Deficit, Political Deadlock Rob U.S. of Global Competitiveness

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By Trey Thoelcke Published

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The United States has slipped down the rankings of the World Economic Forum’s “The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013” from fifth place last year to seventh. Political deadlock and problems with the deficit were among the issues that dragged on the U.S. rating. Describing the evaluation, the WEF states:

We define competitiveness as the set of institutions,policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. The level of productivity, in turn, sets the level of prosperity that can be earned by an economy. The productivity level also determines the rates of return obtained by investments in an economy, which in turn are the fundamental drivers of its growth rates.

Switzerland, Singapore, Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands and Germany rate ahead of the United States. It is worth noting that not only do the nations have strong, open economies. They also have homogeneous populations. At the bottom of the list are Mozambique, Chad, Yemen, Guinea, Haiti, Sierra Leone and Burundi.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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