Global Competitiveness Report 2020; World Economic Forum (WEF)

• World Economic Forum (WEF) released the 2020 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report in December.
• The World Economic Forum has released a report on competitiveness by ranking 37 countries on 10 parameters.
• Usually, every year WEF releases its benchmark Global Competitiveness Report that takes a look at 98 indicators across 140 countries to determine the overall ranking. Each indicator uses a scale from 0 to 100, to signify how close an economy is to the ideal state or “frontier” of competitiveness. Those indicators are then organized into 12 pillars, such as health, skills, financial system, infrastructure, and institutions.

Highlights of the Report:

• The combined health and economic shocks of 2020 have impacted the livelihoods of millions of households, disrupted business activities, and exposed the fault lines in today’s social protection and healthcare systems.
• The pandemic has put into stark relief the importance of prioritizing the delivery of public services. To serve their citizens, public institutions must have strong governance principles and transparency to gain public trust.
• As the Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020 found, COVID-19 has caused spikes in unemployment around the world and accelerated the shift to automation in the workforce, with 85 million jobs in medium and large businesses likely to be displaced across 15 industries and 26 countries by 2025.
• COVID-19 has also shown the inadequacy of healthcare systems that have been slow to adjust to increasing populations in the developing world and aging populations in the developed world. A key priority for economic transformation is to increase eldercare, childcare, and healthcare infrastructure to support current and future health needs.
• With more than 50% of employees requiring reskilling by 2025, countries must also expand investment in the skills needed, such as data analysis and AI and machine learning, and focus reskilling and upskilling efforts on those currently displaced or at greatest risk of job displacement.

India’s Position

• India has scored below the global average on 8 out of 10 parameters.
• In education and skilling to improve the job prospects of citizens – India has scored 43.5 out of 100. The global average is over 55 and Finland is the top-scoring nation at 75.
• Next is about rethinking labor laws and providing social protection- India has scored just over 44 and the global average is over 61.
• The next parameter is incentivizing investment in research and development. Here, India scores a paltry 32 out of 100 when the global average is nearly 42. The United States leads R&D spending.
• The only parameter where India has fared better than the global average is progressive taxation. India has scored nearly 56 out of 100 and the global average is 50.