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Crime Retards Economy in Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad World Economic Forum
Crime and theft were cited as the most problematic factors for doing business in Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad
and Tobago in the 2008-2009 Global Competitiveness Report published by the independent World Economic
Forum.
By contrast Caribbean Community (CARICOM) partner Barbados ranked inefficient government bureaucracy
and Latin neighbour Colombia faced with protracted drug and leftist anti-government warfare ranked high tax
rate as their number one hindrance to doing business.
Jamaica's global competitiveness index (GCI) fell to 86 from 78 in 2007, among the 134 countries measured
and Trinidad and Tobago moved down to 92 from 84 the previous year. Barbados GCI improved to 47 from 50
last year while Guyana moved up from 126 to 115.
In the report the United States tops the overall ranking in the Report 2008-2009. Switzerland is in second
position followed by Denmark, Sweden and Singapore. European economies continue to prevail in the top 10
with Finland, Germany and the Netherlands following suit. The United Kingdom, while remaining very
competitive, has dropped by three places and out of the top 10, mainly attributable to a weakening of its
financial markets.
The United States tops the overall ranking in GCR, that was released October 8. Switzerland is in second
position followed by Denmark, Sweden and Singapore. European economies continue to prevail in the top 10
with Finland, Germany and the Netherlands following suit. The United Kingdom, while remaining very
competitive, has dropped by three places and out of the top 10, mainly attributable to a weakening of its
financial markets.
The People's Republic of China continues to lead the way among large developing economies, improving by
four places this year and joining the top 30. All of the BRIC economies figure in the top half of the ranking,
with China followed by India, Russia and Brazil.Several Asian economies perform strongly with Japan, Hong
Kong SAR, Republic of Korea and Taiwan, China in the top 20. In Latin America, Chile is the highest ranked
country, followed by Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico.
A number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are in the upper half of the rankings, led by
Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Tunisia, with particular improvements noted in
the Gulf States since last year. In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius feature in the top
half of the rankings, with several countries from the region measurably improving their competitiveness.
“Rising food and energy prices, a major international financial crisis and the related slowdown in the world's
leading economies, are confronting policy-makers with new economic management challenges. Today's
volatility underscores the importance of a competitiveness-supporting economic environment that can help
national economies to weather these types of shocks in order to ensure solid economic performance going into
the future,” said Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Professor of Economics, Columbia University, USA, and co-author of
the report.
The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a
comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum together with its network of Partner
Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries covered by the report. This
year, over 12,000 business leaders were polled in a record 134 global economies. The survey is designed to
capture a broad range of factors affecting an economy's business climate. The report also includes
comprehensive listings of the main strengths and weaknesses of countries, making it possible to identify key
priorities for policy reform.
“In an uncertain global financial environment it is more important than ever for countries to put into place the
fundamentals underpinning economic growth and development. The World Economic Forum has for many
years played a facilitating role in this process by providing detailed assessments of the productive potential of
nations worldwide. The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 offers policy-makers and business leaders
an important tool in the formulation of improved economic policies and institutional reforms,” noted Klaus
Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
Table: The most problematic factors for doing business
Barbados
Guyana
Jamaica
Trinidad & Tobago
Note: From a list of 15 factors, respondents were asked to select the five most problematic for doing business in their country
and to rank them between 1 (most problematic) and 5. The resulting figure show the responses weighted according to their
rankings.
The most
problematic
factors for
doing
business



Inefficient
government
bureaucracy 15.8
Poor work ethic
in national labor
force - 15.8
Access to
financing - 15.5




Crime and theft
- 23.5
Corruption 13.0
Tax rates - 11.2
Inefficient
government
bureaucracy 9.1




Crime and theft
- 22.4
Inefficient
government
bureaucracy 12.7
Inflation - 10.3
Corruption - 9.8



Crime and theft
- 21.9
Inflation - 15.3
Poor work ethic
in national labor
force - 14.7













Inflation - 12.8
Foreign
currency
regulations 8.6
Restrictive
labor
regulations 8.3
Tax rates - 6.7
Inadequate
supply of
infrastructure 5.5
Tax regulations
- 3.7
Crime and theft
- 2.9
Inadequately
educated
workforce - 2.2
Policy instability
- 0.9
Poor public
health - 0.8
Corruption - 0.6
Government
instability/coups
- 0.0











Inadequately
educated
workforce - 8.1
Tax regulations
- 6.4
Access to
financing - 6.3
Inflation - 6.3
Poor work ethic
in national labor
force - 5.7
Inadequate
supply of
infrastructure 5.6
Policy instability
- 2.5
Government
instability/coups
- 1.5
Foreign
currency
regulations 0.6
Poor public
health - 0.3
Restrictive
labor
regulations 0.1











Access to
financing - 8.3
Poor work ethic
in national labor
force - 8.3
Tax rates - 8.2
Inadequately
educated
workforce - 8.0
Tax regulations
- 4.1
Restrictive
labor
regulations 3.1
Inadequate
supply of
infrastructure 3.0
Policy instability
- 0.7
Government
instability/coups
- 0.7
Poor public
health - 0.3
Foreign
currency
regulations 0.1











Key
indicators
Total
population
(millions),
2007
0.3
0.8
2.7
1.3
GDP (US$
billions),
2007
3.7
1.0
11.2
20.7
GDP per
capita
(US$),
2007
13,605.4
1,365.2
4,172.2
15,904.8
GDP (PPP)
as share
(%) of
world total,
2007
0.01
0.01
0.03
0.04
Table: Global Competitiveness Index
Corruption 13.2
Inefficient
government
bureaucracy 11.0
Inadequate
supply of
infrastructure 5.7
Inadequately
educated
workforce - 5.1
Poor public
health - 3.4
Access to
financing - 2.3
Tax rates - 1.8
Policy instability
- 1.7
Restrictive
labor
regulations 1.6
Government
instability/coups
- 1.3
Tax regulations
- 0.7
Foreign
currency
regulations 0.3
Global
Competitiveness
Index
Barbados
Guyana
Jamaica
Trinidad
&Tobago
Rank
Score
Rank
Score
Rank
Score
Rank
Score
GCI 2008–2009 (Rank
out of 134 Score 1-7)
47
4.4
115
3.5
86
3.9
92
3.9
GCI 2007–2008 (out of
131)
50
4.3
126
3.2
78
3.9
84
3.9
GCI 2006–2007 (out of
122)
41
4.5
113
3.3
67
4.1
76
3.9
Basic requirements
33
5.2
115
3.6
97
3.9
65
4.4
1st pillar: Institutions
20
5.2
117
3.2
86
3.7
104
3.4
2nd pillar: Infrastructure
24
5.2
98
2.8
67
3.5
63
3.6
3rd pillar:
Macroeconomic stability
114
4.2
133
2.8
130
3.2
51
5.2
4th pillar: Health and
primary education
10
6.3
62
5.6
77
5.3
72
5.4
Efficiency enhancers
56
4.2
112
3.3
75
3.9
80
3.8
5th pillar: Higher
education and training
29
4.8
81
3.7
82
3.7
78
3.8
6th pillar: Goods market
efficiency
72
4.2
96
3.9
63
4.2
90
4.0
7th pillar: Labor market
efficiency
46
4.5
109
4.0
70
4.3
76
4.3
8th pillar: Financial
market sophistication
38
4.8
98
3.8
59
4.4
52
4.6
9th pillar: Technological
readiness
26
4.8
103
2.7
45
3.9
63
3.4
10th pillar: Market size
127
1.9
129
1.7
98
28
103
2.7
Innovation and
sophistication factors
51
3.8
111
3.0
72
3.6
79
3.5
11th pillar: Business
sophistication
56
4.3
95
3.6
69
4.0
73
4.0
12th pillar: Innovation
49
3.4
124
2.5
68
3.1
86
3.0
Post date: 2008-10-09 18:25:00
Post date GMT: 2008-10-09 23:25:00
Post modified date: 2008-10-09 18:25:00
Post modified date GMT: 2008-10-09 23:25:00
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