The Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF)?has given Barbados the highest ranking of the English-speaking Caribbean on its most recent Global Competitiveness Index.
In the recently released 2011-2012 report, Barbados is bettered only by Puerto Rico, and the island improved one place on its 2010-2011 position.
In fact, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Panama and Chile were the only countries in the Caribbean and Latin America that made it into the Top 50 out of 142 countries.
Barbados was ranked at 42, while Puerto Rico was at 35. The next highest ranked Caribbean country was Trinidad and Tobago at 81, Jamaica at 107, and Guyana at 109.
WEF said among the determinants driving competitiveness and productivity were macroeconomic environment, infrastructure, health and primary education, higher education and training, labour market efficiency, institutions, financial market development, and technology readiness.
In its commentary on Barbados, the WEF said the island moved up one place despite a “severe deterioration of its macroeconomic stability”.
The organization said the decline in tourism resulting from the economic downturn had a serious negative impact on the island’s economy as well as public finances.
“A large and rising Government debt coupled with persistent budget deficits and a low national savings rate highlight some significant weaknesses that can affect the future capacity of the country to undertake the necessary investments to boost its competitiveness performance,” the Sweden-based organization noted.
Reliable institutions
It added: “Notwithstanding these weaknesses, Barbados can still leverage its strengths in terms of its stable, transparent and reliable institutions, high-quality infrastructures and excellent education system.”
When the information from the index was segregated, it showed that Barbados got its highest ranking of fifth for its primary education quality.
Barbados ranked tenth for the quality of math and science education, and 15th for the overall education system.
The reliability of Barbados’ institutions garnered it an 18th ranking, while the quality of infrastructures got a 22nd ranking.
In its comments on Latin America and Caribbean, the WEF said many countries in this region recorded significant improvements in their level of competitiveness and productivity.
“In order to keep the positive momentum going, Latin America and the Caribbean will need to address some of the persistent challenges that constrain its competitiveness,” the organization urged the region.
It added: “While the region is vast and heterogeneous as a whole, four main key challenges that affect each country differently can be highlighted as – weak institutions with high costs associated with a lack of physical security, poor development of infrastructure, and inefficient allocation of production and human resources.”
It warned, too, that Latin America as a region lagged in innovation when compared to other emerging economic regions.
The WEF said it was crucial that these challenges be addressed in the next decade to ensure economic and social progress in the region.