WEF: CORRUPTION, LOW LEVEL OF TAX ADMINISTRATION, REGULATION OF EXCHANGE RATES AND UNSATISFACTORY WORK OF STATE MACHINE ARE MAIN OBSTACLES FOR ARMENIA’S ECONOMY
ArmInfo
2008-10-09 13:21:00
ArmInfo. Armenia holds the 97th position out of 134 in the Global
Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 published by the World Economic
Forum, Wednesday. Armenia has dropped by 4 positions as compared
with the previous ranking. The United States tops the overall
ranking. Switzerland is in the second position followed by Denmark
and Sweden. Azerbaijan holds the 69th position, and Georgia – the 90th
position. According to the ranking, the main obstacles for Armenia’s
economy are corruption, low level of tax administration, regulation
of exchange rates and unsatisfactory work of the state machine.
By the efficiency of public structures Armenia holds the 96th
place. The most unfavorable situation is fixed in the sphere of
intellectual property protection (106th place), public confidence
in politicians (104), independence of judicial system (123), ethic
behavior of firms (115), and protection of interests of minority
shareholders (124). By the general state of infrastructure, Armenia is
in the 90th place in the ranking. By the efficiency of motor highways,
railroads, as well as electric power supply, Armenia holds the 79th ,
83rd and 89th positions respectively. By the quality of telephone lines
Armenia holds the 65th place. The country has comparatively higher
indices in the group of macroeconomic stability criteria (83). By
inflation rate the republic holds the 61st place, and the government
debt rate is qualified as Armenia’s competitive advantage (26).
The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the
Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted
by the World Economic Forum together with its network of Partner
Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations)
in the countries covered by the report. In 2008, about 12 thsd
businessmen from 134 countries took part in the survey.