THE Philippines slipped nine spots in the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings, from 41 in 2017 to 50 this year.
According to the IMD World Competitiveness Center, the Philippines’ challenges in 2018 were investing in quality infrastructure, increasing investment in human capital (health and education), strengthening institutions, increasing digital competitiveness and mitigating political risks.
Among the country’s attractive attributes are its skilled workforce, economic dynamism, high educational level, open and positive attitudes and cost competitveness. It scored low in reliable infrastructure, research and develpment culture, legal environment and government competence.
“The Philippines experiences the most significant decline in the region,” a statement from IMD said. “The reasons for such a drop include a decline in tourism and employment, the worsening of public finances and a surge in concerns about the education system.”
The competitiveness landscape was measured in terms of economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure, all of which showed declines.
In terms of economic performance, the Philippines placed 50th, a sharp decline from its 26th ranking last year. It ranked 24 in domestic economy but 52 in international trade and 48 in international investment. It placed 32 in employment and 45 in prices.
From 37 last year, the country slipped to 44 in government efficiency, finishing high in tax policy (15) but low in business legislation (60) and societal framework (54).
The country’s rank in business efficiency slid 10 places from 28 last year to 38, scoring low in productivity and efficiency (46) but high in the labor market (19).
From 54, the country’s performance in infrastructure also slipped to 60, ranking 61 in basic infrastructure, 46 in technological infrastructure, 60 in scientific infrastructure, 55 in health and environment, and 61 in education.
The Philippines’ overall score was 64.659 percent, ranking just after Romania and before Mexico.
The United States overtook Hong Kong in first place among world’s most competitive economies. The country takes the lead on economic performance while Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands and Switzerland round out the top five.
IMD Competitiveness Center Director Arturo Bris noted that “this year’s results reinforce a crucial trait of the competitiveness landscape. Countries undertake different paths towards competitiveness transformation.”
He added that “countries at the top of the rankings share an above the average performance across all competitiveness factors, but their competitiveness mix varies. One economy, for example, may build its competitiveness strategy around a particular aspect such as its tangible and intangible infrastructure; another may approach competitiveness through their governmental efficiency.”
The IMD World Competitiveness Center, a research group at IMD business school in Switzerland, has published the rankings every year since 1989.
It compiles them using 258 indicators. Hard data such as national employment and trade statistics are weighted twice as much as the soft data from an Executive Opinion Survey that measures the business perception of issues such as corruption, environmental concerns and quality of life.
This year, they ranked 63 countries. (MEA)