IMD World Competitiveness Booklet 2020

Trends in World Competitiveness Rankings 2020

Arturo Bris Director

Christos Cabolis Chief Economist

José Caballero Senior Economist

Marco Pistis Research Specialist

Introduction

In recent months, the world has experienced an unprecedented crisis.

of the health system may reflect the current crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on all aspects of life. However, the data employed in the construction of the 2020 World Competitiveness Ranking does not fully capture that impact. The hard data predates the release of the Index by at least a year; that is, statistics presented in the yearbook are from 2019 and in some cases, due to availability, slightly older. Nevertheless, the executive survey employed in the ranking ran from February to April 2020, and thus somewhat captures the COVID-19 impact. For example, survey indicators assessing the adaptability of government policy and the quality

The ranking, however, captures the issues that the global economy experienced in 2019 as a result of the trade frictions between the USA and China. These issues include a somewhat sluggish GDP growth and slight declines in exports and international investment for several countries. This year’s results show a common pattern in the factors that have influenced the current performance of highly ranked countries. Such a pattern emerges around international trade and investment, employment, the openness of societies, measures related to political stability, and to

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IMD WORLD COMPETITIVENESS BOOKLET 2020