Canada's competitiveness drops

VANCOUVER - Canada drops two positions to 14th place in the Global Competitiveness Index 2012-2013, the Geneva-based World Economic Forum said in a report Wednesday.

Canada has dropped five places in the global rankings since 2009. In addition to the falling of ranking, Canada's overall competitiveness score has also declined.

The report said that although Canada continues to benefit from highly efficient markets, well-functioning and transparent institutions and excellent infrastructure, it is being dragged down by a less favorable assessment of the quality of its research institutions and the government's role in promoting innovation through procurement practices.

Although Canada has been successful in nurturing its human resources compared with other advanced economies, the data suggested a slight downward trend of its performance in higher education, driven by lower university enrollment rates and a decline in the extent to which staff is being trained at the workplace, the report said.

Daniel Muzyka, president and chief executive officer of the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Partner Institute at the World Economic Forum' s Center for Global Competitiveness and Performance, said that too often, Canada fails to commercialize its good ideas into marketable products and services or capture the value from growth.

"Unfortunately, as a country, we are not taking full advantage of our strong economic fundamentals, well-educated workforce and efficient markets to build higher value-added products and services," Muzyka says.

"More needs to be done-all levels of government, all sizes of business, and all types of educational institutions have an important role to play." Muzyka adds.

Overall, Switzerland tops the Global Competitiveness rankings for the fourth consecutive year. Singapore remains in the second position while Finland overtakes Sweden for the third spot.