Following the economic recovery that started last year, Greece advances 10 spots to reach 81st place, according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015. The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. The Report series remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide. “Improvements in the functioning of its goods market with enhanced levels of competition and more flexible labor markets (although they remain rather rigid), along with a better macroeconomic performance with a sharp reduction in the budget deficit, have resulted in this more positive outlook despite its very high levels of government debt,” the report says. All this suggests that the implemented reforms are starting to pay off. Not withstanding this better performance, Greece continues to face important challenges that need to be addressed in order to continue improving its competitiveness. More precisely, the functioning of its institutions remains weak and achieves a poor evaluation for government efficiency, its financial market has not yet recovered from the recent crisis, there are concerns about the soundness of its banks and access to financing remains the most problematic factor for doing business in the country, the report adds. Moreover, in order to support a structural change of the Greek economy so it can move toward more productive, knowledge-based activities, it will need to boost its innovation capacity. That will require improvements in the quality of its education system as well as bigger investments in knowledge-generating activities, such as Research & Development.
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