Ireland slips in competition table

IRELAND has slipped from 11th to 24th in the last year in terms of growth competitiveness, the latest World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2002-2003 shows.

Meanwhile, the United States is the most competitive economy in the world, according to the report. Ireland swapped places with Finland, last year’s top-ranked country.

The drop in ranking means a relative decline in Irish growth prospects, according to the Department of Economics, UCC, which is a Partner Institute of the World Economic Forum.

“Reasons for the decline can be found mainly in terms of the deterioration in the macroeconomic environment - the relevant monetary and fiscal policy situation facing Ireland,” the department said.

A decline in Ireland’s ranking regarding technological progress from 28th in 2001 to 31st in 2002 also contributed to Ireland’s lower ranking, which indicates scope for improvement regarding research & development activities and innovation and with regard to the licensing of foreign technology.

The ranking for Microeconomic Competitiveness puts Ireland in 20th position representing an improvement on last year’s position of 22nd.

This improvement is attributed to progress in the results for the sophistication of companies operating out of Ireland and their operating practices, which are certainly related to the high export intensity of Irish output.