Trinidad and Tobago’s Competitiveness
The recent Release of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 at the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business has provoked an overall discussion on Trinidad and Tobago’s competitiveness (or lack thereof) on the world stage. The report itself seeks to explain why some countries are more successful than others at raising their income levels. It is at best, a tool to be used by policymakers to gauge success in the different aspects of the societal structure.
The index itself relies on data from reputable sources but also on responses to surveys from the business community. It measures their perception of the various aspects of the structure of society as it relates to national competitiveness. While we are informed that the number of responses has been increasing from its inception, we at the Chamber are committed to working with the Lok Jack GSB to further increase responses. This would add to the integrity of the results of the survey.
But how do we define competitiveness? Competitiveness has been defined as ‘the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country’… where productivity ‘sets the sustainable level of prosperity that can be earned by an economy’ (World Competitiveness Report 2009-2010). In terms of Trinidad and Tobago’s placement in the rankings, there has been an overall improvement from the 2009-2010 report to the present 2011-2012, moving from 86 out of 133 countries to 81 out of 142 countries. This improvement is as a result of Trinidad and Tobago’s relative stability amidst global uncertainty.
However, this is not to say that our performance in general has been respectable. Trinidad and Tobago’s scores in the index from 2008-2011 have not improved to any significant degree. Research has shown that although we are much closer to say, Barbados in terms of GDP per capita than, say Guatemala, the index indicates that Barbados is miles ahead with a ranking which is 39 places above us. In fact, our score history is closer to Guatemala which has a much lower GDP per capita. It is reasonable then to continue the discussion realizing that our coffers are sufficient to attain the achievements of our Barbadian partners.
A closer look at this index reveals that our primary shortcomings lie in our institutions, sophistication in business, efficiency of our labour and goods market and innovation — all of which are connected to the idea of national productivity and therefore to national prosperity. Additionally, high crime levels, inefficient bureaucratic government procedures and the poor work ethic of the labour force remain as some of the most problematic factors to conducting business as it has been for the past 5 years. Therefore, any approach geared toward increasing competitiveness must address these hindrances to business.
The Ministry of Planning and the Economy has articulated its priorities some of which include a diversification strategy targeting investments in industries in more knowledge intensive industries and a high level of export diversification. We at the Chamber appreciate that the need to facilitate a competitive Trinidad and Tobago has been recognized by this Government and we look forward to the approach to be taken by various ministries as a national strategy to increase competitiveness will undoubtedly fall under the purview of many ministries.
Additionally, we continue to encourage both the public and private sector to utilize available technologies to increase the productivity of their operations.
