Chile, el tercer país más competitivo de América

Chile es el tercer país de América (después de EEUU y Canadá) dentro del ranking de competitividad publicado hoy por el Foro económico mundial. Es el país de habla hispana mejor calificado (que, considerando que está en el puesto n° 30, no es ninguna razón para enorgullecerse y sí para que el mundo hispano intente mejorar y deje de ser -como dice un amigo alemán- un looser).

Cito el estudio Global Competitiveness Report 2010-11: At the same time, when compared with the rest of the world, the region (se refiere a Latinoamérica y el Caribe, nota del blog) must improve significantly in order to catch up with international best practices and fully leverage its competitiveness potential. Only Chile (30th) and the two small Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico (41st) and Barbados (43rd) feature within the top 50 most competitive economies in the world.

Sobre su ubicación en la tabla: Stable at 30th, Chile remains the most competitive country in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a very convincing performance resting notably on solid basic requirements (37th) and efficiency enhancers (35th). The country has been at the forefront of market liberalization and opening, resulting in very efficient goods and labor markets (28th and 44th, respectively), one of the most sophisticated financial markets (41st), and the largest pension industry in the region. The liberalization process took place in the context of sound macroeconomic policies (26th for macroeconomic stability) and transparent institutions (28th in the institutions pillar).

These attributes have not only spurred growth over the last 20 years, but also have provided the country with the resources needed to stimulate the economy in recent times of crisis and to address the pressing reconstruction challenges brought about by the tragic 2009 earthquake. Indeed, a part of the US$8.4 reconstruction plan envisaged by the government in the next four years is expected to come from the Economic and Stabilization Fund—one of the main tools used by the country in its counter-cyclical policies.

Lo que hay que mejorar (las negritas son mías, el tema me parece importantísimo y espero que Joaquín Lavín, ya que no pudo ser presidente, ahora, ponga todo su empeño en mejorar la educación en Chile):

On a more negative note, although Chile’s business sector is fairly efficient and sophisticated (43rd), improving its innovation potential is increasingly becoming a priority as the country approaches the most advanced, innovation-driven stage of development. An important element of the problem is the country’s still-unsatisfactory quality of its educational system at all levels (ranked 101st for primary education and 45th for higher education and training), despite rising educational attainment rates and government efforts to improve educational quality, including through increased spending. Further efforts should be made to improve teaching quality and training as well as secondary and tertiary enrollment rates (90.6 percent and 52.6 percent, corresponding to 56th and 43rd place, respectively). Additionally, some of the components of an innovation-conducive environment— including the quality of the research institutions (ranked 55th) and the collaboration between academia and industry (currently ranked 39th)—should be strengthened.