Nordic countries, the US and two "Asian Tigers" have kept their top berths in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual ranking of competitive economies, published yesterday.
Finland, which grabbed the No. 1 slot from the US in 2003, stayed ahead again this year in the elite think tank's competitiveness index.
Quality
The US was in second place in the 117-country index, which was based on a poll of 11,000 "business leaders" and combined macroeconomic context, innovation and use of technology, plus the quality of public institutions.
The US was followed by Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan and Singapore, with the remainder of the top 10 places filled by Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Australia.
Among other European states, Britain ranked 13th, Germany 15th, Spain 29th, France 30th and Italy 47th.
"The Nordic countries have consolidated their position at the top of the league," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, the WEF's chief economist.
"The main reason is these countries enjoy very good management. They do not have fiscal problems like France, Germany or Italy," he said.
Taiwan
Taiwan remains the highest among Asian countries in this year's poll, according to the Geneva-based WEF. Last year, the think tank ranked Taiwan No. 4 for competitiveness among the world's nations, with Denmark in fifth place.
Among the ranking's three sub-indexes, which are technology, macroeconomic environment and public institutions, Taiwan held the third spot in technology (second last year), was 17th in macroenvironment (ninth last year), and 26th in public institutions (27th last year).
Thanks to sound economic policies and openness to new technology, Taiwan and Singapore, which were also in last year's top 10, have continued to outdistance Japan.
Japan dropped from ninth to 12th place because of its bad management of public finances.
Fast climb
South Korea climbed fast, up from 29th to 17th. But Hong Kong slipped down the ranking, from 21st to 28th.
"Hong Kong saw a weakening in perceived judicial independence, the protection of property rights and in government favoritism in policy-making," as well as rising concerns about corruption, the WEF said.
China slipped three places from 46th to 49th, continuing last year's slide.
"When we ask the business community about the institutional environment, there is a sense of caution," Lopez-Claros said.
"There are questions about property rights, about the judicial environment, for instance when a serious legal problem arises with a competitor. Over the longer term, there is concern about the social safety net, the pension system and the banking sector," he said.
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