Asia among most competitive economies 2005全球竞争力排名揭晓 北欧国家优势明显
Northern Europe and key east Asian countries and regions are the most competitive economies in the world, retaining their positions in the top 10 of a survey released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum.
For the third straight year, Finland has the most competitive economy, followed by the United States, according to a survey of almost 11,000 business leaders in the "Global Competitiveness Report." The poll was conducted for a 26th consecutive year.
For the third straight year, Finland has the most competitive economy.
Rounding out the top 10 in the survey - expanded this year to include 117 countries and regions- were Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan, Singapore, Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Australia.
The success of the Nordics is based on their "very healthy macroeconomic environments and public institutions that are highly transparent and efficient," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist and director of the Geneva-based institute''s global competitiveness program.
Japan slipped to No. 12 from No. 9 last year as a result of poor management of its public finances, but reforms proposed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to privatize the sprawling postal service could help turn things around, the study said.
China dropped for the second straight year to No. 49 from No. 44 in 2003, as the survey said it continues "to suffer from institutional weaknesses which, unless addressed, are likely to slow down their ascension to the top tier of the most competitive economies in the world." India rose three places to come in just behind at No. 50.
The aim of the survey, the World Economic Forum says, is to examine the range of factors that can affect an economy''s business environment and development - including the levels of judicial independence, protection of property rights, government favoritism and corruption.
Lopez-Claros said the Nordic nations were disproving the common belief that high taxes hinder competitiveness.
Finland, home of mobile phone giant Nokia Corp., topped the study because of its swiftness in adapting to new technology and the quality of its public institutions, the report said.
The United States ranked second because it "demonstrates overall technological supremacy, with a very powerful culture of innovation," the World Economic Forum said. But it suggested the United States might have been kept from the top spot because of its low scores for contractual law and macroeconomic management.
(Agencies)
世界经济论坛本周三发布的一项调查显示全球最具竞争力十强仍然是北欧和东亚的主要国家和地区。
《全球竞争力报告》对将近11,000名商业领袖进行了调查，结果显示芬兰连续第三年成为世界上最具竞争力的经济体，美国依然位居第二。这项调查已经连续进行了26年。
除了芬兰和美国，排在前十位的国家和地区分别是瑞典、丹麦、台湾、新加坡、冰岛、瑞士、挪威和澳大利亚。今年，这个调查的对象扩大到117个国家和地区。
北欧国家在竞争力排行榜上的成功基于“非常健康的宏观经济环境，高度透明和高效的公共机构，”日内瓦全球竞争力调查项目机构主任和首席经济学家奥古斯托·洛佩斯·克拉罗斯说。
日本从去年的第9位滑落到第12位，主要是因为落后的公共财政管理。但是报告也指出日本首相小泉纯一郎提出的邮政私有化改革有助于扭转排名下降的趋势。
中国的排名连续两年下降，从2003年的44位下降到49位。报告指出，中国“制度上的劣势还在继续影响中国整体经济的发展，如果不解决制度上的弱点，中国进入世界最有竞争力国家行列的进程仍将非常缓慢。”印度的排名上升了三位，紧随中国排在第50位。
世界经济论坛表示，这项调查旨在研究能够影响经济体环境和发展的一系列因素，其中包括司法独立的程度，财产权保护，政府偏袒和腐败。
洛佩斯·克拉罗斯说，北欧国家在《全球竞争力报告》中的出色表现驳斥了高税收会阻碍竞争力这种普遍看法。
芬兰是手机巨人“诺基亚”的故乡，报告指出，芬兰之所以能够名列榜首是因为能够迅速适应新技术，以及高质量的公共机构。
世界经济论坛表示，美国之所以位居次席是因为“其在技术上的整体先进性无人能比，创新文化也非常强大。”但报告指出，美国最大的弱点就是合同法和宏观经济管理，它在这两项上的得分很低，因此，美国没能登上排行榜首位。
（中国日报网站 薛晓文译）
部分词汇解释:
transparent : transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity（透明的）
tier: a relative position or degree of value in a graded group（层次，行列）
favoritism: an inclination to favor some person or group（偏好）
