»
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Speaking at a recent American
Chamber of Commerce Ireland event, SuzanneRosselet-McCauley, research fellow at IMD and co-author of the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, said she believes this year represented the start of an upward movement for Ireland’s competitiveness ranking. She defines sustainable competitiveness as the “ability of a nation to sustain na- tional competitive advantages and to achieve greater prosperity for its population”. “The good news for Ireland is that it
enjoyed decades of rising prosperity. From the mid-1990s until 2007 the economy grew faster than any other western European economy and it had the second richest population in the EU,” she said. “In 2000 it was fifth out of 59 in the
IMD rankings and by 2001 it was con- sidered themost open and global econ- omy in the world. It enjoyed booming exports, high inward investment and nearly full employment. It became an important location for multinational investment, most of which was Amer- ican. This has made a significant con- tribution to Ireland’s economic and social development andwill play a sub- stantialroleinitsfuturecompetitiveness.” After 2001, Ireland’s ranking in the
‘Ireland is an attractive environment for foreign direct investment in terms of its knowledge-based resources’
IMD report fell year after year to the low of 24 in 2011. Rosselet-McCauley continued: “As prices and wages con- tinued to climb, Ireland’s competitiveness started to erode. A sense of invulnerability took hold as households built up debt and boomturned to bust. The question everyone is asking now is what needs to be done to recuperate Ireland’s lost competi- tiveness?” This will not just be about lowering the cost of doing busi-
ness, she said, but rather strengthening the foundations for long-termgrowth and competitiveness. “Given that Ireland possesses most of the prerequisites
needed and has a strong track record I have good expectations for the country. It remains a choice and privileged investment location for foreign affiliates,more so than any other crisis-hit country or European economy.”
SIX SUCCESS FACTORS Rosselet-McCauley has come up with six key success factors which she believes simplify themodel for sustainable competi- tiveness for Ireland:macroeconomic stability; openness; insti- tutions and legal framework; culture and values; infrastructure
28 INNOVATION IRELAND REVIEW Issue 4 Spring/Summer 2012
(basic, financial and social); and technology and innovation. “Ireland is successful in terms of three of these with its
strong reputation for being a pro-business economywith a good institutional framework, entrepreneurial culture and strong value system,” she said. “It is a solid platform from which to
build.More needs to be
done to improve macroeconomic stability and infrastructure and I would have a slight question mark over technology and innovation.” Rosselet-McCauley’s research has found that technology and
innovation are the tipping points that move nations forward and provide the means for companies to move up the value chain by boosting their productivity. “Ireland is an attractive environment for foreign direct in-
vestment in terms of its knowledge-based resources.However, it could still boost its potential by strengthening linkages be- tween foreign affiliates and indigenous companies in terms of knowledge transfer, skills and training and international best practice.” She sees a bottleneck also in the area of infrastructure.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80