Relative Impacts of Quantitative and Qualitative Indicators of International Competitiveness

Abstract

Relative Impacts of Quantitative and Qualitative Indicators of International Competitiveness Fidel Ezeala-Harrison Abstract This paper provides an analysis of the relative impacts of quantitative (micro-level) and qualitative (macro-level) factors that determine a country’s international competitiveness. Utilizing a total factor productivity approach that depicts competitiveness as the relative ability of a country’s industries to make efficient use of their resources to produce and market products at globally competitive prices, the study classifies the determining parameters of competitiveness in terms of the two categories of quantitative and qualitative factors. It then applies data from a sample of five U.S. manufacturing industries to carry out an empirical analysis to verify the relative impacts of these two categories of competitiveness indicators on the country’s state of international competitiveness. The results are useful for a determination of relevant policy parameters that would be helpful for stabilizing a country's long-term international competitiveness in an increasingly competitive global economy. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jibe.v2n4a1