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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1129684/1/.html
SINGAPORE : Singapore has dropped from first to third place, behind Hong Kong and the United States, in the 2011 World Competitiveness Rankings published by Swiss business school IMD.
Hong Kong and the US tied for the first spot in the rankings of 59 countries.
Among the top 20 countries, Qatar made the best leap forward, jumping seven spots to eighth place this year.
Only four of the big economies - Canada, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom - were in the top 20.
The US secured first place as it was "rescued" by its business efficiency, according to a statement released IMD.
Ranked against other countries, Singapore scored the highest marks for institutional framework, international trade and labour market.
It also fared well in public finance (3rd place) and economic performance (5th place).
IMD also released its inaugural Government Efficiency Gap results this year, which determines whether countries have "the government they deserve", by benchmarking discrepancies between government and business efficiencies.
Singapore proved to be the second most competitive country for both government and business efficiency, with the report citing Singapore as having a "sound balance" between both.
In the Asia-Pacific region, India, China, the Philippines and Taiwan registered business rankings at least 6 points higher than the government rankings, indicating that there was room for improvement in the way the governments function.
Businesses in most of the advanced economies, with the exception of Switzerland, operated with efficiencies that ranked ahead of their governments.
Professor Stephanie Garelli, director of IMD's World Competitiveness Center, said: "Government spending has reached new highs since the recession - on average, 47 per cent of the GDPs in the most advanced economies; 12 European countries are already above the 50 per cent threshold. The 23 biggest spenders are all European governments.
"How long can it last? In a new world of 'state capitalism', government efficiency will become a key determinant to competitiveness. Alas, the time lag between government reforms and economic imperatives keeps on increasing."
Singapore's rising costs of living - including higher food, transport, energy and property prices - pushed the republic's ranking for price competitiveness to 54th place, down from 47th place last year.
"The world of competitiveness becomes more national. 'World Competitiveness 2.0' is thus characterized by a greater self-reliance of countries," Garelli said of the report.
"This trend is triggered by the rise in commodity and transport prices and higher labour costs in emerging economies. National champions are favoured everywhere and borders re-surface - again!"
The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) is the world's most renowned and comprehensive annual report on the competitiveness of nations. It ranks and analyses how government policies foster and sustain enterprise competitiveness.
SINGAPORE : Singapore has dropped from first to third place, behind Hong Kong and the United States, in the 2011 World Competitiveness Rankings published by Swiss business school IMD.
Hong Kong and the US tied for the first spot in the rankings of 59 countries.
Among the top 20 countries, Qatar made the best leap forward, jumping seven spots to eighth place this year.
Only four of the big economies - Canada, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom - were in the top 20.
The US secured first place as it was "rescued" by its business efficiency, according to a statement released IMD.
Ranked against other countries, Singapore scored the highest marks for institutional framework, international trade and labour market.
It also fared well in public finance (3rd place) and economic performance (5th place).
IMD also released its inaugural Government Efficiency Gap results this year, which determines whether countries have "the government they deserve", by benchmarking discrepancies between government and business efficiencies.
Singapore proved to be the second most competitive country for both government and business efficiency, with the report citing Singapore as having a "sound balance" between both.
In the Asia-Pacific region, India, China, the Philippines and Taiwan registered business rankings at least 6 points higher than the government rankings, indicating that there was room for improvement in the way the governments function.
Businesses in most of the advanced economies, with the exception of Switzerland, operated with efficiencies that ranked ahead of their governments.
Professor Stephanie Garelli, director of IMD's World Competitiveness Center, said: "Government spending has reached new highs since the recession - on average, 47 per cent of the GDPs in the most advanced economies; 12 European countries are already above the 50 per cent threshold. The 23 biggest spenders are all European governments.
"How long can it last? In a new world of 'state capitalism', government efficiency will become a key determinant to competitiveness. Alas, the time lag between government reforms and economic imperatives keeps on increasing."
Singapore's rising costs of living - including higher food, transport, energy and property prices - pushed the republic's ranking for price competitiveness to 54th place, down from 47th place last year.
"The world of competitiveness becomes more national. 'World Competitiveness 2.0' is thus characterized by a greater self-reliance of countries," Garelli said of the report.
"This trend is triggered by the rise in commodity and transport prices and higher labour costs in emerging economies. National champions are favoured everywhere and borders re-surface - again!"
The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) is the world's most renowned and comprehensive annual report on the competitiveness of nations. It ranks and analyses how government policies foster and sustain enterprise competitiveness.
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