China and the United States lost their positions as the top of the World Competitiveness Ranking list for 2020. A survey showed that Denmark, Singapore, and Switzerland that made it to the top earned their position due to their handling of the pandemic.
The US, being the world's largest economy, slipped at the 10th spot, while China was at the 20th. A survey conducted by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) showed that the handling of the pandemic upped the ranks of Singapore, Switzerland, and Denmark. On the other hand, the China-US trade war discrepancies and conflicts caused a decline in levels of both countries.
The trade war resulted in higher import tax rates imposed on a wide range of goods-this increased uncertainty for businesses engaged with both countries. The IMD report further claimed that the trade wars damaged China and the US economies resulting in reversed growth trajectories.
Singapore was named as the most competitive economy, the same rank it achieved last 2019. Denmark and Switzerland came next, along with Hong Kong and the Netherlands. According to the director at IMD Arturo Bris, small economies have responded better to the pandemic due to their ability to maintain their economic competitiveness. He added that this may be due to the easy-to-find social consensus.
The IMD report covered 63 economies. Hundreds of factors were considered in ranking these countries. These factors include the cost of living, employment, and government spending. The surveys were participated by executives who were asked on the political stability and intellectual property rights protection within the states.
The United Kingdom ranked 19th. The ranking was said to be a manifestation that Brexit created a more business-friendly environment perception for business people. Asia-Pacific economies, on the other hand, weakened in terms of their competitiveness in the market. The same trend was seen in the 2019 rankings. Japan even dropped further and ranked 34th, but India remained on the 43rd spot.
Thailand's competitive grip also slipped significantly from its 2019 recorded performance. It fell four places to 29. Its economic performance dropped by six positions down to 14th place, while its government efficiency also feels three positions to 23rd.
On the other hand, Thailand's business efficiency and infrastructure rankings improved from 27th to 23rd, and 45th to 44th, respectively. According to a senior economist with the IMD World Competitiveness Centre Jose Caballero, Thailand's poor performance was due to the slugging gross domestic product (GDP) and employment growth.
