RIGHT WAY: Brazil, here represented by business hub Sao Paulo, is going the right way when it comes to competitiveness, according to the World Economic Forum. (Photo: Felipe Micaroni Lalli)
Brazil improves, but Mexico and Chile drop when it comes to competitiveness.
BY CHRONICLE STAFF
Brazil led the way in Latin America when it came to improving competitiveness, according to a Latin Business Chronicle analysis of the Global Competitiveness Index 2009-2010 released today by the Swiss-based World Economic Forum.
Brazil received a score of 4.23, an increase of 0.1 points from last year. No other country grew as much. Brazil now ranks as Latin America's third-most competitive economy, an improvement of two spots from last year. Globally, Brazil now ranks 56th, a strong jump from last year's rank of 64. However, the WEF says the most problematic factors for doing business in Brazil remain tax regulations and tax rates.
CHILE MOST COMPETITIVE
Chile remains the most competitive country, but saw a 0.02 point drop in its score to 4.70. Chile also dropped two spots on the global ranking - from 28 to 30. Chile's economy is now less competitive than that of China - a change from last year. However, Chile still remains more competitive than countries like Spain and the CzechRepublic.
And Mexico also saw its score fall - by 0.09 to 4.19. Within Latin America, it fell from fourth to fifth place, but kept its global rank of 60.
Costa Rica replaced Panama as Latin America's second-most competitive economy, thanks to boosting its score by 0.02 points to 4.25. Its global rank also improved - from 59 to 55. Meanwhile, Panama dropped to fourth place in Latin America and 59th place globally (down one spot from last year) due to a 0.03 point decline in its score to 4.21.
URUGUAY GAINS
And Uruguay replaced Colombia as the sixth-most competitive economy thanks to a 0.06 point improvement in its score to 4.10. Globally, that meant a jump from 75th place to 65th place, ranking it ahead of countries like Greece and Latvia.
Honduras saw the worst decline - seeing its score fall by 0.12 points to 3.86. As a result, it fell four spots in Latin America and seven globally. Other countries with declines in their scores include Venezuela (down 0.08 points to 3.48) and Ecuador (down 0.02 points to 3.56).
Paraguay remains the laggard in Latin America, although its score improved by 0.05 points to 3.35. It kept its global rank as well - 124. That means it ranks among the ten worst countries worldwide.
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