10/09/2008 13h59
Brazil climbs 8 positions in competitiveness ranking
Folha de S. Paulo - 10/09/2008
Brazil went eight positions up, from the 72
nd to the 64
th place, in the competitiveness ranking, which is in the annual report of the World Economic Forum, published yesterday. The Forum ranks the USA as the most competitive country in the world. According to the report, the American economy is capable of bearing the changes in the economic cycle and the shock episodes, due to the "structural characteristics that make it extremely productive". The document adds that, "despite the concern about its macroeconomic weaknesses, mainly in the banking sector, other aspects keep making the USA a very productive country". Even recognizing that the current financial crisis, which has its origin in the American Housing Market, has generated expressive macroeconomic unbalance because of repeated tax deficit situations, which led to great levels of public indebtedness, the Forum emphasizes the American innovation capacity. Switzerland is in second place, followed by Sweden, Finland, Singapore, Germany, The Netherlands, Japan, and Canada. According to the Professor and co-author of the study Xavier Sala-i-Martin, the current financing volatility "emphasizes that an economic environment that is favorable to competitiveness may help the economies fight this kind of shock". Among the Bric (group of emerging countries formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China), China ranked 30
th, India 50
th and Russia 51
st. Among the advantages attributed to Brazil, there are "the size of its market, access to one of the most sophisticated financial markets of the region, and its capacity to absorb and adapt foreign technology". As challenges it has to face, the Forum mentions the high level of the Brazilian debt and the distrust of businesspeople of the public institutions. Chile was considered the Latin American country with the best index of competitiveness, 28
th, followed by Panama (58
th) and Costa Rica (59
th). Chile's success, according to the report, is due to a "coherent macroeconomic administration associated to the market's deregulation and opening of commerce". Mexico lost eight positions, falling to the 60
th position.
