WEF report sees a government without direction
The Greek government is heading to the future without direction or program, according to the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Report.
In the subcategory Future Orientation of Government – one of many in the report, but which is of major significance for a country seeking its path toward growth – Greece ranks 135th among 140 countries, sharing the bottom spot on the list with the governments of Brazil and Venezuela.
It is therefore no coincidence that this country has lost four places in the Global Competitiveness Report’s chart, dropping from 53rd last year to 57th this year, although Greece is mentioned to have successfully emerged from its bailout program. This slide confirms that despite its small growth Greece is losing ground compared to other countries that are moving on faster and better in terms of competitiveness.
In last year’s report Greece had appeared to be in 87th position among 135 countries, but the WEF has since updated its methodology, applying it in this year’s report and adjusting last year’s. Greece’s overall competitiveness marks this year come to 62.1 out of 100 – marginally higher than last year’s 61.8 points.
Out of the 12 policy domains (pillars) that the WEF examines, Greece scored below 50 out of 100 in two: They are Financial System, where it scored 49.4 points and was ranked 114th due to the non-funding of small and medium-sized enterprises, and Innovation Capability, where it scored 45 points and was ranked 44th.
In the Institutions pillar, Greece is worryingly ranked 87th, with 50.5 points; this includes the subcategory of Future Orientation of Government, where Athens only scored 19.4 points. According to the WEF, that is because this subcategory reflects the ability of a government to prepare for the future, as well as political stability, speed in responding to changes, long-term vision and the adaptability of the institutional framework to technological changes.
Entrepreneurship is also suffering in Greece due to the obstacles raised by legislation that make doing business difficult. Greece was ranked 131st in the world in this domain.
