Turkey drops four places in global competitiveness index
ISTANBUL
Hürriyet Photo
Turkey has dropped four places to 55th from among 138 countries in the World Bank’s latest Global Competitiveness Index.The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017, which was published on Sept. 28, assesses the competitiveness landscape of 138 economies in 12 main categories, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. The data for the report, however, was collected before the attempted coup in July.
Turkey showed the worst performance in the categories of workforce quality, access to financing and efficiency of government bureaucracy. The index showed that the Turkish economy resilient, despite rising regional uncertainties and pressures from migration, while praising its macroeconomic strengths and rapidly improving infrastructure.
“Considering the unstable geopolitical situation in neighboring countries and the pressures from migration – Turkey accounts for 56 percent of all registered Syrian refugees – the country has proven economically resilient. Its relative strengths include infrastructure, despite a lower score this year, and its macroeconomic environment (up 14 places to 54th) – in the face of persistently high inflation, the fall in oil prices has helped the country reduce its government budget deficit and debt,” said the report, adding that Turkey has made gains in higher education and training (up five places to 50th), increasing enrollment rates in secondary and tertiary education.
“However, building a highly skilled workforce will require improving the quality of education and investing in on-the-job training. Weaknesses in the labor market (126th) need to be urgently addressed through structural reforms to increase flexibility and use talent more efficiently,” the report said.
To create a more dynamic business environment, domestic competition needs to be improved. Investments are needed to develop a sound innovation ecosystem to help the country move up the global value chain, it added.
India: Best performer of year
“This includes improving business sophistication and fostering companies’ innovation by boosting workforce qualifications – the quality of scientific research institutions drops this year to 103rd. Reforms are also needed to make public institutions more efficient and transparent,” said the report.
Switzerland, Singapore and the United States remain the world’s most competitive economies.
India climbed, for the second year in a row, to 39th. Its 16-place improvement was the largest this year, thanks to improved monetary and fiscal policies, as well as lower oil prices, according to the report.
Turkey showed the worst performance in the categories of workforce quality, access to financing and efficiency of government bureaucracy. The index showed that the Turkish economy resilient, despite rising regional uncertainties and pressures from migration, while praising its macroeconomic strengths and rapidly improving infrastructure.
“Considering the unstable geopolitical situation in neighboring countries and the pressures from migration – Turkey accounts for 56 percent of all registered Syrian refugees – the country has proven economically resilient. Its relative strengths include infrastructure, despite a lower score this year, and its macroeconomic environment (up 14 places to 54th) – in the face of persistently high inflation, the fall in oil prices has helped the country reduce its government budget deficit and debt,” said the report, adding that Turkey has made gains in higher education and training (up five places to 50th), increasing enrollment rates in secondary and tertiary education.
“However, building a highly skilled workforce will require improving the quality of education and investing in on-the-job training. Weaknesses in the labor market (126th) need to be urgently addressed through structural reforms to increase flexibility and use talent more efficiently,” the report said.
To create a more dynamic business environment, domestic competition needs to be improved. Investments are needed to develop a sound innovation ecosystem to help the country move up the global value chain, it added.
India: Best performer of year
“This includes improving business sophistication and fostering companies’ innovation by boosting workforce qualifications – the quality of scientific research institutions drops this year to 103rd. Reforms are also needed to make public institutions more efficient and transparent,” said the report.
Switzerland, Singapore and the United States remain the world’s most competitive economies.
India climbed, for the second year in a row, to 39th. Its 16-place improvement was the largest this year, thanks to improved monetary and fiscal policies, as well as lower oil prices, according to the report.
