IMD World Competitiveness Booklet 2023

based on its achievements across many competitiveness factors. It remains first in business efficiency and second in infra structure, slightly improving in govern ment efficiency to fifth (from sixth). At the sub-factor level, it improves in several aspects including domestic economy, employment, and societal framework as well as remaining at the top in productivity and efficiency, and management prac tices. Denmark also shows significant progress in several indicators. These include direct investment flows inward as a percentage of GDP (21 st ), gross fixed capital formation – real growth (14 th ), and investment in telecommunications (16 th ). The country also improves in export concentration by product (third), exchange rate stability (13 th ), and labor force growth (24 th ). However, our results also show that Denmark declined in the economic perfor mance factor, dropping from 13 th to 15 th . Furthermore, the country has seen a decrease in interest payment (down to 15 th from 10 th ), interest rate spread (to 34 th from 29 th ), and foreign investors (to sixth from first, based on our question for executives on whether foreign investors can freely acquire control in domestic companies). It also experiences a decline in the indicator that assesses if companies are effective at responding to opportuni ties and threats (to sixth from first) and national culture (or openness to foreign ideas, to 22 nd from 11 th ). Additionally, Denmark drops in investment incentives,

consumer price inflation, and portfolio investment liabilities. The country also falls in employment growth (31 st from 26 th ) and youth unemployment (25 th from 18 th ). Ireland’s sharp rise in the overall ranking is largely the result of its robust achieve ments in economic performance, rising from seventh to first. It also makes signif icant progress across other competitive ness factors, rising from 11 th to third in both government and business efficiency. In addition, its ranking improves in several sub-factors including domestic economy (first), international investment subfactors (second), business legislation (third), productivity and efficiency (third), and attitudes and values (first). At the indicator level, Ireland achieves notable gains in direct investment flows abroad, gross fixed capital formation, and direct investment flows abroad in US dollars, ranking first, second, and fifth respectively. The country also improves in key areas such as the growth of exports of goods (34 th ), overall productivity (real growth PPP, 23 rd ), and the effectiveness of communications technology (25 th ). In terms of government policies, Ireland advances in areas such as the effective management of public finance (eighth), government subsidies as a percentage of GDP (12 th ), and in the indicator that assesses whether immigration laws inter fere with the hiring of overseas talent (fourth). The country also progresses in factors like the quality of air transporta-

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