
  • Chapter 1.1 Reaching Beyond the New Normal: Findings from the Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016
    • Introduction
    • Methodology
    • The Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016
    • Results overview
    • Country highlights
    • Conclusions
    • References
    • Box 1: The Inclusive Growth and Development Report
    • Box 2: The Case for Trade and Competitiveness
    • Box 3: The most problematic factors for doing business: Impacts of the global crisis
    • Box 4: China’s new normal
    • Appendix: Methodology and Computation of the Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016
  • Chapter 1.2 Drivers of Long-Run Prosperity: Laying the Foundations for an Updated Global Competitiveness Index
    • Introduction
    • What competitiveness is and why it matters
    • Institutions
    • Infrastructure and connectivity
    • Macroeconomic environment
    • Health
    • Education
    • Product and service market efficiency
    • Labor market efficiency
    • Financial market efficiency
    • Technological adoption
    • Market size
    • Ideas ecosystem
    • Ideas implementation
    • Conclusions
    • Bibliography
    • Appendix A: Measurement of Key Concepts and Preliminary Index Structure
    • Appendix B: Acknowledgments
  • Chapter 1.3 The Executive Opinion Survey: The Voice of the Business Community
    • Introduction
    • The Survey in numbers
    • Survey structure, administration, and methodology
    • Data treatment and score computation
    • Conclusions
    • Box 1: Example of a typical Survey question
    • Box 2: Insights from the Executive Opinion Survey 2015
    • Box 3: Score calculation
  • Competitiveness Practices
  • FAQs
  • Partner Institutes
  • Downloads
  • Competitiveness Library
  • About the Authors
  • Contact Us

Appendix A: Measurement of Key Concepts and Preliminary Index Structure

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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

Indicator Indicator description (Question and answers if derived from EOS) Comments Existing/
New*
Type† Main source(s) (if available)
1st pillar: Institutions        
A. Property rights        
Property rights In your country, to what extent is intellectual property protected? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Intellectual property protection In your country, to what extent is intellectual property protected? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
B. Security          
Business costs of crime and violence In your country, to what extent does the incidence of crime and violence impose costs on businesses? [1 = to a great extent; 7 = not at all] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Homicide rate Number of homicides per 100,000 population New Non-EOS United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Business cost of organized crime In your country, to what extent does organized crime (mafia-oriented racketeering, extortion) impose costs on businesses? [1 = to a great extent; 7 = not at all] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Index of terrorism incidence Simple average of the number of terrorism-related casualties (injuries and fatalities) and the number of terrorist attacks, each normalized on a scale of 1 to 7 New Non-EOS World Economic Forum’s calculations; National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)
Reliability of police services In your country, to what extent can police services be relied upon to enforce law and order? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
C. Undue influence and corruption      
Irregular payments and bribes Average score across the five components of the following Executive Opinion Survey question: In your country, how common is it for firms to make undocumented extra payments or bribes in connection with (1) imports and exports; (2) public utilities; (3) annual tax payments; (4) awarding of public contracts and licenses; (5) obtaining favorable judicial decisions? In each case, the answer ranges from 1 [very common] to 7 [never occurs] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Diversion of public funds In your country, how common is illegal diversion of public funds to companies, individuals, or groups? [1 = very commonly occurs; 7 = never occurs] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Judicial independence In your country, how independent is the judicial system from influences of the government, individuals, or companies? [1 = not independent at all; 7 = entirely independent) Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Favoritism in decisions of government officials In your country, to what extent do government officials show favoritism to well-connected firms and individuals when deciding upon policies and contracts? [1 = show favoritism to a great extent; 7 = do not show favoritism at all] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
D. Checks and balances        
Consistency of judicial system In your country, to what extent can individuals, institutions (civil society), and businesses obtain justice through the judicial system in the face of arbitrary government decisions? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
World Press Freedom Index The World Press Freedom Index aims to measure the freedom of information. It reflects the degree of freedom that journalists, news media, and Internet citizens enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by the authorities to respect and ensure respect for this freedom New Non-EOS Reporters Without Borders
E. Public-sector performance        
Burden of government regulation In your country, how burdensome is it for companies to comply with public administration’s requirements (e.g., permits, regulations, reporting)? [1 = extremely burdensome; 7 = not burdensome at all] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Government Online Service Index The Government Online Service Index assesses the quality of government’s delivery of online services New Non-EOS United Nations, E-Government Development Database
Efficiency of legal framework in settling disputes In your country, how efficient are the legal and judicial systems for companies in settling disputes? [1 = extremely inefficient; 7 = extremely efficient] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Efficiency in provision of public goods and services In your country, how efficient is the government in providing public goods and services? [1 = extremely inefficient; 7 = extremely efficient] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Effectiveness of law-making bodies How effective is the legislative process in your country? [1 = not effective at all – it is deadlocked; 7 = extremely effective] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Government ensuring policy stability In your country, to what extent does the government ensure a stable policy environment for doing business? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
F. Corporate ethics and governance        
Ethical behavior of firms In your country, how do you rate the corporate ethics of companies (ethical behavior in interactions with public officials, politicians, and other firms)? [1 = extremely poor—among the worst in the world; 7 = excellent—among the best in the world] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Strength of auditing and accounting standards In your country, how strong are financial auditing and reporting standards? [1 = extremely weak; 7 = extremely strong] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Efficacy of corporate boards In your country, to what extent is management accountable to investors and boards of directors? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Extent of conflict of interest regulation index The extent of conflict of interest regulation index measures the protection of shareholders against directors’ misuse of corporate assets for personal gain New Non-EOS World Bank/IFC, The Doing Business project
Extent of shareholder governance index The extent of shareholder governance index measures shareholders’ rights in corporate governance by distinguishing three dimensions of good governance: shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate decisions; governance safeguards protecting shareholders from undue board control and entrenchment; and corporate transparency on ownership stakes, compensation, audits, and financial prospects New Non-EOS World Bank/IFC, The Doing Business project
Pillar 2: Infrastructure and connectivity        
A. Transport infrastructure        
Road quality index The road quality index will combine different measures of quality and connectivity of the domestic road network New Non-EOS World Economic Forum's calculations
Quality of roads In your country, how do you assess the quality of the roads? [1 = extremely underdeveloped—among the worst in the world; 7 = extensive and efficient—among the best in the world] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Air Connectivity Index Based on a gravity-like model, the Air Connectivity Index captures the full range of interactions among all network nodes, even when there is no direct flight connection between them New Non-EOS Arvis, J. F. and B. Shepherd. 2011. The Air Connectivity Index: Measuring Integration in the Global Air Transport Network. June.
Quality of air transport infrastructure In your country, how do you assess the quality of air transport? [1 = extremely underdeveloped – among the worst in the world; 7 = extensive and efficient – among the best in the world] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Liner Shipping Connectivity Index The Liner Shipping Connectivity Index captures how well countries are connected to global shipping networks. It is based on five components of the maritime transport sector: number of ships, their container-carrying capacity, maximum vessel size, number of services, and number of companies that deploy container ships in a country’s ports New Non-EOS United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Quality of port infrastructure In your country, how do you assess the quality of seaports (for landlocked countries, assess access to seaports) [1 = extremely underdeveloped—among the worst in the world; 7 = extensive and efficient—among the best in the world] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Quality of railroad infrastructure In your country, how would you assess the quality of the railroad system? [1 = extremely underdeveloped—among the worst in the world; 7 = extensive and efficient—among the best in the world] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
B. Energy infrastructure        
Electrification rate Share of population with access to electricity New Non-EOS World Bank/International Energy Agency
Quality of electricity supply In your country, how reliable is the electricity supply (lack of interruptions and lack of voltage fluctuations)? [1 = extremely unreliable; 7 = extremely reliable] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
C. ICT infrastructure        
Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions Number of mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions per 100 population Existing Non-EOS International Telecommunication Union
Fixed-broadband Internet subscriptions Number of fixed-broadband Internet subscriptions per 100 population Existing Non-EOS International Telecommunication Union
Wireless-broadband subscriptions Number of wireless-broadband subscriptions per 100 population. This covers satellite broadband, terrestrial fixed wireless broadband, and active mobile-broadband subscriptions to the Internet New Non-EOS International Telecommunication Union
Internet users Percentage of individuals using the Internet Existing Non-EOS International Telecommunication Union
Pillar 3: Macroeconomic stability        
Debt coverage ratio General government gross debt as a percentage of government revenue New Non-EOS World Economic Forum’s calculations; International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook
Government budget balance General government budget balance, calculated as general government revenue minus total expenditure, as a percentage of GDP Existing Non-EOS International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook
Gross national savings Public- and private-sector savings as a percentage of nominal GDP Existing Non-EOS International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook
Inflation Annual percent change in consumer price index Existing Non-EOS International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook
Foreign debt Gross external debt position (current US$) or total external debt stocks (disbursed and outstanding debt, current US$) as a percentage of GNI. The external debt position includes both public and private debt New Non-EOS World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Quarterly External Debt Statistics
Hysteresis indicator Variable that takes on a value of 1 whenever a financial crisis is ongoing; a value of 7 when there is no financial crisis; and a value between 1 and 7 when a country is recovering from a financial crisis: a value of 2.2 in the year after the end of the crisis, of 3.4 in the second year after the crisis, 4.6 in the third year, and 5.8 in the fourth year. In the fifth year after the end of the crisis, the recovery is deemed complete and the value is 7 (i.e., no crisis) Proxy measure of the hysteresis phenomenon at play during and after a financial crisis that translates into deleveraging and de-skilling New Non-EOS World Economic Forum’s calculations; International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook
Pillar 4: Health          
Years of life lost (YLLs): Non-communicable diseases YLLs are years lost due to premature mortality caused by non-communicable diseases, communicable diseases, and injuries. YLLs are calculated by subtracting the age at death from the longest possible life expectancy for a person at that age New Non-EOS Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
YLLs: Communicable diseases New Non-EOS Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
YLLs: Injuries New Non-EOS Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Years lived with disability (YLDs): Non-communicable diseases YLDs are years lived in less than ideal health due to a condition. YLDs are measured by taking, for each condition, the prevalence of that condition multiplied by the disability weight for that condition. Disability weights reflect the severity of different conditions and are developed through surveys of the general public New Non-EOS Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
YLDs: Communicable diseases New Non-EOS Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
YLDs: Injuries New Non-EOS Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Infant mortality Number of infants dying before reaching one year of age per 1,000 live births in a given year Proxy measure of the overall quality of the healthcare system Existing Non-EOS World Bank, World Development Indicators Database
Pillar 5: Education        
A. Skills of the current workforce        
Primary attainment rate Educational attainment is defined as the highest grade completed within the most advanced level attended in the education system of the country where the education was received. Cumulative attainment rate is the sum of the percentage of population aged 25 years and older that have the specified level of education Proxy measures of the level of education of the current workforce New Non-EOS United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Secondary attainment rate New Non-EOS United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Tertiary attainment rate New Non-EOS United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Extent of staff training In your country, to what extent do companies invest in training and employee development? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum
B. Skills of the future workforce        
School life expectancy (SLE): Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education Proxy measures of the level of education of the future workforce New Non-EOS United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Primary level
SLE: Secondary level New Non-EOS United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
SLE: Tertiary level New Non-EOS United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Quality of the education system This indicator will capture the overall quality of the education system and the extent it teaches the relevant skills New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Quality of vocational training In your country, how do you assess the quality of vocational training [1 = extremely poor—among the worst in the world; 7 = excellent—among the best in the world] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Classroom connectivity This indicator will capture the concept of a "flipped classroom"—that is, the idea that reverses the traditional educational arrangement by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom and moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Encouragement to creativity This indicator will measure the extent to which the education system encourages and forms the students' creativity New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Pillar 6: Goods market efficiency        
A. Domestic competition        
Extent of market dominance In your country, how do you characterize corporate activity? [1 = dominated by a few business groups; 7 = spread among many firms] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Effectiveness of anti-monopoly policy In your country, how effective are anti-monopoly policies at ensuring fair competition? [1 = not effective at all; 7 = extremely effective] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Competition in professional services To be determined New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Competition in public services To be determined New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Cost required to start a business Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law Proxy measures of the barriers to the free entry and exit of actors to and from the market New Non-EOS World Bank/IFC, The Doing Business project
Time required to start a business Number of days required to start a business Existing Non-EOS World Bank/IFC, The Doing Business project
Bankruptcy proceedings costs The average cost of bankruptcy proceedings. The cost of the proceedings is recorded as a percentage of the estate’s value New Non-EOS World Bank/IFC, The Doing Business project
Strength of insolvency framework index The Strength of insolvency framework index evaluates the adequacy and integrity of the legal framework applicable to liquidation and reorganization proceedings. It is based on four other indexes: the Commencement of proceedings index, the Management of debtor’s assets index, the Reorganization proceedings index, and the Creditor participation index New Non-EOS World Bank/IFC, The Doing Business project
Total tax rate This variable is a combination of profit tax (% of profits), labor tax and contribution (% of profits), and other taxes (% of profits) Existing Non-EOS World Bank/IFC, The Doing Business project
Distortive effect of taxes and subsidies In your country, to what extent do government subsidies distort competition? [1 = distort competition to a great extent; 7 = do not distort competition at all] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
B. Foreign competition        
Prevalence of non-tariff barriers In your country, to what extent do non-tariff barriers (e.g., health and product standards, technical and labeling requirements, etc.) limit the ability of imported goods to compete in the domestic market? [1 = strongly limit; Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
7 = do not limit at all]
Trade tariffs Trade-weighted average tariff rate. An applied tariff is a customs duty that is levied on imports of merchandise goods. This indicator is calculated as a weighted average of all the applied tariff rates, including preferential rates that a country applies to the rest of the world. The weights are the trade patterns of the importing country's reference group Existing Non-EOS International Trade Centre
Complexity of tariffs index The Complexity of tariffs index measures the complexity of a country’s tariff regime based on three criteria: tariff dispersion, the prevalence of tariff peak and specific tariffs, and the number of distinct tariffs New Non-EOS International Trade Centre
Burden of customs procedures In your country, how efficient are customs procedures (related to the entry and exit of merchandise)? [1 = extremely inefficient; 7 = extremely efficient] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Pillar 7: Labor market efficiency        
A. Flexibility and matching        
Redundancy costs This variable estimates the cost of advance notice requirements, severance payments, and penalties due when terminating a redundant worker, expressed in weekly wages Existing Non-EOS World Bank/IFC,
The Doing Business project
Hiring and firing practices In your country, to what extent do regulations allow flexible hiring and firing of workers? [1 = not at all; Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
7 = to a great extent]
Cooperation in labor-employer relations In your country, how do you characterize labor-employer relations? [1 = generally confrontational; 7 = generally cooperative] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Flexibility of wage determination In your country, how are wages generally set? [1 = by a centralized bargaining process; 7 = by each individual company] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Ease of finding skilled employees In your country, to what extent can companies find employees with the skills required to meet their needs? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Ease of hiring foreign labor In your country, how restrictive are regulations related to the hiring of foreign labor? [1 = highly restrictive; 7 = not restrictive at all] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Active labor market policies This index will measure the quality of active labor market policies New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
B. Use of talent and reward        
Pay and productivity In your country, to what extent is pay related to employee productivity? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Reliance on professional management In your country, who holds senior management positions? [1 = usually relatives or friends without regard to merit; 7 = mostly professional managers chosen for merit and qualifications] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Female participation in labor force This measure is the percentage of women aged 25–64 participating in the labor force These indicators measure the incentives for and the actual participation of the population in the labor force New Non-EOS International Labour Organization
Male participation in labor force This measure is the percentage of men aged 25–64 participating in the labor force New Non-EOS International Labour Organization
Salary tax wedge This indicator reflects the tax wedge for an average country-specific industrial worker and is defined as the difference between the salary costs of a single “average worker” to his/her employer and the amount of net income (take-home pay) that the worker receives New Non-EOS Egger, P. and N. Strecker. 2015. “A Tour of Income Tax in the World, 1980–2012.” Mimeo.
Pillar 8: Financial market efficiency        
A. Efficiency and depth        
Availability of financial services In your country, to what extent does the financial sector provide the products and services that meet the needs of businesses? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Measures of the depth of the banking sector in its capacity to provide credit to private sector, pooling risks, and selecting the most productive investments Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Domestic credit to private sector Domestic credit to private sector refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by financial corporations, such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment New Non-EOS The World Bank, World Development Indicators Database
(% of GDP)
Financing of SMEs In your country, to what extent can small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access the finance they need for their business operations through the financial system? New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
[1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent]
Venture capital availability In your country, how easy is it for start-up entrepreneurs with innovative but risky projects to obtain equity funding? [1 = extremely difficult; 7 = extremely easy] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Bank overhead costs Operating expenses of a bank as a share of the value of all assets held. Total assets include total earning assets, cash and due from banks, foreclosed real estate, fixed assets, goodwill, other intangibles, current tax assets, deferred tax assets, discontinued operations, and other assets Proxy measure of the cost-efficiency of the banking sector in providing financial services New Non-EOS World Bank, Global Financial Development Database
Depth of credit information index The Depth of credit information index measures rules and practices affecting the coverage, scope, and accessibility of credit information available through either a public credit registry or a private credit bureau Measure of the availability of credit information as a means to reduce asymmetries and improve capital allocation New Non-EOS World Bank/IFC,
The Doing Business project
Financing through the local equity market In your country, to what extent can companies raise money by issuing shares and/or bonds on the capital market? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Measures of the size and liquidity of the equity market, to proxy the extent to which companies can leverage it to finance their operations Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Market capitalization of listed companies (% of GDP) Market capitalization (also known as market value) is the share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. Listed domestic companies are the domestically incorporated companies listed on the country's stock exchanges at the end of the year. Listed companies do not include investment companies, mutual funds, or other collective investment vehicles New Non-EOS World Bank, World Development Indicators Database
Money supply (% of GDP) Money and quasi money comprise the sum of currency outside banks; demand deposits other than those of the central government; and the time, savings, and foreign currency deposits of resident sectors other than the central government. This definition of money supply is frequently called M2; it corresponds to lines 34 and 35 in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) International Financial Statistics (IFS) Proxy measure of the depth and breadth of services offered by the financial sector New Non-EOS World Bank, World Development Indicators Database
B. Stability          
Soundness of banks In your country, how do you assess the soundness of banks? [1 = extremely low—banks may require recapitalization; 7 = extremely high—banks are generally healthy with sound balance sheets] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Bank nonperforming loans Bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans are the value of nonperforming loans divided by the total value of the loan portfolio New Non-EOS World Bank, World Development Indicators Database
Bank Z-score The Z-score compares the buffer of a country's banking system (capitalization and returns) with the volatility of those returns New Non-EOS World Bank, Global Financial Development Database
Regulation of securities exchanges In your country, to what extent do regulators ensure the stability of the financial market? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Stock price volatility Stock price volatility is the average of the 360-day volatility of the national stock market index New Non-EOS World Bank, Global Financial Development Database
Pillar 9: Technology adoption        
Availability of latest technologies In your country, to what extent are the latest technologies available? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Firm-level technology absorption In your country, to what extent do businesses adopt new technology? [1 = not at all; 7 = adopt extensively] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
FDI and technology transfer To what extent does foreign direct investment (FDI) bring new technology into your country? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
FDI stock Cumulated value of greenfield investments, as a percentage of GDP New Non-EOS Financial Times FDImarket
Local supplier quality In your country, how do you assess the quality of local suppliers? [1 = extremely poor quality; 7 = extremely high quality] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Pillar 10: Market size        
Domestic market size index Sum of gross domestic product plus value of imports of goods and services, minus value of exports of goods and services, normalized on a 1–7 (best) scale Existing Non-EOS International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook
Exports as a percentage of GDP Exports of goods and services as a percentage of gross domestic product Existing Non-EOS International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook
Potential market To be determined New Non-EOS
Pillar 11: Innovation ecosystem        
Quality of scientific research institutions In your country, how do you assess the quality of scientific research institutions? [1 = extremely poor—among the worst in the world; 7 = extremely good—among the best in the world] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Number of researchers in R&D per capita Researchers in R&D are professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge, products, processes, methods, or systems and in the management of the projects concerned. Postgraduate PhD students (ISCED97 level 6) engaged in R&D are included New Non-EOS World Bank, World Development Indicators Database
Availability of scientists and engineers In your country, to what extent are scientists and engineers available? [1 = not at all; 7 = widely available] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Number of scientific and technical journal articles per capita Scientific and technical journal articles refer to the number of scientific and engineering articles published in the following fields: physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering and technology, and earth and space sciences New Non-EOS World Bank, World Development Indicators Database
PCT patent applications Number of applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) per million population Existing Non-EOS Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Cooperation and Interaction Average score across the four components of the following Executive Opinion Survey question: In your country, to what extent do people collaborate and share ideas (1) inside the company; (2) between domestic companies; (3) between domestic and international companies; and (4) between companies and universities/research institutions. In each case, the answer ranges from 1 [not at all] to 7 [to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Encouragement to idea generation In your country, to what extent do companies encourage employees to generate new ideas? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Diversity in patents applicants To be determined New Non-EOS
Diversity in company workforce In your country, to what extent do companies seek diversity of the workforce (e.g. gender, ethnicity, social group, age, religion, culture, sexual orientation, disabilities)? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Pillar 12: Innovation implementation        
Capacity to commercialize new products In your country, to what extent do companies turn ideas into commercially successful new products, services, or business models? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Charges for the use of intellectual property Charges for the use of intellectual property are payments and receipts between residents and nonresidents for the authorized use of proprietary rights and for the use, through licensing agreements, of produced originals or prototypes and related rights New Non-EOS World Bank, World Development Indicators Database
Post-incubation performance Availability and performance of incubators as a tool to support commercialization of new innovative business ideas New Non-EOS UBI Global
Attitudes toward entrepreneurial risk In your country, to what extent do people have an appetite for entrepreneurial risk? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Companies embracing disruptive ideas In your country, to what extent do companies embrace risky or disruptive business ideas? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] New EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Willingness to delegate authority In your country, to what extent does senior management delegate authority to subordinates? [1 = not at all; 7 = to a great extent] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Extent of marketing In your country, how successful are companies in using marketing to differentiate their products and services? [1 = not successful at all; 7 = extremely successful] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey
Buyer sophistication In your country, on what basis do buyers make purchasing decisions? [1 = based solely on the lowest price; 7 = based on sophisticated performance attributes] Existing EOS World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey

* 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.

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