country: japan Competiveness: The Global Competitiveness Report (GCI) is publish

Question

country: japan Competiveness: The Global Competitiveness Report (GCI) is published annually by the World Economic Forum. “The GCI is based on 12 pillars that provide a comprehensive picture of the competitiveness landscape in countries around the world at different stages of economic development. The Report contains detailed profiles highlighting competitive strengths and weaknesses for each of the 140 economies featured.” You are able access the data platform and visualize the underlying data. Click http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-competitiveness-report-2015-2016 and find the Report for 2015-16. Where does your country rank on the Global Competitiveness rankings? Explain your country’s ranking.

Explanation / Answer

Japan remains in 6th place this year, registering slight improvements in half of the pillars—most notably in the macroeconomic environment, thanks to the return of moderate inflation generated by the increase in the consumption tax. Japan benefits from excellent infrastructure and one of the world’s healthiest workforces, with a life expectancy of over 80 years. The country performs well in the more complex areas of competitiveness: businesses are highly sophisticated (2nd), employing unique products and production processes (1st) with large control over international distribution (2nd) and benefitting from the world’s best local suppliers (1st). Similarly, high-quality research institutions (7th) and company spending on R&D (2nd), coupled with an excellent availability of scientists and engineers (3rd), contribute to the country’s overall highly innovative environment (5th). Japan’s goods and financial markets have experienced a steady and gradual improvement over the past seven years, and are up to 11th and 19th place, respectively, this year, while institutions have been on a steady upward path to reach 13th this year. In the future, it will be critical for the country to strengthen human capital (21st), where it lags behind many other advanced economies. For the first time this year, Japan is not among the top 10 in on-the-jobtraining. Although labor market flexibility has improved overall (15th), it could be further raised by easing hiring and firing practices (123rd), and a low share of female participation (83rd) shows that the country is failing to use its talent efficiently. Finally, the country remains an early and eager adopter of new technologies (13th) and boasts one of the highest penetration rates of smartphones (5th).

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