Russia falls to 66th in global competitiveness rankings
MOSCOW. Sept 8 (Interfax) - Russia has fallen three places to 66th in the World Economic Forum's latest 2011-2012 Global Competitiveness rankings.
"The drop reflects the fact that an improvement in macroeconomic stability was outweighed by deterioration in other areas, notably the quality of institutions, labor market efficiency, business sophistication, and innovation. The lack of progress with respect to the institutional framework is of particular concern, as this area is likely to be among the most significant constraints to Russia's competitiveness," the report says.
"Strengthening the rule of law and the protection of property rights, improving the functioning of the judiciary, and raising security levels across the country would greatly benefit the economy and would provide for spillover effects into other areas. In addition to its weak institutional framework, Russia's competitiveness remains negatively affected by the low efficiency of its goods market. Competition, both domestic as well as foreign, is stifled by market structures dominated by a few large firms, inefficient anti-monopoly policies, and restrictions on trade and foreign ownership. And despite many efforts, its financial markets remain unstable, with banks assessed very poorly (129th). Taken together, these challenges reduce the country's ability to take advantage of some of its strengths-particularly its high innovation potential (38th for capacity for innovation), its large and growing market size (8th), and its solid performance in higher education and training (27th for the quantity of education)."
Russia is next to Latvia (64th), Vietnam (65th), Peru (67th) and Colombia (68th) in the ranking.
Ukraine rose seven places to 82nd, after falling 16 places in the last two years, and Kazakhstan remained in 82nd place. The highest rankings among FSU republics were Estonia (33rd, unchanged), Lithuania (44th, was 47th) and Azerbaijan (55th, was 57th).
Switzerland was again first, followed by Singapore (up from 3rd), Sweden (down from 2nd) and Finland (up from 7th).