Useless factoid of the day: Canada is 16th on the WEF competitiveness report

September 26, 2006 · by wciecon · in Canadian economy, Productivity · 3 Comments

I’ve spent half an hour on the WEF site, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what they’re measuring. Or why it matters.

Gabriel M. · September 27, 2006 - 6:22 am ·

It’s a trick! They want to see how competitively you are at searching their site. You spent 30 minutes while I would have spent about 5. Which might explain some of the differences between Canada and Romania. 😉
Why it Matters... · September 28, 2006 - 4:40 pm ·

The Business Competitiveness Index: examines the underlying conditions defining the sustainable level of productivity in each country. Developed by Michael Porter
The Global Competitiveness Index: aims to measure the set of institutions, polices and factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of economic prosperity
Both indices draw on a combination of quantitative data and results from the Executive Survey in each country as well as hard data measures.
Stephen Gordon · September 28, 2006 - 6:21 pm ·

Oh, I understand what it says that it’s trying to measure. But that’s not the same thing as what it’s actually measuring.