1377.0.55.001 - Directory of Non-ABS Sources for Knowledge-Based Economy/Society (KBE/S) Indicators, 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/08/2002   
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Contents >> World Competitiveness Yearbook

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WORLD COMPETITIVENESS YEARBOOK
The IMD world competitiveness yearbook measures the ability of national economies to attract and retain investment through the creation of a globally competitive business environment.

An index of competitiveness for each country is constructed from various criteria. Indicators include Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GDP per capita, number of patents in force and public expenditure on education. Two thirds of the data are obtained from official national and international statistical sources and the other third by a survey of top executives and middle managers in the countries covered by the report.

International Institute of Management Development (IMD ) is an international business school based in Switzerland with links to the world's leading business organisations. In Australia its representative institute is the committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).

Criteria are grouped into eight competitiveness input factors

  1. domestic economy
    macroeconomic evaluation of the domestic economy
  2. internationalization
    extent to which a country participates in foreign trade and investment
  3. government
    extent to which government policies and practices are conducive to competitiveness
  4. finance
    performance of capital markets and quality of financial services
  5. infrastructure
    extent to which natural, technical and communication resources are adequate to serve the basic needs of business
  6. management
    extent to which companies are managed in an innovative, profitable and responsible manner
  7. science and technology
    scientific and technological sophistication
  8. people
    availability and qualifications of human resources

Analysis of this data identifies four competitive forces

  1. proximity versus globality, which measures the amount of resources devoted to local as opposed to global markets
  2. attractiveness versus aggressiveness, which measures an economy's performance as an exporter and investor as opposed to its ability to attract investment and to hold on to local investment
  3. assets versus process, which measures how an economy relies on exploiting natural resources as opposed to creating wealth through value-added products and services
  4. individual risk versus social cohesiveness, which measures how much a nation values individual risk through such policies as deregulation and privatisation as opposed to a more socially cohesive, but regulated economy and society


For information on the Knowledge-based Economy and Society see Discussion Paper Measuring a Knowledge-based Economy and Society.



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