Latin America’s participation in world manufacturing exports has stagnated in recent decades and, judging by the latest World Competitiveness Report from the International Institute for Management Development, it is not set to dramatically increase any time soon.
The report compares 64 countries across four main categories: economic performance, infrastructure, government efficiency, and business efficiency. Among the bottom ten positions, six are occupied by Latin American countries (of the seven included in the ranking). Argentina and Venezuela, both battling triple-digit inflation, rank as the least competitive countries of all.
José Caballero of the IMD World Competitiveness Center tells The Brazilian Report that a lack of continuity in policymaking is a key issue behind the region’s lack of competitiveness.
“The lack of continuity creates instability. The private sector likes predictability,” he explains, adding that most policies — especially regulatory ones — can take 10 to 15 years before their impacts can be properly felt and assessed. Constant change means many countries are making U-turn after U-turn without a clear grasp of what they are abandoning and where they are heading.
His words echo a 2022 report by economist Monica de Bolle of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C. Ms. de Bolle wrote that the...
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