FIFTY IS NOT THE LIMIT?!

摘要

In 2013, the number of countries covered by the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014) has increased again and reached 148. Nevertheless, the top 3 countries in the rankings have remained unchanged. Switzerland has been on top of the list for the fifth consecutive year. Then it follows Singapore and Finland (Table 1). Germany ranks 4th, marking an improvement of last year's result by two positions. The U.S.A. has also managed to overcome a four-year losing streak, and now is up from 7th to 5th position. This has occurred mainly due to the restoration of confidence in the government and financial markets, while the macroeconomic stability of the world's largest economy is still of great concern (117th).