Argentina only surpasses Venezuela in a competitiveness ranking among 64 countries

For the second year in a row, Argentina has been placed in the penultimate position of the world ranking of competitiveness which measures this characteristic in 64 countries around the world. The country was ranked 63rd, only overtaken in its lack of competitiveness by Venezuela. They both repeated their location from 2020.

In the ranking, Latin American countries did not perform well. The highest ranked was Chile, at position 44, followed by Mexico (55), Colombia (56), Brazil (57) and Peru (58). At the other end of the ranking, the first five positions corresponded to Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Holland and Singapore.

The World Competitiveness Ranking has been prepared since 1989 by IMD, a thinking group based in Switzerland which analyzes global competitiveness through benchmarking, statistics and transnational research.

The classification includes 4 parameters, each with its own classification: Economic performance, Business efficiency, Government efficiency and Infrastructure. Argentina achieved its best performance in the Infrastructure segment (56) while it was the worst of 64 countries, even below Venezuela for government efficiency.

“The competitiveness of an economy is not reduced only to GDP and productivity because companies must also deal with political, social and cultural dimensions. Therefore, governments must provide an environment characterized by effective infrastructure, institutions and policies that promote sustainable value creation by businesses, ”the ranking officials said.

In a section where Argentina’s situation is specifically analyzed, IMD researchers said the country has five challenges for the second half of 2021:

– Effectively manage the second wave of Covid-19 maintain the resumption of economic activity.

– Maintain the real economic recovery in line with the control of inflationary pressures, through prudent monetary and fiscal measures.

– Close a debt restructuring agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to improve confidence and reopen sources of funding.

– Strengthen political dialogue between the government, the opposition and other social partners to create a better investment climate.

– Reform the social transfer system to generate incentives for job creation.

As for the overall analysis, as to be expected this year, the rankings have gone through how different countries have faced the pandemic. In this sense, the IMD report pointed out that economies that retained qualities such as investing in innovation, digitization, social benefits and leadership for social cohesion They have helped economies weather the crisis better, allowing them to rank higher in terms of competitiveness.

The competitiveness of an economy cannot be reduced only to GDP and productivity because companies must also deal with political, social and cultural dimensions. Therefore, governments must provide an environment that encourages the creation of sustainable value.

He also stressed that the way each economy has weathered the pandemic is not limited to the decisions made by governments after the global health crisis arises, but to what has been done before: “One of the main trends revealed in this year’s results is that countries that had provided some economic cushion before the pandemic performed better, beyond their level of contagion.”

For the economist Arturo Bris, director of the Center for Global Competitiveness of the IMD, the health crisis, although devastating, must be regarded as a temporary phenomenon. Competitiveness, on the other hand, emphasizes longer-term impact. “Although Switzerland has been slow to tackle the pandemic, it has never jeopardized its future economic growth as it has maintained a disciplined financial strategy by not spending too much,” Bris said, referring to the country on better ranked.

He believed that other examples of economic efficiency despite high contagion levels were also seen in the positions of the United States, which maintained their position in 10th place, and the United Kingdom, which fell from d ‘a place at 18.

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