| Most
competitive in the world
Finland rose to the number one position in the World Economic
Forum's(WEF) Global Competitiveness Report 2003-2004. "Finland
is one of the decade's biggest success stories," the
report says glowingly.
The annual report of the Swiss foundation measured the competitiveness
of the economy and companies. Finland was number one in both
tables, dropping last year's winner, the USA, into second
place.
Included in the report were 102 countries, whose level was
measured through statistical information and the opinions
of company leaders. The economy's competitiveness was calculated
on the stability of the macroeconomy, the functionality of
public institutions and technological development. Corporate
competitiveness was measured by companies' productivity and
the quality of business life's environment.
Finland's position was also affected by a change in the method
of calculation. Finland has a very big public sector, and
whereas earlier the high proportion of state expenditure in
relation to the gross domestic product weakened the position,
now it is considered to be productive and a positive influence
on competitiveness. With the change many European countries
improved their position, while those in Asia and South America
lost ground.
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www.weforum.org
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