Measure Of International Competitiveness Research Articles

Analysis of the evolution of trends in exchange rates and interest rates in the Iraqi economy for the period )2004-2020(

Every economy in the world is characterized by its adoption of a specific interest rate, as well as its own exchange rate, according to its capabilities and degree of development. Therefore, these two variables are the tool for linking the value of goods, assets, and wages in the local markets, and their counterparts in foreign markets, and through them many relationships arise. International, the most important of which is the possibility of directing and transferring capital to one country and not another, as these two variables (interest rate, exchange rate) have a direct role in international transactions. Through the interaction of the interest rate and the exchange rate, we have an economic relationship that has a direct impact on the flow of foreign investments between countries. Therefore, these concepts and their relationship to the overall economy and what are the most prominent factors affecting them will be discussed. The study sought to demonstrate the impact of these two variables on the Iraqi economy through the research objective. The research aims to describe and analyze the paths of interest rates and exchange rates during the period (2004 - 2020) in order to determine their behavior during the research period. The most prominent conclusions reached by the research were that the exchange rate is considered a measure of international competitiveness, which exerts a major influence on the local economy, as does the interest rate, as it reflects the economic position in general, and commercial position in particular, because it represents the linking tool through which prices are determined. The relative proportion of local goods to foreign goods. That is, it is the linking tool through which the purchasing power of the local currency is determined against other foreign currencies, as the local currency is considered a commodity, and the foreign currency is its monetary price. The research concluded with a set of recommendations, the most important of which was in order to encourage investment instead of the Iraqi investor’s tendency to invest in foreign currencies, work must be done to activate the interest rate in Iraq

Saudi Arabia's currency misalignment and international competitiveness, accounting for geopolitical risks and the super-contango oil market

It is important to assess Saudi Arabia's economic performance, because its role in the global oil market and how its actions are perceived by international investors have global consequences. We study Saudi Arabia's global competitiveness, accounting for geopolitical risks, productivity, and the role of oil as a commodity and financial asset. We use the net cost-of-carry to capture the oil market risk premium and the super-contango oil market, and include military funding and government expenditure to account for anticipatory and reactive military funding in dealing with likely internal and external threats. Following Clark and MacDonald (1999, 2004) and Fidora et al. (2020), we develop a vector error correction model (VECM) that accurately reflects Saudi Arabia's economy and employ a behavioral equilibrium exchange rate (BEER) to estimate currency misalignment as a measure of international competitiveness. We find that domestic productivity is Saudi Arabia's weakness. Rather than being driven by endogenous productivity, Saudi Arabia's competitiveness is largely explained by exogenous factors: global demand for oil as both a commodity and a financial asset, and geopolitical events that diminish competition in the global oil market. Favorable oil market conditions are advantageous, but super-contango episodes are detrimental to the Saudi economy. Saudi Arabia's competitiveness and recovery from the 2020 shocks hinge on the recovery of global demand, the speed of the energy transition, and investors' sentiments to invest in the oil sector. By engaging in trade wars, Saudi Arabia risks accelerating how quickly its own resources and assets become stranded. The 2020 cooperation between OPEC+ and G20 members to stabilize the oil market is commendable, because it will positively impact the global recovery in 2021–2022.

International Structural Competitiveness and the Hierarchy in the World Economy

The aim of this paper is to determine the level of competitiveness of national economies and their resulting hierarchy in the world economy. Based on the assumption that there is a structural relationship between the competitiveness of a national economy and the level of its economic development, we identify the main structural factors of international competitiveness. These factors are the degree of diversification of the productive structure of a national economy and the strength of its domestic sectoral productive linkages—which are both related to the level of industrial and technological development and the technological structure of exports. The Technologically Advanced Domestic Value Added in Exports, which condenses the above structural factors, is proposed as a measure of the level of competitiveness of national economies. This measure is implemented in order to determine the hierarchical position of 43 economies in terms of their international competitiveness. In addition, another measure of international competitiveness, the Economic Complexity Index, is examined and tested. When comparing the examined economies’ hierarchical positions obtained by using the two measures, a high correlation and a strong positive linear relationship between them is revealed.

Saudi Arabia’s International Competitiveness, Accounting for Geopolitical Risks and the Super-Contango Oil Market

Saudi Arabia’s economic performance, its role in the global oil market, and how its actions are perceived by international investors have global consequences. Our objective is to examine Saudi Arabia’s international competitiveness, accounting for geopolitical risks, productivity, and the role of oil as a commodity and financial asset. Following Clark and MacDonald (1998, 2000), we develop a vector error correction model (VECM) that accurately reflects Saudi Arabia’s economy and employ a behavioral equilibrium exchange rate (BEER) to estimate currency misalignment as a measure of international competitiveness. We find that rather than being driven by endogenous productivity, Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness is largely explained by exogenous factors: global demand for oil as both a commodity and a financial asset, and geopolitical events that diminish competition in the global oil market. Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness and recovery from the 2020 shocks hinge on the recovery of global demand, the speed of the energy transition, and investors’ sentiments with regard to investing in the oil sector. Diversification and investment in human capital to endogenize growth must be addressed with urgency. By engaging in trade wars, Saudi Arabia risks accelerating the stranding of its own resources and assets. The 2020 cooperation between OPEC+ and G20 members to stabilize the oil market is commendable and must continue.

How Do Exporters React to Changes in Cost Competitiveness?

AbstractVarious international institutions such as the European Commission, the ECB and the OECD often use unit labour costs as a measure of international competitiveness. The goal of this paper was to examine how well this measure is related to international export performance at the firm level. To this end, we use Belgian firm‐level data for the period 1999 to 2010 to analyse the impact of unit labour costs on exports. We find an estimated elasticity of the intensive margin of exports with respect to unit labour costs between −0.2 and −0.4. This elasticity varies between sectors and between firms, with more labour‐intensive firms having a higher elasticity. The microdata also enable us to analyse the impact of unit labour costs on the extensive margin. Our results show that higher unit labour costs reduce the probability of starting to export for non‐exporters and increase the probability of exporters stopping. While our results show that unit labour costs have an impact on the intensive margin and extensive margin of firm‐level exports, the effect is rather low, suggesting that pass‐through of costs into prices is limited. The latter is consistent with recent trade models emphasising that not only relative costs, but also demand factors such as quality and taste matter for explaining firm‐level exports.

Regulation and the international competitiveness of US-based companies

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to provide and assess evidence bearing on whether government regulation in the USA is harming the international competitiveness of the US economy. A related purpose is to clarify the concept of international competitiveness from a public policy perspective.Design/methodology/approach– The paper draws on various sources comparing the regulatory environment of the USA and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the past 15-20 years, as well as the international competitiveness of those countries, particularly the productivity growth of home country firms. The various measures of regulatory quality and international competitiveness for the USA are compared to those for a sample of other OECD countries to provide empirical evidence on two broad issues: has government regulation become more onerous in the USA relative to other OECD countries? and has the USA economy become less competitive compared to other OECD countries?Findings– The evidence indicates that the US regulatory environment has become more onerous compared to other OECD countries and that the relative productivity performance of the US economy has declined in recent years. Evidence also suggests that the USA has become relatively less attractive as a location for production and research and development. While the paper does not directly link national measures of performance to measures of the regulatory environment, it provides a literature review of the empirical relationship between government regulation and private sector productivity performance. The review suggests that an apparent recent weakening of the international competitiveness of the US economy can be linked to a more onerous regulatory environment.Research limitations/implications– As noted above, the paper does not directly link in a statistical manner, data regarding the changing regulatory environment across countries to changes in measures of international competitiveness. This is the focus of future research.Originality/value– By assessing a range of measures of the regulatory environment and national economic performance, the paper provides a fairly comprehensive and nuanced assessment of frequently made claims about regulation in the USA relative to other countries, as well as the relative attractiveness of the USA as a location for private sector activity.

National Innovation Systems: The Cases of Singapore and Finland

In an increasingly borderless world, a good deal of interest is still devoted to the performance of countries. The attention paid to various measures of international competitiveness of countries is a witness to this. According to conventional wisdom, countries can gain through engaging themselves in the international division of labour, specialising in goods they can produce relatively cheaply. While this is still part of the truth, it is today of course too narrow a view. Although much international exchange is still based on traditional comparative advantages - which emanate from different relative endowments of factors of production - the relative success of nations in terms of sustainable growth is increasingly dependent on competitive advantage based on their ability to innovate. This implies much more than just coming up with new technologies, products or production processes. There must also be capability to utilize and commercialize them. Thus, management and marketing knowledge must be there, as well as suitable financial channels. It may even be maintained that ability to adapt existing technical knowhow to new applications and to take it all the way to marketable products is at least as important as technical progress in itself. However, even this may not suffice. There also has to be an entrepreneurial drive that contributes the dynamism required.

Determination of inflation in an open economy Phillips curve framework: the case of developed and developing Asian countries

This paper investigates the determination of inflation in the framework of an open economy forward-looking as well as conventional backward-looking Phillips curve for eight Asian countries – Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, China Mainland and India. Using quarterly data from the 1990s to 2005 and applying the instrumental variables estimation technique, we find that the output gap is significant in explaining the inflation rate in almost all the countries. Furthermore, at least one measure of international competitiveness has a statistically significant influence on inflation in all the countries. The differences in the developed and developing world are highlighted by the significance of agriculture related supply shocks in determining inflation in the case of developing countries. For all countries, the forward-looking Phillips curve provides a better fit compared to the backward-looking variant.

Economic transformation in the Czech Republic—a qualified success

The post-1989 economic transformation in the Czech Republic has created a market economy acceptable for EU membership but measures of international competitiveness show it to be some way behind the most advanced countries. Features of the transformation strategy in banking, the development of small businesses and privatisation created an economy with limited potential for autonomous, innovative growth. Policy shifted in the late 1990s towards supporting inward investment. Some of this is associated with low skill levels and minimal innovation. The motor vehicle sector is the most promising, but the strategies of multinational companies may create barriers to matching the productivity levels of advanced countries.

Evaluation of International Competitiveness

Competitiveness can be defined in a number of ways. We can think of it as of a successful performance of a company or organization; or we may talk about competitiveness in a macro context such as a favourable exchange rate of a national currency. Can we also talk about competitiveness of a nation? What is it and how can it be evaluated?There does not seem to be a common definition of what the international competitiveness of nations is. Some feel that the very notion of international competitiveness of nations is unfair and unacceptable. They argue that the nations themselves do not compete, their enterprises do. For others the notion of international competitiveness of nations is fair. They believe that creating appropriate measures of international competitiveness is central for tracking and understanding the sources of competitiveness of countries.In this paper I classify and compare the measures developed by various authors. I suggest that the studies on the measurement of competitiveness can be classified into five groups:1. Particular sector studies.2. Competitiveness studies at the regional / country level.3. Particular competitiveness indicator studies.4. Competitiveness studies at an international level.5. Cross-country economic policy studies.Since the competitiveness studies serve a different audience and purpose, we cannot discuss which is best without first asking: best at what?

Canada, Asia, and the Pacific Century

By geography, population, and public policy, Canada is a Pacific Rim country. Despite grandiose plans and rhetoric, however, Canada's economy is in retreat, dominated by the southern direction of investment and trade ties with the United States and reinforced by the huge levels of foreign investment that are increasingly rationalized along North American triad lines. The western Canadian provinces are the most Asian oriented, but Canada's business elites, scoring ever lower on measures of international competitiveness, are withdrawing to a regional base. Canada's capacity to diversify the industrial base and build new trade alliances is deeply constrained by the country's deficit and debt problems, as well as business and political elites who remain wedded to an Atlantic Rim focus.

Measures of International Competitiveness: Empirical Findings from British Manufacturing Companies

This paper presents the measures of competitiveness used by British managers. The evidence comes from interviews with managers in five manufacturing industries. Measures are classified as (1) performance measures, (2) measures of competitive potential and (3) management process determinants of competitiveness. In the first category, profitable market share emerged as the key concept. The most important measures of potential were R&D spending and commercialisation of R&D. Finally, process measures were given considerable weight by managers and management focus, internal and external relationships and internal functional integration and communication were particularly emphasised.

Measures of international competitiveness: A critical survey∗ †

An examination of the extant literature on competitiveness reveals a wide variety of notions and extreme difficulties of measurement and application. Single measures of competitiveness do not capture all the elements of the concept. Useful measures have to specify the level of analysis (national, industry, firm or product) and encompass competitive performance, its sustainability through the generation of competitive potential and the management of the competitive process. The interrelationship between these three key elements are also important in a dynamic context. The effectiveness of management is essential to this analysis and the concept of industrial effectiveness at the management level enables a link to be established between the concept of competitiveness and an empirical investigation of decision making. A framework is derived which is of general use and specific measures are proposed to fill the “empty boxes” suggested.

Modelling the Behaviour of Export Volumes of Manufactures: an Evaluation of the Performance of Different Measures of International Competitiveness

The objective of this note is to compare the econometric performance of several different equations which attempt to model the behaviour of export volumes of manufactured goods. Such equations usually explain export volumes in terms of an index of world economic activity and an index of competitiveness. This note concentrates on the issue of competitiveness; namely, how should competitiveness be defined and measured when employed in an export volumes equation?