New Zealand more competitive than Australia

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New Zealand more competitive than Australia

-          NZ ranked 18th most competitive country, up five places

-          Australia slips one place to 21st

Wellington (September 4): New Zealand has outperformed Australia on the latest Global Competitiveness Index for the first time, according to an annual report compiled by the World Economic Forum.

New Zealand climbed five places from last year to come in at 18th on the overall ranking of global competitiveness, while Australia slipped one place to drop out of the top 20 for the first time with a score of 21.

The annual Global Competitiveness Report is compiled from 111 indicators, categorised into 12 pillars of competitiveness in four main sub-indices: basic requirements, efficiency enhancers, and innovation and sophistication factors.

Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative – which helped compile the survey data – said the improvement reflected the steady recovery of the local economy and prudent pro-growth policies that have been put in place to support it, helping New Zealand hold its competitive ground while other countries slipped back amid a weaker global growth outlook.

That contrasted with Australia, which is New Zealand’s second biggest trading partner, where deteriorating labour market conditions (ranked 54th globally, down 12 places from last year) and a heavy regulatory burden (ranked 128th in the world) weighed on the country’s competitive ranking.

“The performance is more startling when you consider that just five years ago New Zealanders were staring at ballooning deficits and a deep recession while the Australian government was debt free and riding the tailwind of a mining boom,” said Dr Hartwich.

New Zealand was ranked among the top 10 in the world for the quality of its institutions, health and primary education, higher education, goods and labour market efficiency, and financial markets development.

Dr Hartwich cautioned against complacency, noting that the country had failed to make any improvement on its innovation and business sophistication factors, ranking 27th globally - behind both Puerto Rico and Qatar.

“We need to focus on boosting our capacity to innovate and in areas of the economy besides our traditional agricultural strengths,” Dr Hartwich said. “The urgency for this is underscored when you consider that Switzerland, which was ranked second in the world for both innovation and business sophistication, was named the most competitive economy in the world for a fifth year straight.”

The next most competitive countries were Finland, Japan, Germany, Sweden, the United States, the Netherlands, Israel, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

The official WEF press release is attached, with details on how to access the full report. GCR_20132014_GLOBAL_press_release1.odt

About the New Zealand Initiative

The New Zealand Initiative is an evidence-based think tank and research institute, which is supported by a membership organisation that counts some of the country’s leading visionaries, business leaders and political thinkers among its ranks.

Our members are committed to developing policies to make New Zealand a better country for all its citizens. We believe all New Zealanders deserve a world-class education system, affordable housing, a healthy environment, sound public finances and a stable currency.

The New Zealand Initiative pursues this goal by participating in public life, and making a contribution to public discussions.

For more information visit

www.nzinitiative.org.nz

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