New Delhi: A report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) Wednesday said countries with advanced digital economies, digital skills, robust social safety nets and prior experience in combating epidemics have managed the coronavirus pandemic efficiently than others.
Titled ‘Global Competitiveness Report Special Edition 2020: How Countries are Performing on the Road to Recovery’, it also said that nations with digital economies were successful at keeping establishments running as citizens worked from home. Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Estonia and the US performed well on this aspect.
India was placed in the lower rung in two out of three parametres it was assessed on — education, inclusion and diversity. But the country found a notable mention in the measure of budding entrepreneurial culture.
The report has placed emphasis on recovery and revival of economies, as well as factors that have helped countries in becoming more efficient in managing the pandemic.
In a statement Wednesday, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, said, “The WEF has long encouraged policymakers to broaden their focus beyond short-term growth to long-term prosperity. This report makes clear the priorities for making economies more productive, sustainable and inclusive as we emerge from the crisis.”
Countries like Denmark, Finland, Norway, Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland had a “robust” safety net before the onset of the pandemic and were able to support people who couldn’t work. Nations with strong financial systems like Finland, US, UAE and Singapore could also provide credit to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to prevent insolvency.
Switzerland, Singapore, Luxembourg, Austria and the UAE had integrated their health, fiscal and social policies which made them more successful in “mitigating” effects of the current crisis.
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Countries best prepared for economic transformation
The report took data from 37 countries and studied those against 11 parameters. It was found that “no country is fully prepared for recovery and economic transformation” post pandemic, while “some are better placed than others”.
The transition to a “greener” and “inclusive” economy is dependent on whether investments in infrastructure are created (particularly expansion of digital networks). Countries like Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Netherlands were found to be best prepared to do this.
For a greener economy, upgrades will be required in energy infrastructure, transport networks and a “commitment” from the public and private sectors, said the report. Nations like Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Netherlands are best prepared in driving this economic transformation. However, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa were found to be lesser prepared in comparison.
South Korea, Japan, Australia and South Africa were noted for their most “progressive tax structures”.
“Incentivising and expanding patient investments in research, innovation and intention can create new ‘markets of tomorrow’ and drive growth,” the report said. Countries like Finland, Japan, US, Republic of Korea and Sweden are prepared to emerge as “markets of tomorrow”. On the other hand, Greece, Mexico Turkey and Slovak Republic are less prepared.
How India fared
The report found that tertiary education systems best placed to deliver to the needs of employers were in Switzerland, Singapore, Finland and Chile. However, countries like India, Ethiopia, Brazil, Japan, Italy and UK trailed behind in this particular measure.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion must be an integral part of an innovation-driven strategy for economic transformation. Companies must fully leverage the creative potential of different segments of the population and access to the opportunities generated through innovation should be expanded,” the report said.
Based on statistics available, China, Sweden, New Zealand and the US performed the best in the inclusion and diversity parametres. While, India, Turkey, Italy and Slovak Republic performed poorly in comparison.
In the measure of budding entrepreneurial culture, however, India’s technology hubs, Bengaluru and Mumbai got a notable mention.
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