What is Global Competitveness Index ? Do you agree that the twelve pillars of competitiveness support each other ?

The World Economic Forum releases annual Global Competitiveness Reports which studies and benchmarks the many factors underpinning national competitiveness. The goal is to provide insight and stimulate the discussion among all stakeholders on the best strategies and policies to help countries to overcome the obstacles to improving competitiveness. The Global Competitiveness Report series has evolved over the last three decades into the world's most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness. The Report presents the rankings of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), developed by Professor Xavier Sala-i-Martin and introduced in 2005. The GCI is based on 12 pillars of competitiveness, providing a comprehensive picture of the competitiveness landscape in countries around the world at different stages of economic development. The Report contains detailed profiles highlighting competitive strengths and weaknesses for each of the 144 economies featured, as well as an extensive section of data tables displaying relative rankings for more than 100 variables. These Pillars are as under: Institutions Infrastructure Macro-economic Environment Health and Primary Education Higher Education and Training Goods Market Efficiency Labor Market Efficiency Financial Market Development Technology Readiness Market Size Business Sophistication Innovation These pillars are not independent but tend to support each other. A weakness in one may adversely affect others. They provide a sense of the specific areas in which a particular country needs to improve.