Another slip

The fallout from Barbados’ weak economy continues and it is taking a toll on the country’s ability to compete globally.
In its annual report on global competitiveness, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has downgraded Barbados’ standing among 148 countries, a slide that also occurred last year and has accelerated in 2013.
“Despite a slight improvement in score, Barbados falls three positions in the rankings to 47th place,” the WEF said in its widely watched report. “The drop is driven by the persistence of its credit crunch that is hindering the capacity of local businesses to finance their activities by raising new equity loans or venture capital to support innovative projects.
“In addition, and closely related to this concern, macro-economic conditions, although slowly improving, are still worrisome and the capacity to innovate remains low.”