The authors would like to thank a number of experts for their contributions to the discussions that are going into shaping the next iteration of the Global Competitiveness Index.

Beñat Bilbao Osorio
Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, The Economist Intelligence Unit, United Kingdom

Mario I. Blejer
Vice-Chairman, Banco Hipotecario, Argentina

David Bloom
Clarence James Gamble Professor of Economics and Demography, Harvard School of Public Health, United States

Daniel Hugh Chisholm
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva

Michael Drexler
Senior Director, World Economic Forum, United States

Marco Fugazza
Economic Affairs Officer, Trade Analysis Branch, Division on International Trade, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva

Amélie Gagnon
Assistant Programme Specialist, Education Indicators and Data Analysis section, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Montreal

Jan Hoffmann
Chief, Trade Facilitation Section, Division of Technology and Logistics, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva

Friedrich Huebler
Education Indicators and Data Analysis Section, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, Paris

Daniel Isenberg
Professor of Entrepreneurship Practice, Babson Executive Education, Babson College, United States

Yoko Ishikura
Professor Emeritus, Hitotsubashi University, Japan

Christopher Murray
Institute Director, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), United States

Jonathan D. Ostry
Deputy Director of the Research Department (RES), International Monetary Fund, Washington DC

Saïd Ould Ahmedou Voffal
Education Indicators and Data Analysis Section, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, Paris

Christopher Pissarides
Regius Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom

Nouriel Roubini
Professor of Economics and International Business, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, United States 

Shekhar Saxena
Director, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva

Sergio Schmukler
Lead Economist, World Bank, Washington DC

Friedrich Georg Schneider
Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Institute of Economic Policy, Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria

Gretchen A. Stevens
Technical Officer, Mortality and Burden of Disease, Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva

Astrit Sulstarova
Chief, Trends and Data Section, Division on Investment and Enterprise, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva

Derek Yach
Executive Director, The Vitality Institute, United States

James Zhan
Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva

The authors would also like to thank the following governmental organizations and ministries for their feedback on the current structure and suggestions for change.

• Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in Geneva
• Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica
• Ministry of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs of France
• Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
• Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan
• Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in Geneva
• The Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export of Oman
• Ministry of Economy of Portugal
• Rwanda Development Board
• Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland
• The Emirates Economic Council of the United Arab Emirates

The team also held a number of workshops on the topic and would like to thank the participants listed below.

• Sarah Abdallah, Deputy General Manager, Qatari Businessmen Association, Qatar
• Anat Admati, George G. C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics, Stanford Graduate School of Business, United States
• Sarah Abdallah, Deputy General Manager, Qatari Businessmen Association, Qatar
• Anat Admati, George G. C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics, Stanford Graduate School of Business, United States
• Hala Al Ameri, Project Manager, COAD, Abu Dhabi Competitiveness Office, United Arab Emirates
• Mouawiya Alawad, Professor, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
• Ameera Al Dihani, Research & Studies Executive, ITRAA Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development, Oman
• Faisal Al-Furaih, Market Intelligence Researcher, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Saudi Arabia
• Haifa Al Hosani, Project Manager, Special Projects, Abu Dhabi Competitiveness Office, United Arab Emirates
• Thomas Andersson, Professor, Professor, International University of Entrepreneurship and Technology, Sweden
• Daniele Archibugi, Research Director, Italian National Research Council (CNR) and IRPPS, Italy
• Nada Azmi, Manager, Economic Planning and Development, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Bahrain
• Erik Brynjolfsson, Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management, United States
• Jaime Caruana, General Manager, Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Switzerland
• Kai Chan, Adviser, Emirates Competitiveness Council, United Arab Emirates
• Kai Engel, Partner and Managing Director, Global Coordinator of Innovation and R&D Management Practice, A.T. Kearney GmbH, Germany
• Fadi Farra, Co-Founder and Partner, Whiteshield Partners, United Kingdom
• Rosa García, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens SA, Spain
• Ghassan Hasbani, Chief Executive Officer, Graycoats, Lebanon
• Mohammad Hassan Ali, Director, External Affairs and Marketing, Emirates Competitiveness Council, United Arab Emirates
• Hugo Hollanders, Senior Researcher, University of Maastricht, the Netherlands
• Lesetja Kganyago, Governor, South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB), South Africa
• Stefan Kraxner, Project Manager, Special Projects, Abu Dhabi Competitiveness Office, United Arab Emirates
• José Manuel Leceta-Garcia, Director, European Institute of Innovation and Technology
• Sami Mahroum, Director, INSEAD Innovation & Policy Initiative, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Atif Mian, Theodore A. Wells ‘29 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University, United States
• Fakhr-Eddine Mokadem, Adviser, Emirates Competitiveness Council (ECC), United Arab Emirates
• Kevin X. Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer, J.E. Austin Associates Inc. (JAA), United States
• Njuguna S. Ndung’u, Former Governor, Central Bank of Kenya, Kenya
• Andres Rodriguez Pose, Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
• Hatem A. Samman, Chief Economist, Investment Affairs, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Saudi Arabia
• Mohammed Shael, Chief Economist, Dubai Competitiveness Office, United Arab Emirates
• Hala Shash, Adviser, Emirates Competitiveness Council (ECC), United Arab Emirates
• Jeff Stewart, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lenddo, United States
• Lena Tsipouri, Associate Professor of Economic Science, University of Athens, Greece
• Ibrahim M. Turhan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Borsa Istanbul, Turkey
• Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, Senior Economic Officer, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Switzerland

The information and views set out in this chapter lie entirely with the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the experts and entities listed above.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2015–2016: Full Data Edition is published by the World Economic Forum within the framework of the Global Competitiveness and Risks Team.

Professor Klaus Schwab
Executive Chairman

Professor Xavier Sala-i-Martín
Chief Advisor of The Global Competitiveness Report

Richard Samans
Head of the Centre for the Global Agenda and Member of the Managing Board

Jennifer Blanke
Chief Economist

THE GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS AND RISKS TEAM

• Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Head of Global Competitiveness and Risks
• Ciara Browne, Head of Partnerships
• Roberto Crotti, Practice Lead, Competitiveness Research
• Attilio Di Battista, Quantitative Economist
• Caroline Galvan, Practice Lead, Competitiveness and Risks
• Thierry Geiger, Head of Analytics and Quantitative Research
• Tania Gutknecht, Community Lead
• Gaëlle Marti, Project Specialist
• Stéphanie Verin, Community Specialist

We thank Hope Steele for her superb editing work and Neil Weinberg for his excellent graphic design and layout. We are grateful to Emmanuelle Engeli for her invaluable research assistance.

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