The latest global competitiveness report of the World Economic Forum (WEF) released Wednesday indicated that Turkey has managed to expand its competitive power in the sectors of infrastructure and health.
According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2019, which analyzed the competitive power of 141 economies around the world in several pillars and sub-pillars, Turkey jumped to number 42 by augmenting its competitive power in health from the 48th spot last year. The significant jump in the health sector in a year has been the result of expanding health facilities and the opportunities the Turkish health care sector offers for those who come to Turkey for medical treatment. The improvement of health care treatment and the public awareness on the issue has also facilitated the country's higher ranking in this pillar over the last year.
Turkey, the WEF report showed, has also improved its ranking in infrastructure. While the country ranked 50th in the Global Competitiveness Report 2018, it rose to 49th place in the sector. In the subsection of infrastructure, Turkey came 33rd in transportation infrastructure and 34th in road connectivity. The macroeconomic stability of the world's 13th largest economy, however, has seen erosion over the last year due to the currency volatility and inflationary pressures, resulting in the economic contraction in the final quarter of 2018 and in the first half of this year. The report revealed that Turkey ranked 129th in this year's listing of global competitiveness in macroeconomic stability, down from 116 last year. While Turkey ranked 61st in the overall competitiveness performance in 2018 among 140 economies, the country came 62nd among 141 countries this year.
In reference to the significant variations among countries with comparable income levels in the Global Competitiveness Report, due in part to the fact that the global environment is uncertain, WEF Lead Economist Roberto Crotti said countries that thrive on the ranking are those that offer comprehensive ecosystems and stable conditions. This, he added, means strong macroeconomic stability for emerging economies, as well as openness to trade and investment in infrastructure and human capital.
"Countries that have delivered on these aspects have performed much better than those that haven't been able to," he remarked. "Turkey has improved on some of these aspects as well including ICT adoption, health and skills but growing inflation and reduced openness have hindered these improvements. As a result Turkey has only improved by 0.5 points compared to the 2018 ranking, and remains at the 61st position," he explained.
economies locked in cycle of low productivity growthThe latest global competitiveness report revealed that Singapore is the world's most competitive economy in 2019 with a score of 84.8 points, up 1.3 points from last year's listing. The United States remains the most competitive large economy in the world, coming in at second place and is followed by Hong Kong. The Netherlands ranks fourth while the fifth place is claimed by Switzerland.
"The average across the 141 economies covered is 61 points, almost 40 points to the frontier. This global competitiveness gap is of even more concern as the global economy faces the prospect of a downturn," the report said and added, "The changing geopolitical context and rising trade tensions are fueling uncertainty and could precipitate a slowdown."
The WEF report also emphasized that a decade on the global financial crisis, the global economy remains locked in a cycle of low or flat productivity growth despite the injection of more than $10 trillion by central banks.
"While these unprecedented measures were successful in averting a deeper recession, they are not enough on their own to catalyze the allocation of resources toward productivity-enhancing investments in the private and public sectors," it said.
The report also described innovation as a key factor of increasing competitiveness. "The report shows that those countries which integrate into their economic policies an emphasis on infrastructure, skills, research and development, and support those left behind are more successful compared to those which focus only on traditional factors of growth." said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.