Latin America Gets Low Marks in World Economic Forum Report

  
In its first-ever report on the relative competitiveness of Latin American countries, released before its annual meeting in New York, the World Economic Forum gives a generally poor assessment of the region's ability to compete in the global economy.

According to the report's co-author, Joaquín Vial, "the relative position of most Latin American and Caribbean countries is low in the overall rankings of competitiveness, due to structural weaknesses in areas like rule of law and institutions, as well as on innovation and absorption of technologies." Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Center of International Development at Harvard, added that "the region needs to address the issue of technical progress and innovation. The countries have to invest in education, especially tertiary education, and they have to create the conditions to attract investments in new areas like electronics, telecommunications and knowledge-based industries."

While acknowledging the tremendous progress the region has made in introducing reforms, the report stresses the need to create the necessary conditions for fostering economic growth and competitiveness. Chile, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico fare the best in its ranking of 20 Latin American and Caribbean economies, judged according to such criteria as opportunities for investment and obstacles to growth. Mexico, the report notes, has received the most foreign investment because of its membership in NAFTA and the size of its economy (about 100 million people).

The WEF report was produced in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Andean Development Corporation. In cooperation with the same institutions, the WEF plans to organize workshops in the region to share and apply the report's findings in a policy context, transforming it into a platform for policy discussions among the government leaders, business groups and non-governmental organizations.

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