Roundup: Italy climbs 6 positions in global competitiveness ranking

Italy improved its ranking up to the 43rd place in the global index of competitiveness, according to the 2015-2016 World Economic Forum (WEF) report released on Wednesday.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 assessed the economies of 140 countries according to 12 indicators, including productivity, good market and labor market efficiency, financial market development, and technological readiness.

Italy moved up 6 positions, after ranking 49th out of 144 countries in last year's report.

"After a positive first quarter, Italy is forecast to return to growth for the current year, fuelled by increasing domestic demand, expansionary monetary policy in the euro area, and some progress in implementing structural reforms," the report stated.

The WEF report saw Switzerland on top of the global competitiveness index for the 7th year in a row, followed by Singapore and the United States.

The global economy was overall facing a "pivotal time," the report stressed.

On one hand, it was characterized by the "new normal" of higher unemployment, lower productivity growth, and subdued economic growth, according to the authors.

On the other hand, other recent developments showed great promise, as the so-called "fourth industrial revolution" and new ways of consuming such as the sharing economy could lead to another wave of significant innovations.

"Whether economies get trapped in the new normal, or harvest the benefits of the latest innovations for their societies, will crucially depend on their levels of competitiveness," the report said.

As for Italy's economy, it climbed 10 positions in the efficiency of the labor market, which has been overhauled through the so-called "Jobs Act" reform in December 2014.

Still, the country ranked 126th under this specific indicator despite the improvement.

Italy's competitiveness also improved thanks to "more emphasis on fostering firms' innovation," the report added.

Overall in Europe, the link between structural reforms and competitiveness seemed to emerge as a crucial factor.

The report's authors highlighted the divide between European Union (EU) countries that have implemented reforms and variously improved in market competition and labor market efficiency, like Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, and those like Greece and Cyprus who failed to improve in these fields.

However, Italy still lagged behind the other major EU partners: Germany ranked 4th in the global index, the UK ranked 10th, while France and Spain came in 22nd and 33rd, respectively.

The report warned Italy's recovery was still "brittle," and the country should continue on the path of reforms in order to improve its productivity and get rid of long-standing hampering factors.

Indeed, the euro-zone's third largest economy ranked 139th out of the 140 countries in terms of red tape, 71st in goods market efficiency, 117th in financial market development, 134th in flexibility of wage determination, and 136th in access to loans.

According to the WEF, the most problematic factors for doing business in Italy were inefficiency of bureaucracy, tax rates and complexity of tax regulations, difficulty in access to finance, restrictive labor regulations, and corruption.

The Global Competitiveness Index was firstly launched by the World Economic Forum in 2004 in order to assess the countries' competitiveness performance at global level, and the key factors determining their productivity and present and future level of prosperity. Endit