Are competitiveness rankings and institutional measures helping emerging economies to improve?

Ricardo E. Buitrago R. (Tecnologico de Monterrey, EGADE Business School, Mexico City, Mexico and Escuela de Administración, Universidad Del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia)
Daniel Ricardo Torralba Barreto (Centro de Estudios sobre Competitividad Regional, Universidad Del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia)
Giovanni E. Reyes (Escuela de Administracion, Universidad Del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia)

Competitiveness Review

ISSN: 1059-5422

Article publication date: 26 May 2022

Issue publication date: 3 August 2023

1072

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the rankings of the global competitiveness index and the fragile states index, this paper aims to suggest alternative approaches to shed some light on the effectiveness of rankings in helping emerging economies improve their competitiveness from an institutional standpoint.

Design/methodology/approach

The statistical analysis consisted of a two-stage analysis; the first stage consisted of constructing an updated Alternative Institutional Quality Index (AIQI), intending to design a comparative measure between dimensions over time. The second stage consisted of evidencing the structure of each of the observed dimensions' variance to evidence the existing changes or gaps of the AIQI and its components. The authors incorporated the Kruskas–Wallis (KW) model to test the results.

Findings

This paper demonstrates that the analyzed countries generally maintain their competitive position, even though changes in their scores are reflected. This makes invisible the development and progress factors generated by the countries that are mainly found with low scores and only reflect stable structures that allow them to maintain their position.

Research limitations/implications

The current study has a limitation because it concentrated on a few selected indicators based on the literature review. The limitations of this research may be overlooked in the future by adding additional variables and observations. The paper could be improved by including intra- and inter-regional approaches to control based on the occurrence of specific circumstances (i.e. informal institutions, economic development or factor endowments).

Practical implications

The paper contributes to the applicable measurement of competitiveness and its structural change over time.

Originality/value

This paper proposed an alternative and simple methodology to assess the evolution of the competitiveness indicators; this methodology could be used to measure structural changes at different levels, which may be an input for the design and implementation of policies to foster competitiveness.

Keywords

Citation

Buitrago R., R.E., Torralba Barreto, D.R. and Reyes, G.E. (2023), "Are competitiveness rankings and institutional measures helping emerging economies to improve?", Competitiveness Review, Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 861-888. https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-04-2021-0064

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Ricardo E. Buitrago R., Daniel Ricardo Torralba Barreto and Giovanni E. Reyes.

License

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode


1. Introduction

Hardly has an economic concept been so much at the forefront of policymakers' concerns in recent years as competitiveness. This growing interest may be due in part to their recognition that all countries must contend with higher economic efficiency standards derived from accelerated globalization of goods and services, as well as the external shocks generated by the recent crisis.

Since the early 1980s, many articles and studies on competitiveness have been published. In addition to the extensive academic literature, two major global rankings have been developed and are widely used to assess competitiveness., the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) published by the Institute for Management Development and the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) issued by the World Economic Forum.

The WCY has been published since 1989 and covers 63 countries. It benchmarks the performance of the economies based on more than 330 criteria measuring different facets of competitiveness (Institute for Management Development, 2022). The GCI was introduced in 2004 for measuring national competitiveness, taking into account the microeconomic and macroeconomic foundations of national competitiveness; it covers more than 130 countries and measures 12 pillars (Sala-I-Martin et al., 2007).

Global competitiveness rankings have frequently been the unifying theme of a large number of government action programs; this covers a wide range of activities, such as promoting the technological adaptation of companies, consolidating the bases of regional economic development, promoting the networking of SMEs and developing activities considered strategic for national economic growth.

The diversity of national approaches is determined by what countries consider to be the risks to avoid and the opportunities to seize, as well as the nature of their “chronic problems” and “critical resources.” Their assessments of whether their economic performance is commensurate with their scientific and technological potential become critical.

In many countries, government action continues to be motivated by the desire to improve in the rankings. Countries largely lack an alternative conceptual framework for analyzing the relationship between business competitiveness and national economic performance. Moreover, it is somewhat surprising that the academic debate on competitiveness focuses on the absence of a widely accepted theory of the origins of competitiveness (Anca, 2012; Bhawsar and Chattopadhyay, 2015; Buitrago R and Barbosa Camargo, 2021; Olczyk, 2016).

The aim of this paper is essentially to suggest an alternative approaches to shed some light on the effectiveness of rankings in helping emerging economies improve their competitiveness.

2. Competitiveness approaches

The literature review reveals a plethora of approaches to competitiveness; in addition to the two published rankings mentioned previously, numerous published and unpublished rankings are prepared by governments, consultants and research institutions, all of which feed an insatiable appetite for benchmarking competitive performance and providing strategic guidance.

Academic approaches to competitiveness can be broadly classified into two large groups based on the level of analysis, country and firm-level. Table 1 summarizes these approaches as published in Buitrago R and Barbosa Camargo (2021).

It also seems to be a consensus in the literature that a cornerstone to competitiveness is the quality of the institutions (Ervits and Zmuda, 2018; Guerrieri and Meliciani, 2004; Hollingsworth, 2000; Ingram and Silverman, 2000; Jaffe et al., 1993; Moon et al., 1998; Peng et al., 2008; Porter, 1990; Porter and Linde, 1995; Rodriguez et al., 2005; Soete, 1987; Tobey, 1990; Wan and Hoskisson, 2003). The concept of institutional quality has also been discussed in the literature as the basis of economic transformation (Acemoglu et al., 2001, 2002, Acemoglu, 2003, Acemoglu et al., 2005; Acemoglu and Johnson, 2005; Lane, 2014).

3. Competitiveness levels, goals and outcomes

The construct competitiveness is applied to individuals, firms, industrial sectors and countries (Buitrago R and Barbosa Camargo, 2021). Using the same concepts and methods to measure competitiveness at all levels of analysis can create complications due to the oversimplification of the phenomena. The idea of competitiveness is not the same for a country and a firm – to take just the two main levels of analysis – their objectives and the nature of competition differ (Krugman, 1991, 1994; Pedersen, 2010).

It should be noted that the fundamental objectives of competitiveness vary depending on whether it is a company or a country. While the main aim of a company is to survive and gain a foothold in the international competitive environment (Moon et al., 1998), the primary objective of a country – which is not concerned with survival – is to improve living standards and welfare (OECD, 1992; Porter et al., 2002). Different actors (companies or countries) will rank these objectives differently depending on their strategic goals; a company may prefer to increase its market share rather than maximize profits; a government may prioritize attracting foreign direct investment rather than reducing inequality. Consequently, what should the basis of competitiveness be?

The aforementioned rankings comparatively measure national competitiveness based on the results achieved by each country (Carvalho et al., 2020; Moirangthem and Nag, 2021; Tahir and Tahir, 2019). Results cannot be quantified in isolation because they are contingent on the methods used and the context in which they were achieved. A competitiveness assessment based solely on obtained results provides ex-post information and does not indicate a country's potential capacity to accomplish its objectives (ex-ante review).

Because national competitiveness is primarily defined as the capacity to generate economic growth and welfare, governments focus their efforts on promoting all the factors contributing to the economy's performance. It is critical to understand how to measure competitiveness and the factors that influence it to determine aspects of improving to increase competitiveness (Lall, 2001).

If competitiveness analysis is valid, competitiveness rankings can be used to benchmark national performance. Rankings can assist policymakers in assessing their economies' shortcomings, much like technical benchmarking assists firms in assessing themselves against competitors and developing appropriate strategies. The peril of the rankings relies on the perception they generate; rankings are used to evaluate resource allocation (i.e. local and foreign investment, aid, public expenditure); it could create perverse incentives to follow an unreachable goal or to remain unchanged.

Institutional conditions have reclaimed analytical relevance in recent years, as evidenced by the (World Economic Forum, 2018) Global Competitiveness Report, which asks, “Are institutions still important?” (p. 12), highlighting the critical importance of an adequate institutional framework for international competition. Countries with strong and inclusive institutions are likely to ensure efficient factor allocation, encourage investment activities to improve performance, reduce uncertainty, promote equitable distribution of private and social benefits and facilitate economic agent interaction. On the contrary, countries with weak institutions frequently face a range of economic difficulties, including low investment flows, slow economic growth and low per capita income (Acemoglu et al., 2001; Hall and Jones, 1999; Knack and Keefer, 1995; Mauro, 1995; Rodrik et al., 2004).

Graham and Naim (1998) identified three types of institutional functions. The first is the formulation of rules and legislation. Legislative, ministries, municipal councils and related agencies all fall under this category. The second category of the institutional role is that of enforcing and administering rules and laws. Tribunals, boards, control and regulatory bodies are all involved in this. Thirdly, the institution is responsible for the provision of public services. These are the institutions responsible for ensuring the provision of various public goods and services.

There are many explanations for institutional quality that could be classified into three categories for analysis Graham and Naim (1998):

  1. Resource conditions: those are about the quantity, quality and distribution of available resources.

  2. Political conditions: co-optation, corruption and politicization of resource allocation.

  3. Systemic conditions: these are those that pertain to the clarity with which long-term goals are defined, the concentration of power in economic agents and external state intervention.

Our study considered these conditions to evaluate the national competitiveness outcomes from an institutional standpoint.

4. Methodology

The comparative analysis of economies based on rankings has become a fundamental instrument for comparative monitoring of the progress and effects of different public policies in a territory. However, these comparative forms have become a kind of stereotyped pseudo-technicism, which does not allow us to observe the efforts generated by economies with limited capacities, and which highlight the progress of economies with ample resources, representing them as “winners”.

This dynamic has led to the maintenance of imbalances among economies, driven mainly by “isomorphic” recommendations, which are not in line with the endogenous dynamics of each economy, creating an unbalanced allocation of opportunities. Hence, a reflection is required on how to rethink cohesion and regional development policies, from their concession to their implementation, by means of instruments and tools that address internal needs and cohesion between economies.

The purpose of this study is to examine the period 2007–2017 in 48 emerging and frontier economies (Table 2), for this selection we did a cross-validation of four different classification sources (International Monetary Fund, 2020; Morgan Stanley Capital International, 2020; Standard and Poors, 2020). There is no recognized definition for emerging economies; however, according to the sources consulted, they have in common that they are economies with sustained growth and stability, capable of producing high-value-added goods, participating in global commerce and integrating their financial markets. Additionally, these economies had experienced institutional transformations deploying transparent rules of the game that apply equally to all market participants; however, there is still a lag.

To carry out a comparative analysis of the evolution of institutional quality determinants in emerging countries, we categorized indicators from the GCI and the Fragile States Index (Appendix 2) (Fund for Peace, 2019) into three dimensions to identify the institutional conditions to compete:

  1. policy;

  2. resources; and

  3. systemic, the composition of each dimension is shown in Table 3.

A descriptive, longitudinal design study was conducted for the 48 emerging economies. The statistical analysis consisted of a three-stage analysis; the first stage consisted of the construction of an Alternative Institutional Quality Index (AIQI), through the implementation of the statistical method, principal component analysis (PCA), whose main objective is to synthesize a set of variables, recognizing the dynamics of the variance of each indicator. This allows to reduce the information to a set of smaller variables, called components. The first component captures the maximum amount of variance observed and will represent each dimension analyzed in this study.

By implementing this procedure in each of the observed years, a standard measurement is established, which will allow comparing them over time; however, to facilitate direct interpretation, a scaling process was implemented, so that their scores oscillate between 0 and 1.

The second stage consisted of comparing the structure of the variance of each of the observed dimensions, to analyze possible changes in the distribution of the observed countries. By means of these statistical tests, it will be possible to show whether, despite the efforts generated individually by each country, their structural behavior has been maintained.

Finally, to determine whether there are statistically significant differences between the groups of countries, based on regions, with respect to the AIQI, this study incorporated the Kruskas–Wallis (KW) model.

4.1 Alternative institutional quality index

For the construction of the AIQI, we build a dataset of 30 indicators for 48 emerging economies from 2007 to 2017. The first step consisted of the aggregation of the dimensions using the multivariate statistical methodology, Principal component analysis (PCA). One of PCA's main objectives is constructing new variables trying to lose as little information as possible by constructing factors representing a proportion of the information collected, being the first factor that guarantees the best representation of the data.

Therefore, for the construction of each of the dimensions observed, only the first standardized factor is taken. The following formula is applied using its eigenvectors, which act as weighting factors within the new scores obtained.

Newdimension=i=1nλi(xixi¯σi)

where:

λi = Vector variable i;

xi = Variable i;

x¯i = Average variable i; and

σi = Standard deviation variable i.

In addition, based on the new scores obtained, they are rescaled using the max-min function:

Scalated dimensioni=Ximin (X)max (X) - min (X)

Finally, to obtain the AIQI, an average of the scores previously obtained for each dimension is taken. The complete results and rankings of the AIQI are in the Tables A1 and A2 in the Appendix 1.

4.2 Gap analysis

As we mentioned before, the rankings become a benchmark for all the economies; benchmarking and other assessments naturally lead to gap analysis. Once the general expectation of a country's performance is established, the expectation can be compared to the top current level of performance; this comparison is transformed into a gap analysis.

For the analysis of the evolution of the proposed dimensions (political, resources and systemic), we used a box diagram, which allowed us to visually compare the progress and distribution of the scores obtained in each dimension of the economies observed. To interpret these results, it is helpful to keep in mind that the larger the box, the greater the dispersion in the scores obtained, which translates into a larger gap between emerging economies. In the opposite case, the smaller the box, the smaller the dispersion in the scores, which commonly usually occurs when the countries are more homogeneous or when the leader is closer to the others. The tails represent how the top or bottom 25% of the countries are distributed.

To test the statistical changes in the structure of the AIQI and its determinants, the statistical tests of variance ratio and the nonparametric Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test were used to compare the annual evolution. Also, we rely on both tests' statistical value to quantitatively assess the impact and direction of the gap. If the variance ratio is greater than 1, the gap widens; if it is less than 1, the gap narrows, and if it is statistically equal to 1, the gap is maintained. The Wilcoxon test evaluates two related samples, and if it is statistically significant, it indicates that the countries' behavior is statistically similar.

5. Findings and discussion

In this section, we show the results of the AIQI in the period 2007 – 2017; we aim to evidence the behavior of the emerging economies regarding the institutional conditions to improve competitiveness.

5.1 Political dimension

Figure 1 shows the annual box plots of the countries' score concerning the political dimension between 2007 and 2017. Observing the evolutionary behavior of the gaps between countries in this dimension, it is evident that, since 2007, it has presented structural changes in terms of closing political gaps.

When comparing the variance's behavior concerning the previous year, it is evident that from 2007 to 2017, there are no statistically significant changes in its behavior. And when looking to observe whether there are structural changes in the variance concerning future periods, it is evident that from 2008 to 2017, the variance structure has remained the same.

When comparing the average behavior concerning the previous year, it is evident that from 2008 to 2017, there are no statistically significant changes in its behavior. See Table 4.

However, when analyzing the moments in which the structural changes in the average behavior occurred, it became evident that two periods were reflected ahead for the years 2008, 2009, 2013 and 2014. For the years 2008 and 2009, these differences were negative, i.e. 50% of the countries presented a deterioration in the scores obtained. And for the periods 2013 and 2014, an improvement in the scores was observed.

For the periods 2010, 2011, and 2012, the behavior is statistically equal until 2016, when there is a structural change. See Table 5.

5.2 Resources dimension

The annual behavior of the scores obtained in the Resources dimension by the countries between 2007 and 2017 is shown in the box plots in Figure 2.

In the Resources dimension, it is important to note that the increase in the gap corresponds mainly to the improvement performance of leading countries, which generates a distancing effect with the other countries.

When comparing the behavior of the variance of a given year compared to the immediately preceding year, it is evident that from 2007 to 2017, there are no statistically significant changes in its behavior. Likewise, when looking to observe if there are structural changes in the variance for future periods, it is evident that the structure of the variance has been maintained in all periods.

Furthermore, if the average behavior is compared to the previous year, it is evident that from 2007 to 2017, there are no statistically significant changes in its behavior. See Table 6.

When analyzing the moments in which the structural changes in average behavior occur, it was reflected that for the years 2007 and 2010, the changes happen to six periods ahead, as in 2007. It is noteworthy that for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 these differences were negative, i.e. most countries presented a decline in the scores obtained. In the periods 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016 an improvement in the scores obtained in the dimension was observed; see Table 7.

5.3 Systemic dimension

Figure 3 shows the annual box plots of the countries' scores for the Systemic dimension between 2007 and 2017.

The observed evolution of the behavior of the gaps between countries for the systemic dimension shows that, since 2007, it has presented structural changes in terms of closing systemic gaps, where over the past five years, there has been a greater distance in the scores obtained, indicating a smaller distance between countries in this dimension. The increase in terms of gaps is attributed to the improvement in scores in leading countries, which generates a distancing effect with the other countries.

Comparing the behavior of the variance of a year with the previous year, it is evident that from 2007 to 2017, there are no statistically significant changes in its behavior, furthermore, seeking to observe whether there are structural changes in the variance for future periods, it is evident that the structure of the variance has been maintained throughout the observation window.

Similarly, if we compare the average behavior with the previous year, it is evident that from 2008 to 2017, there are no statistically significant changes in its behavior.

On the other hand, when analyzing the moments in which the structural changes in average behavior occur, it is evident that in 2007 they are reflected in all subsequent periods. In 2012, 2013 and 2015, these differences were negative, i.e. 50% of the countries presented a deterioration in the scores obtained. There were no years with general improvements in the scores obtained for the following periods.

For the periods 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 the behavior is statistically the same, until 2012 when a structural change occurs, as shown in Table 9.

5.4 Alternative institutional quality index

The annual box plots of the score obtained in the Institutional Index by the countries concerning the Policy dimension between 2007 and 2017 are observed in Figure 4.

Analyzing the staggered behavior of the territorial gaps for the AIQI, it can be seen that, since 2007, there have been structural changes in terms of closing the gaps in the index, almost every year there has been a smaller gap in the scores obtained, indicating a greater closeness of most of the emerging countries. However, it should be noted that this reduction in the gap corresponds essentially to improvements in the scores obtained by the leading countries, which has generated an effect of closeness to the other countries, also attributable to the scores obtained by the countries with greater opportunities for improvement.

Contrasting the behavior of the variance of each year to the previous year, it is shown that from 2007 to 2017, there are no statistically significant changes in its behavior; furthermore, when wanting to observe if there are indeed structural changes in the variance for future periods, it is evident that the structure of the variance has been maintained from 2007 to 2017.

Likewise, when comparing the average behavior of a year to the previous year, it is identified that from 2007 to 2017, there are no statistically significant changes in this.

Similarly, when analyzing these structural changes in average performance could occur, it is evident that, as for the immediately consecutive periods, there are no significant changes from one year to the next. It is highlighted that for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011; these differences were negative, i.e. 50% of the countries presented a deterioration in the scores obtained in these years; an improvement was identified in 2013 and 2014. For the periods 2008, 2012 and 2015 the behavior is statistically equal.

5.5 Kruskas–Wallis test

To determine whether there are statistically significant differences between the groups of countries, based on regions, with respect to the competitiveness indicator, this study incorporated the KW model (Bagui and Bagui, 2004; Wei, 1981). The groups of countries analyzed were the same as those covered by this research described in Table 2. The relevance of this analysis consists in determining the explained variance with respect to the total variances of quadratic ranges, in relation to phenomena to which non-parametric tests would be applied.

The general model applied is based on:

(1) KW=[(12N(N+1))(i=1i=nRj2nj)]3(N+1)
where:

N = number of units of study, 48 in this case; and

(i=1i=nRj2nj) = Sum of quadratic Ranges of each group under study, each of them divided by the number of units observed.

The results of the application of the KW test for each of the years: 2007, 2012 and 2017, in relation to the calculated KW values were:

KW(Calc.2007)=[(1248(49+1))(29149)]3(48+1);KW(2007)=1.719
KW(Calc.2012)=[(1248(49+1))(30067)]3(48+1);KW(2012)=6,403
KW(Calc.2017)=[(1248(49+1))(29834)]3(48+1);KW(2017)=5.214

In each of these cases, a total of 4 degrees of freedom was used, since there were five groups. The tabulated KW values were:

  • with 5% error or goodness of fit: 9.488; and

  • with 1% error: 13,277.

When comparing the calculated KW values with the tabulated ones for each year, it is evident that in all the years analyzed – 2007, 2012 and 2017 – the calculated values did not exceed the tabulated ones, even with a 5% error. Therefore, we confirm that there are no statistically significant differences between the groups of countries in terms of the AIQI.

6. Conclusions

By examining the structural dynamics of the indexes through the PCA methodology, it was possible to identify possible exogenous problems of the information and thus preserve the structure of the variance that best explains the behavior of the countries observed in each of the pillars. This allowed the evolution of the scores during the observation window to be evidenced and compared through standardization and rescaling.

Although the scores obtained by the studied countries vary over time, when comparing whether changes are identified in the structure of the existing gap, it is evident that it has remained constant in most of the observed periods, which means that the impact of global policies and recommendations has not generated changes in the way these countries relate to the scores obtained.

Likewise, when comparing the average behavior of the countries, it is evident that it has remained constant, which implies that at least 50% of the analyzed countries have maintained their relative scores during the observation window.

These two findings allow us to observe that the countries generally maintain their position, even though changes in their scores are reflected. This makes invisible the development and progress factors generated by the countries that are mainly found with low scores and only reflect stable structures that allow them to maintain their position.

A critical factor to consider is the speed with which the various results are obtained. Interpreting the “speed of reaction” factor can be tricky, even when the objectives are similar; countries do not always start from the same location and may take different routes to fulfill the goals. As a result, it is difficult to comprehend the nature of the issues at stake if competitiveness is viewed as a quantifiable macroeconomic variable with a well-defined causal origin.

The definition of policies based on the rankings may lead to a misdirected actions at national and regional levels. As explained in this work, even if the common goal is to generate growth and welfare, countries are externally and internally diverse, making no sense to pursue standardization of the path to reach that goal.

A continuous quest to look like the best in the ranking can distract attention from the actual requirements and vocations of the different economies. The benchmark is helpful if it is taken as a reference, not as a goal; isolating disturbances in the indicators may help understand the needed structural change to reach each country's competitiveness ultimate goal.

Finally, a more comprehensive analysis must consider the market failures that impair competitive capability, most notably the evolution of dynamic comparative advantage. Competitiveness strategies must determine which failures are addressable through policy and whether the government concerned possesses the capacity to implement such policy.

7. Contributions and limitations

This study adds to the existing body of knowledge in a variety of ways. First, it demonstrates that the analyzed countries generally maintain their competitive position, even though changes in their scores are reflected. Second, it highlights the importance of conducting a more in-depth analysis of the conditions that promote national competitiveness. Third, it demonstrates the perils of using global rankings as a benchmark and not as a reference. Finally, it demonstrates the application of a novel method for assessing structural changes in emerging economies' competitiveness positions.

The current study has restrictions because it’s concentrated on a few selected indicators based on the literature review. The limitations of this research may be overlooked in the future by adding additional variables and observations. In addition, the article could be improved by including intra- and inter-regional approaches to control based on the occurrence of specific circumstances (i.e. informal institutions, economic development or factor endowments).

Figures

Political dimension scores, 2007 –2017

Figure 1.

Political dimension scores, 2007 –2017

Resource dimension scores, 2007 –2017

Figure 2.

Resource dimension scores, 2007 –2017

Systemic dimension scores, 2007 –2017

Figure 3.

Systemic dimension scores, 2007 –2017

Alternative Institutional Quality Index scores, 2007 –2017

Figure 4.

Alternative Institutional Quality Index scores, 2007 –2017

Competitiveness: levels of analysis

Level Definition Papers
Country “The set of institutions and economic policies supportive of high rates of economic growth in the medium term.” “set of institutions, market structures, and economic policies supportive of high current levels of prosperity” (Porter et al., 2002, p. 16) (Baumann et al., 2019), (Braja and Gemzik-Salwach, 2019), (Kubickova, 2019), (Peña-Vinces et al., 2019), (Salas-Velasco, 2019), (Cárdenas et al., 2018), (Kiseľáková et al., 2018), (Wei and Nguyen, 2017), (Smit et al., 2017), (Cuervo-Cazurra, 2008), (Yamakawa et al., 2008), (Hausmann et al., 2007), (Acemoglu and Johnson, 2005), (Rodrik et al., 2004), (Hitt et al., 2004)
“the degree to which a nation can, under free trade and fair market conditions, produce goods and services which meet the test of international markets, while simultaneously maintaining and expanding the real income of its people over the long-term.” (OECD, 1992. p. 237)
Firm “The capability of firms engaged in value-added activities in a specific industry in a particular country to sustain this value-added over long periods of time in spite of international competition.” (Moon et al., 1998, p. 139) (Mihailova et al., 2020), (Zhu et al., 2019), (Hu et al., 2019), (Fernández-Méndez et al., 2018), (Estrin et al., 2018), (Mingo et al., 2018), (Manolopoulos et al., 2018), (Brandl et al., 2018), (Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2018), (Banalieva et al., 2018), (Marano et al., 2017), (Bilgili et al., 2016), (Hoffman et al., 2016)

Source: Author's elaboration, based on Buitrago R and Barbosa Camargo, 2021

Countries included in this study

Region Countries
Latin America and
the Caribbean
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela
Europe Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Ukraine
Asia Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam
Africa Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia
MENA Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates

Sources: Author's elaboration, based on International Monetary Fund, 2020; Morgan Stanley Capital International, 2020; Standard and Poors, 2020

Variables and dimensions of institutional quality

Var_Name Description Dimension
fsi_fe Factionalized elites Systemic
fsi_gg Group grievance
fsi_ei Economic inequality
fsi_sl State legitimacy
gci_pr Property rights
gci_ipp Intellectual property protection
gci_bgr Burden of government regulation
gci_art Availability of research and training services
gci_eap Effectiveness of anti-monopoly policy
gci_pfo Prevalence of foreign ownership
gci_bir Business impact of rules on FDI
fsi_bd Human flight and brain drain Resources
fsi_ps Public services
gci_ci Capacity for innovation
gci_qri Quality of scientific research institutions
gci_csr Company spending on R&D
gci_uic University-industry collaboration in R&D
gci_ase Availability of scientists and engineers
gci_qi Quality of overall infrastructure
gci_qes Quality of the education system
gci_qms Quality of math and science education
gci_flm Financing through local equity market
gci_vca Venture capital availability
gci_alt Availability of latest technologies
gci_ftf FDI and technology transfer
gci_dpf Diversion of public funds Political
gci_ptp Public trust in politicians
gci_fdg Favoritism in decisions of government officials
gci_tgp Transparency of government policymaking

Source: Author's elaboration

Political dimension variance

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2007 1                    
2008 Test:0.719
p-value: 0.262
1                  
2009 Test:0.668
p-value: 0.17
Test:0.929
p-value:0.801
1                
2010 Test:0.597
p-value: 0.08
Test:0.83
p-value:0.524
Test:0.893
p-value:0.7
1              
2011 Test:0.674
p-value: 0.18
Test:0.938
p-value:0.826
Test:1.01
p-value:0.974
Test:1.13
p-value:0.676
1            
2012 Test:0.714
p-value: 0.251
Test:0.992
p-value:0.979
Test:1.068
pvalue:0.821
Test:1.196
p-value:0.542
Test:1.058
p-value:0.847
1          
2013 Test:0.616
p-value: 0.1
Test:0.857
p-value:0.598
Test:0.922
p-value:0.783
Test:1.032
p-value:0.913
Test:0.914
p-value:0.758
Test:0.863
p-value:0.616
1        
2014 Test:0.551
p-value: 0.043
Test:0.766
p-value:0.363
Test:0.824
p-value:0.511
Test:0.923
p-value:0.785
Test:0.817
p-value:0.49
Test:0.772
p-value:0.377
Test:0.894
p-value:0.702
1      
2015 Test:0.547
p-value:0.041
Test:0.761
p-value:0.353
Test:0.82
p-value:0.498
Test:0.918
p-value:0.77
Test:0.812
p-value:0.478
Test:0.767
p-value:0.367
Test:0.889
p-value:0.688
Test:0.994
p-value:0.984
1    
2016 Test:0.525
p-value:0.029
Test:0.73
p-value:0.284
Test:0.786
p-value:0.411
Test:0.88
p-value:0.662
Test:0.778
p-value:0.393
Test:0.735
p-value:0.295
Test:0.852
p-value:0.585
Test:0.953
p-value:0.869
Test:0.958
p-value:0.885
1  
2017 Test:0.541
p-value:0.038
Test:0.752
p-value:0.333
Test:0.81
p-value:0.473
Test:0.907
p-value:0.739
Test:0.802
p-value:0.453
Test:0.758
p-value:0.346
Test:0.878
p-value:0.658
Test:0.982
p-value:0.952
Test:0.988
p-value:0.968
Test:1.031
p-value:0.917
1

Source: Author's elaboration

Political dimension median

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2007 1                    
2008 Test: 1707
p-value: 0
1                  
2009 Test: 1683
p-value: 0
Test: 1074
p-value: 0.57
1                
2010 Test: 1519
p-value: 0.007
Test: 835
p-value: 0.02
Test: 896
p-value: 0.061
1              
2011 Test: 1450
p-value: 0.029
Test: 786
p-value: 0.007
Test: 828
p-value: 0.018
Test: 1077
p-value: 0.585
1            
2012 Test: 1486
p-value: 0.015
Test: 799
p-value: 0.01
Test: 852
p-value: 0.028
Test: 1097
p-value: 0.69
Test: 1183
p-value: 0.823
1          
2013 Test: 1472
p-value: 0.019
Test: 758
p-value: 0.004
Test: 814
p-value: 0.013
Test: 1070
p-value: 0.55
Test:1147
p-value: 0.974
Test: 1137
p-value: 0.915
1        
2014 Test: 1533
p-value: 0.005
Test: 798
p-value: 0.01
Test: 855
p-value: 0.03
Test: 1143
p-value: 0.95
Test: 1221
p-value: 0.616
Test: 1199
p-value: 0.733
Test: 1217
p-value: 0.636
1      
2015 Test: 1622
p-value: 0.001
Test: 918
p-value: 0.087
Test: 1000
p-value: 0.267
Test: 1272
p-value: 0.381
Test:1369
p-value: 0.113
Test: 1337
p-value: 0.176
Test: 1388
p-value: 0.084
Test: 1322
p-value: 0.214
1    
2016 Test: 1703
p-value: 0
Test: 1108
p-value: 0.75
Test: 1185
p-value: 0.812
Test: 1457
p-value: 0.026
Test: 1540
p-value: 0.005
Test: 1506
p-value: 0.01
Test: 1555
p-value: 0.003
Test: 1497
p-value: 0.012
Test: 1351
p-value: 0.146
1  
2017 Test: 1685
p-value: 0
Test: 1091
p-value: 0.658
Test: 1171
p-value: 0.892
Test: 1442
p-value: 0.034
Test: 1484
p-value: 0.015
Test: 1475
p-value: 0.018
Test: 1521
p-value: 0.007
Test: 1478
p-value: 0.017
Test: 1318
p-value: 0.225
Test: 1119
p-value: 0.812
1

Source: Author's elaboration

Resource dimension variance

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2007 1                    
2008 Test:0.889
p-value:0.689
1                  
2009 Test:1
p-value:0.999
Test:1.124
p-value: 0.69
1                
2010 Test:1.193
p-value:0.547
Test:1.342
p-value: 0.317
Test:1.194
p-value: 0.546
1              
2011 Test:0.993
p-value:0.982
Test:1.117
p-value: 0.706
Test:0.994
p-value: 0.983
Test:0.833
p-value: 0.532
1            
2012 Test:0.767
p-value:0.366
Test:0.862
p-value: 0.613
Test:0.767
p-value:0.367
Test:0.643
p-value: 0.133
Test:0.772
p-value: 0.154
1          
2013 Test:0.784
p-value:0.408
Test:0.882
p-value: 0.669
Test:0.785
p-value: 0.409
Test:0.658
p-value: 0.154
Test:0.79
p-value: 0.132
Test:1.023
p-value: 0.938
1        
2014 Test:0.766
p-value:0.363
Test:0.861
p-value: 0.61
Test:0.766
p-value: 0.364
Test:0.642
p-value: 0.132
Test:0.771
p-value: 0.159
Test:0.999
p-value: 0.996
Test:0.976
p-value: 0.934
1      
2015 Test:0.788
p-value:0.418
Test:0.886
p-value: 0.681
Test:0.789
p-value: 0.419
Test:0.661
p-value: 0.159
Test:0.794
p-value: 0.126
Test:1.028
p-value: 0.924
Test:1.005
p-value: 0.987
Test:1.03
p-value: 0.921
1    
2016 Test:0.76
p-value:0.351
Test:0.855
p-value: 0.593
Test:0.761
p-value: 0.352
Test:0.637
p-value: 0.126
Test:0.765
p-value:0.312
Test:0.992
p-value: 0.977
Test:0.969
p-value: 0.915
Test:0.993
p-value: 0.981
Test:0.965
p-value:0.902
1  
2017 Test:0.886
p-value: 0.681
Test:0.997
p-value: 0.991
Test:0.887
p-value: 0.682
Test:0.743
p-value:0.312
Test:0.892
p-value: 0.697
Test:1.156
p-value: 0.621
Test:1.13
p-value:0.678
Test:1.158
p-value:0.618
Test:1.124
p-value: 0.69
Test:1.166
p-value: 0.602
1

Source: Author's elaboration

Resource dimension median

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2007 1                    
2008 Test: 986
p-value: 0.225
1                  
2009 Test: 1079
p-value: 0.595
Test: 1256
p-value: 0.448
1                
2010 Test: 1205
p-value: 0.7
Test: 1379
p-value: 0.097
Test: 1271
p-value: 0.385
1              
2011 Test: 1004
p-value: 0.28
Test: 1167
p-value: 0.915
Test: 1079
p-value: 0.595
Test: 944
p-value: 0.128
1            
2012 Test: 816
p-value: 0.014
Test: 986
p-value: 0.225
Test: 894
p-value: 0.059
Test: 762
p-value: 0.004
Test: 968
p-value: 0.179
1          
2013 Test: 829
p-value: 0.018
Test: 1000
p-value: 0.267
Test: 921
p-value: 0.091
Test: 775
p-value: 0.006
Test: 985
p-value: 0.222
Test: 1167
p-value:0.915
1        
2014 Test: 903
p-value: 0.069
Test: 1101
p-value: 0.711
Test: 979
p-value: 0.206
Test: 859
p-value: 0.032
Test: 1074
p-value: 0.57
Test: 1273
p-value: 0.377
Test: 1267
p-value: 0.401
1      
2015 Test: 986
p-value: 0.225
Test: 1189
p-value: 0.789
Test: 1059
p-value: 0.498
Test: 947
p-value: 0.134
Test: 1173
p-value: 0.881
Test: 1370
p-value: 0.111
Test: 1352
p-value: 0.144
Test: 1272
p-value: 0.381
1    
2016 Test: 884
p-value: 0.05
Test: 1108
p-value: 0.75
Test: 984
p-value: 0.22
Test: 872
p-value: 0.041
Test: 1097
p-value: 0.69
Test: 1286
p-value: 0.328
Test: 1271
p-value: 0.385
Test: 1165
p-value: 0.927
Test: 1044
p-value: 0.431
1  
2017 Test: 919
p-value: 0.088
Test: 1117
p-value: 0.8
Test: 1000
p-value: 0.267
Test: 894
p-value: 0.059
Test: 1108
p-value: 0.75
Test:1305
p-value: 0.264
Test: 1279
p-value: 0.354
Test: 1200
p-value: 0.728
Test: 1078
p-value: 0.59
Test: 1167
p-value: 0.915
1

Source: Author's elaboration

Systemic dimension variance

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2007 1                    
2008 Test:0.811
p-value: 0.475
1                  
2009 Test:0.616
p-value: 0.1
Test:0.76
p-value: 0.349
1                
2010 Test:0.678
p-value: 0.187
Test:0.837
p-value: 0.543
Test:1.101
p-value: 0.742
1              
2011 Test:0.695
p-value: 0.215
Test:0.857
p-value: 0.598
Test:1.128
p-value:0.681
Test:1.024
p-value: 0.935
1            
2012 Test:0.689
p-value: 0.205
Test:0.85
p-value: 0.579
Test:1.119
p-value: 0.702
Test:1.016
p-value: 0.957
Test:0.992
p-value: 0.978
1          
2013 Test:0.612
p-value: 0.096
Test:0.755
p-value: 0.339
Test:0.994
p-value: 0.984
Test:0.903
p-value: 0.727
Test:0.881
p-value: 0.667
Test:0.889
p-value: 0.687
1        
2014 Test:0.538
p-value: 0.036
Test:0.663
p-value: 0.163
Test:0.873
p-value: 0.644
Test:0.793
p-value: 0.429
Test:0.774
p-value: 0.383
Test:0.78
p-value: 0.398
Test:0.878
p-value: 0.658
1      
2015 Test:0.519
p-value: 0.027
Test:0.64
p-value: 0.13
Test:0.843
p-value:0.561
Test:0.766
p-value: 0.363
Test:0.748
p-value: 0.322
Test:0.754
p-value: 0.336
Test:0.848
p-value: 0.575
Test:0.966
p-value: 0.906
1    
2016 Test:0.536
p-value: 0.035
Test:0.661
p-value: 0.16
Test:0.871
p-value: 0.637
Test:0.791
p-value: 0.424
Test:0.772
p-value: 0.378
Test:0.778
p-value: 0.393
Test:0.876
p-value: 0.651
Test:0.997
p-value: 0.993
Test:1.033
p-value: 0.913
1  
2017 Test:0.538
p-value: 0.036
Test:0.664
p-value: 0.164
Test:0.874
p-value: 0.647
Test:0.794
p-value: 0.431
Test:0.775
p-value: 0.386
Test:0.781
p-value: 0.401
Test:0.879
p-value: 0.661
Test:1.001
p-value: 0.996
Test:1.037
p-value: 0.902
Test:1.004
p-value: 0.989
1

Source: Author's elaboration

Systemic dimension median

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2007 1                    
2008 Test: 1601
p-value: 0.001
1                  
2009 Test: 1684
p-value: 0
Test: 1264
p-value: 0.414
1                
2010 Test: 1647
p-value: 0
Test: 1184
p-value: 0.817
Test: 1069
p-value: 0.545
1              
2011 Test: 1674
p-value: 0
Test: 1234
p-value: 0.55
Test: 1125
p-value: 0.846
Test: 1209
p-value: 0.679
1            
2012 Test: 1665
p-value: 0
Test:1241
p-value: 0.517
Test: 1134
p-value: 0.898
Test: 1212
p-value: 0.663
Test: 1168
p-value: 0.91
1          
2013 Test: 1590
p-value: 0.001
Test: 1107
p-value: 0.744
Test: 992
p-value: 0.242
Test: 1068
p-value: 0.541
Test: 1026
p-value: 0.358
Test: 984
p-value: 0.22
1        
2014 Test: 1577
p-value: 0.002
Test: 1058
p-value: 0.493
Test: 932
p-value:0.108
Test: 1037
p-value: 0.401
Test: 977
p-value: 0.201
Test: 948
p-value: 0.136
Test: 1089
p-value: 0.647
1      
2015 Test: 1586
p-value: 0.001
Test: 1082
p-value: 0.611
Test: 962
p-value: 0.165
Test: 1055
p-value: 0.479
Test: 1000
p-value: 0.267
Test: 983
p-value: 0.217
Test: 1135
p-value: 0.904
Test: 1181
p-value: 0.835
1    
2016 Test: 1563
p-value: 0.003
Test: 1039
p-value: 0.41
Test: 923
p-value: 0.094
Test: 1013
p-value: 0.31
Test: 971
p-value: 0.186
Test: 943
p-value: 0.127
Test: 1103
p-value: 0.722
Test: 1133
p-value: 0.892
Test: 1111
p-value: 0.767
1  
2017 Test: 1527
p-value: 0.006
Test: 995
p-value: 0.251
Test: 864
p-value: 0.035
Test: 955
p-value: 0.15
Test: 920
p-value: 0.09
Test: 889
p-value:0.054
Test: 1023
p-value: 0.346
Test: 1065
p-value: 0.526
Test: 1023
p-value: 0.346
Test: 1065
p-value: 0.526
1

Source: Author's elaboration

Alternative institutional quality index variance

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2007 1                    
2008 Test:0.748
p-value: 0.323
1                  
2009 Test:0.671
p-value: 0.175
Test:0.897
p-value:0.712
1                
2010 Test:0.729
p-value:0.281
Test:0.974
p-value: 0.929
Test:1.086
p-value:0.779
1              
2011 Test:0.726
p-value: 0.277
Test:0.971
p-value: 0.92
Test:1.082
p-value: 0.788
Test:0.997
p-value: 0.991
1            
2012 Test:0.677
p-value: 0.184
Test:0.905
p-value: 0.733
Test:1.008
p-value: 0.978
Test:0.929
p-value: 0.801
Test:0.932
p-value:0.809
1          
2013 Test:0.641
p-value: 0.132
Test:0.858
p-value: 0.601
Test:0.956
p-value: 0.877
Test:0.88
p-value: 0.664
Test:0.883
p-value: 0.672
Test:0.948
p-value: 0.856
1        
2014 Test:0.597
p-value: 0.08
Test:0.798
p-value: 0.443
Test:0.89
p-value: 0.69
Test:0.819
p-value: 0.498
Test:0.822
p-value: 0.505
Test:0.883
p-value:0.67
Test:0.931
p-value: 0.807
1      
2015 Test:0.607
p-value: 0.09
Test:0.811
p-value: 0.476
Test:0.904
p-value: 0.731
Test:0.833
p-value: 0.533
Test:0.835
p-value: 0.54
Test:0.897
p-value: 0.71
Test:0.946
p-value: 0.85
Test:1.016
p-value: 0.956
1    
2016 Test:0.586
p-value: 0.07
Test:0.783
p-value: 0.405
Test:0.872
p-value: 0.642
Test:0.804
p-value: 0.456
Test:0.806
p-value: 0.463
Test:0.865
p-value: 0.622
Test:0.913
p-value: 0.756
Test:0.981
p-value: 0.947
Test:0.965
p-value: 0.903
1  
2017 Test:0.606
p-value: 0.09
Test:0.811
p-value: 0.475
Test:0.904
p-value: 0.73
Test:0.832
p-value: 0.532
Test:0.835
p-value: 0.539
Test:0.896
p-value: 0.709
Test:0.945
p-value: 0.848
Test:1.016
p-value: 0.958
Test:1
p-value: 0.999
Test:1.036
p-value: 0.905
1

Source: Author's elaboration

Alternative institutional quality index median

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2007 1                    
2008 Test: 1503
p-value: 0.01
1                  
2009 Test: 1569
p-value: 0.002
Test: 1221
p-value: 0.617
1                
2010 Test: 1516
p-value: 0.007
Test: 1158
p-value: 0.968
Test: 1087
p-value: 0.638
1              
2011 Test: 1448
p-value: 0.03
Test: 1068
p-value: 0.542
Test: 1003
p-value: 0.278
Test: 1058.5
p-value: 0.496
1            
2012 Test: 1418
p-value: 0.051
Test: 1008
p-value:0.294
Test: 940
p-value: 0.122
Test: 1008.5
p-value: 0.295
Test: 1090.5
p-value: 0.655
1          
2013 Test:1374
p-value: 0.105
Test: 949
p-value: 0.138
Test: 886
p-value: 0.051
Test: 941.5
p-value: 0.124
Test: 1028.5
p-value: 0.367
Test: 1083.5
p-value: 0.618
1        
2014 Test: 1416
p-value: 0.053
Test: 983
p-value: 0.218
Test: 919
p-value: 0.088
Test: 990.5
p-value: 0.238
Test: 1071.5
p-value: 0.558
Test:1126.5
p-value: 0.855
Test: 1197
p-value: 0.744
1      
2015 Test: 1480
p-value: 0.016
Test: 1068
p-value: 0.542
Test: 1006
p-value: 0.288
Test: 1073.5
p-value: 0.568
Test: 1159.5
p-value: 0.959
Test:1225.5
p-value: 0.593
Test: 1310.5
p-value: 0.247
Test: 1254.5
p-value: 0.455
1    
2016 Test: 1493
p-value: 0.012
Test: 1082
p-value: 0.612
Test: 1037
p-value: 0.403
Test: 1085.5
p-value: 0.629
Test: 1184.5
p-value: 0.815
Test: 1247.5
p-value: 0.486
Test: 1328.5
p-value: 0.197
Test: 1282.5
p-value: 0.341
Test: 1175.5
p-value: 0.866
1  
2017 Test: 1473
p-value: 0.018
Test: 1056
p-value: 0.486
Test: 999
p-value: 0.265
Test: 1049.5
p-value: 0.455
Test: 1153.5
p-value: 0.994
Test: 1206.5
p-value: 0.692
Test: 1288.5
p-value: 0.319
Test: 1237.5
p-value: 0.533
Test: 1134.5
p-value: 0.901
Test: 1107.5
p-value: 0.747
1

Source: Author's elaboration

Alternative institutional quality index (AIQI)

Country 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Argentina 0.24 0.22 0.21 0.23 0.23 0.22 0.17 0.16 0.19 0.22 0.25
Bangladesh 0.12 0.11 0.14 0.17 0.21 0.21 0.19 0.22 0.24 0.23 0.23
Brazil 0.29 0.33 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.42 0.39 0.37 0.33 0.26 0.23
Bulgaria 0.21 0.26 0.29 0.28 0.27 0.27 0.29 0.30 0.30 0.34 0.39
Chile 0.65 0.77 0.71 0.72 0.76 0.77 0.71 0.68 0.67 0.62 0.60
China 0.34 0.45 0.59 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.57 0.58 0.60 0.57 0.60
Colombia 0.32 0.37 0.40 0.35 0.33 0.37 0.32 0.33 0.35 0.34 0.32
Croatia 0.53 0.49 0.48 0.42 0.38 0.37 0.34 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.34
Czech Republic 1.00 0.61 0.62 0.67 0.60 0.51 0.49 0.47 0.49 0.56 0.57
Egypt 0.36 0.40 0.43 0.44 0.40 0.29 0.27 0.25 0.27 0.31 0.28
Estonia 0.15 0.80 0.81 0.78 0.75 0.77 0.72 0.70 0.72 0.73 0.77
Greece 0.21 0.55 0.51 0.46 0.39 0.34 0.28 0.31 0.37 0.37 0.35
Hungary 0.87 0.59 0.51 0.50 0.49 0.47 0.41 0.40 0.42 0.40 0.35
India 0.43 0.65 0.62 0.63 0.55 0.49 0.47 0.48 0.49 0.53 0.62
Indonesia 0.43 0.57 0.54 0.59 0.59 0.53 0.51 0.55 0.59 0.56 0.57
Jamaica 0.79 0.44 0.43 0.42 0.38 0.36 0.36 0.40 0.43 0.45 0.49
Jordan 0.32 0.65 0.72 0.71 0.60 0.54 0.56 0.59 0.61 0.60 0.62
Kazakhstan 0.29 0.38 0.41 0.38 0.32 0.31 0.38 0.43 0.46 0.48 0.48
Kenya 0.55 0.39 0.45 0.41 0.36 0.39 0.38 0.43 0.50 0.47 0.49
Kuwait 0.08 0.48 0.45 0.41 0.42 0.40 0.33 0.33 0.34 0.36 0.34
Latvia 0.41 0.49 0.47 0.44 0.40 0.44 0.45 0.48 0.52 0.52 0.47
Lithuania 0.79 0.56 0.56 0.50 0.49 0.48 0.48 0.52 0.55 0.57 0.56
Malaysia 0.26 0.96 0.88 0.79 0.77 0.85 0.81 0.77 0.86 0.86 0.83
Mexico 0.33 0.40 0.35 0.36 0.35 0.40 0.42 0.41 0.39 0.40 0.40
Morocco 0.17 0.51 0.48 0.42 0.45 0.49 0.49 0.48 0.51 0.49 0.47
Namibia 0.14 0.37 0.48 0.53 0.56 0.49 0.40 0.43 0.45 0.48 0.50
Nigeria 0.80 0.33 0.37 0.31 0.22 0.28 0.31 0.26 0.24 0.24 0.23
Pakistan 0.33 0.36 0.33 0.31 0.31 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.31 0.32 0.33
Peru 0.22 0.28 0.31 0.33 0.35 0.34 0.29 0.31 0.32 0.31 0.31
Philippines 0.36 0.31 0.33 0.27 0.23 0.27 0.37 0.43 0.48 0.45 0.39
Poland 0.63 0.44 0.41 0.49 0.52 0.50 0.46 0.44 0.47 0.49 0.48
Qatar 0.29 0.81 0.89 0.95 0.99 0.99 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.95
Romania 0.20 0.36 0.39 0.38 0.31 0.26 0.24 0.29 0.41 0.40 0.34
Russia 0.18 0.23 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.24 0.21 0.29 0.36 0.36 0.37
Slovak Republic 0.47 0.60 0.56 0.53 0.44 0.41 0.40 0.37 0.40 0.43 0.42
Slovenia 0.58 0.65 0.66 0.72 0.62 0.51 0.46 0.42 0.43 0.48 0.51
South Africa 0.55 0.66 0.68 0.63 0.55 0.53 0.51 0.51 0.51 0.51 0.53
Srb 0.24 0.28 0.31 0.28 0.23 0.19 0.18 0.23 0.25 0.25 0.27
Sri Lanka 0.29 0.50 0.56 0.50 0.52 0.53 0.47 0.48 0.50 0.50 0.48
Thailand 0.03 0.60 0.55 0.52 0.49 0.45 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.44 0.43
Tunisia 0.41 0.89 0.88 0.81 0.86 0.69 0.55 0.46 0.43 0.40 0.40
Turkey 0.26 0.54 0.44 0.42 0.43 0.43 0.48 0.51 0.49 0.46 0.45
Uganda 0.19 0.30 0.32 0.28 0.30 0.35 0.35 0.33 0.34 0.37 0.35
Ukraine 0.62 0.25 0.34 0.28 0.23 0.23 0.24 0.24 0.30 0.34 0.30
United Arab Emirates 0.88 0.83 0.87 0.96 0.90 0.87 0.92 0.92 0.95 0.94 0.98
Venezuela 0.25 0.03 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Vietnam 0.26 0.37 0.45 0.49 0.45 0.36 0.32 0.35 0.38 0.42 0.41
Zambia 0.14 0.32 0.42 0.43 0.44 0.44 0.48 0.51 0.51 0.50 0.44

Source: Author’s elaboration

Ranking according to AIQI

Country 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Argentina 34 46 46 46 42 45 47 47 47 47 44
Bangladesh 46 47 47 47 47 46 45 46 45 46 47
Brazil 26 36 31 26 26 24 26 29 38 43 46
Bulgaria 38 43 45 43 41 41 39 38 42 38 29
Chile 7 6 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 8
China 21 24 12 10 7 7 6 7 7 8 7
Colombia 25 32 34 36 35 30 35 35 35 39 39
Croatia 13 22 22 29 31 29 32 31 33 34 37
Czech Republic 1 11 11 9 10 12 11 17 16 10 10
Egypt 20 27 29 23 28 38 41 43 43 42 42
Estonia 43 5 5 5 6 4 4 4 4 4 4
Greece 37 17 19 22 29 35 40 37 32 32 33
Hungary 3 14 18 17 18 19 23 27 27 31 34
India 15 9 10 11 14 15 17 14 18 11 6
Indonesia 16 15 17 13 11 11 10 8 8 9 9
Jamaica 5 25 28 28 30 31 30 28 23 23 15
Jordan 24 8 6 8 9 8 7 6 6 6 5
Kazakhstan 28 30 33 33 36 36 28 21 21 18 19
Kenya 11 29 25 32 32 28 27 20 14 21 16
Kuwait 47 23 24 31 25 27 33 33 37 36 35
Latvia 17 21 23 24 27 22 20 13 10 12 20
Lithuania 6 16 13 19 17 18 14 9 9 7 11
Malaysia 31 1 2 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3
Mexico 22 28 37 35 33 26 21 26 30 28 28
Morocco 42 19 20 27 20 17 12 16 12 16 21
Namibia 44 33 21 14 12 16 24 22 22 19 14
Nigeria 4 37 36 39 46 39 36 42 46 45 45
Pakistan 23 35 40 38 37 37 37 39 40 40 38
Peru 36 42 44 37 34 34 38 36 39 41 40
Philippines 19 39 39 45 43 40 29 23 19 24 30
Poland 8 26 32 20 16 14 18 19 20 17 18
Qatar 27 4 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
Romania 39 34 35 34 38 42 43 41 28 29 36
Russia 41 45 42 40 40 43 44 40 34 35 31
Slovak Republic 14 13 15 15 22 25 25 30 29 26 25
Slovenia 10 10 9 7 8 13 19 25 25 20 13
South Africa 12 7 8 12 13 9 9 10 11 13 12
Srb 35 41 43 42 44 47 46 45 44 44 43
Sri Lanka 29 20 14 18 15 10 16 15 15 14 17
Thailand 48 12 16 16 19 20 22 24 26 25 24
Tunisia 18 2 3 3 3 6 8 18 24 30 27
Turkey 32 18 27 30 24 23 15 11 17 22 22
Uganda 40 40 41 41 39 33 31 34 36 33 32
Ukraine 9 44 38 44 45 44 42 44 41 37 41
United Arab Emirates 2 3 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
Venezuela 33 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48
Vietnam 30 31 26 21 21 32 34 32 31 27 26
Zambia 45 38 30 25 23 21 13 12 13 15 23

Source: Author’s elaboration

Appendix 1

Table A1

Appendix 2. Fragile states index

Table A2

“The Fragile States Index (FSI) produced by The Fund for Peace (FFP), is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience but also in identifying when those pressures are outweighing a states’ capacity to manage those pressures. By highlighting pertinent vulnerabilities that contribute to the risk of state fragility, the Index – and the social science framework and the data analysis tools upon which it is built – makes political risk assessment and early warning of conflict accessible to policy-makers and the public at large.

The strength of the FSI is its ability to distill millions of pieces of information into a form that is relevant as well as easily digestible and informative. Daily, FFP collects thousands of reports and information from around the world, detailing the existing social, economic and political pressures faced by each of the 178 countries that we analyze.” (Fund for Peace, 2019)

“Practical application: the fragile states index analytical process

Though at the ground level, the CAST framework is applied using various practices such as individual incident reporting and observation by field monitors, the sheer volume of data to be analyzed at an international level required a different approach. To that end, technology was employed to enable researchers to process large volumes of data to perform the national level assessments that feed in to the FSI.

Based on CAST’s comprehensive social science approach, data from three main streams – pre-existing quantitative data sets, content analysis, and qualitative expert analysis – is triangulated and subjected to critical review to obtain final scores for the Index.” (Fund for Peace, 2019)

References

Acemoglu, D. (2003), “Root causes”, Finance and Development, No. 40 No. 2, pp. 26-30.

Acemoglu, D. and Johnson, S. (2005), “Unbundling institutions”, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 113 No. 5, pp. 949-995.

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. and Robinson, J.A. (2001), “The colonial origins of comparative development: an empirical investigation”, American Economic Review, Vol. 91 No. 5, p. S0022050701228113.

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. and Robinson, J.A. (2002), “Reversal of fortune: geography and institutions in the making of the modern world income distribution”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 117 No. 4, pp. 1231-1294.

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. and Robinson, J.A. (2005), “Institutions as a fundamental cause of long-run growth”, in Aghion, P. and Durlauf, S.N. (Eds), Handbook of Economic Growth, 1A ed., Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 385-472.

Anca, H.D.B. (2012), “Literature review of the evolution of competitiveness concept”, Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science …, No. Query date, available at: www.academia.edu/download/30870917/1st-issue-July-2012.pdf#page=41 (accessed 23 February 2019).

Bagui, S. and Bagui, S. (2004), “An algorithm and code for computing exact critical values for the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric one-way ANOVA”, Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 498-503.

Banalieva, E.R., Cuervo-Cazurra, A. and Sarathy, R. (2018), “Dynamics of pro-market institutions and firm performance”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 49 No. 7, pp. 858-880.

Baumann, C., Cherry, M. and Chu, W. (2019), “Competitive productivity (CP) at macro–meso–micro levels”, Cross Cultural and Strategic Management, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 118-144.

Bhawsar, P. and Chattopadhyay, U. (2015), “Competitiveness: review, reflections and directions”, Global Business Review, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 665-679, doi: 10.1177/0972150915581115.

Bilgili, T.V., Kedia, B.L. and Bilgili, H. (2016), “Exploring the influence of resource environments on absorptive capacity development: the case of emerging market firms”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 51 No. 5, pp. 700-712.

Braja, M. and Gemzik-Salwach, A. (2019), “Competitiveness of high-tech sectors in the European union: a comparative study”, Journal of International Studies, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 213-227.

Brandl, K., Darendeli, I. and Mudambi, R. (2018), “Foreign actors and intellectual property protection regulations in developing countries”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 50 No. 5, pp. 826-846, doi: 10.1057/s41267-018-0172-6.

Buitrago R, R.E. and Barbosa Camargo, M.I. (2021), “Institutions, institutional quality, and international competitiveness: review and examination of future research directions”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 128, pp. 423-435.

Cárdenas, G., García, S. and Salas, A. (2018), “Institutional framework and governance in Latin America”, International Journal of Emerging Markets, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 1088-1107.

Carvalho, Í.C.S.D., Di Serio, L.C., Guimarães, C.M.C. and Furlanetto, K.S. (2020), “The social progress on the development of global competitiveness”, Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 713-728, doi: 10.1108/CR-12-2018-0078.

Cuervo-Cazurra, A. (2008), “The effectiveness of laws against bribery abroad”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 634-651.

Cuervo-Cazurra, A., Ciravegna, L., Melgarejo, M. and Lopez, L. (2018), “Home country uncertainty and the internationalization-performance relationship: building an uncertainty management capability”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 53 No. 2, pp. 209-221.

Ervits, I. and Zmuda, M. (2018), “A cross-country comparison of the effects of institutions on internationally oriented innovation”, Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 486-503.

Estrin, S., Meyer, K.E. and Pelletier, A. (2018), “Emerging economy MNEs: how does home country munificence matter?”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 53 No. 4, pp. 514-528.

Fernández-Méndez, L., García-Canal, E. and Guillén, M.F. (2018), “Domestic political connections and international expansion: it’s not only ‘who you know’ that matters”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 53 No. 5, pp. 695-711.

Fund for Peace (2019), “Fragile states index”, Fragile States Index, available at: https://fragilestatesindex.org/ (accessed 12 January 2020).

Graham, C. and Naim, M. (1998), “The political economy of institutional reform in Latin America”, in Birdsall, N., Graham, C. and Sabot, R.H. (Eds), Beyond Tradeoffs – Market Reforms and Equitable Growth in Latin America, Inter-American Development Bank; Brookings Institution Press, Washington, pp. 321-362.

Guerrieri, P. and Meliciani, V. (2004), “International competitiveness in producer services”, available at SSRN 521445, No. Query date: 2019-02-23, available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=521445

Hall, R.E. and Jones, C.I. (1999), “Why do some countries produce so much more output per worker than others?”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 114 No. 1, pp. 83-116.

Hausmann, R., Hwang, J. and Rodrik, D. (2007), “What you export matters”, Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 1-25.

Hitt, M.A., Ahlstrom, D., Dacin, M.T., Levitas, E. and Svobodina, L. (2004), “The institutional effects on strategic alliance partner selection in transition economies: China vs Russia”, Organization Science, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 173-185.

Hoffman, R.C., Munemo, J. and Watson, S. (2016), “International franchise expansion: the role of institutions and transaction costs”, Journal of International Management, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 101-114.

Hollingsworth, J.R. (2000), “Doing institutional analysis: implications for the study of innovations”, Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 595-644.

Hu, H.W., Cui, L. and Aulakh, P.S. (2019), “State capitalism and performance persistence of business group-affiliated firms: a comparative study of China and India”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 50 No. 2, pp. 193-222.

Ingram, P. and Silverman, B.S. (2000), “Introduction: the new institutionalism in strategic management”, Ingram, P. and Silverman, B.S. (Eds), The New Institutionalism in Strategic Management (Advances in Strategic Management, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 1-30.

Institute for Management Development (2022), “World competitiveness yearbook”, available at: www.imd.org/wcc/products/eshop-world-competitiveness-yearbook/ (accessed 24 April 2021).

International Monetary Fund (2020), “Emerging market and developing economies”, Fiscal Monitor – Country Groupings, available at: https://data.imf.org/?sk=56B58DF4-F431-424C-93EC-77D2AD5BC55E&sId=1415831394526 (accessed 20 January 2021).

Jaffe, A., Trajtenberg, M. and Handerson, R. (1993), “Geographic localization of knowledge spillovers as evidenced by patent citations”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 108 No. 3, pp. 577-598, doi: 10.2307/2118401.

Kiseľáková, D., Šofranková, B., Čabinová, V. and Onuferová, E. (2018), “Competitiveness and sustainable growth analysis of the EU countries with the use of global indexes’ methodology”, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 581-599.

Knack, S. and Keefer, P. (1995), “Institutions and economic performance: cross-country tests using alternative institutional measures”, Economics and Politics, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 207-227.

Krugman, P.A. (1991), “Myths and realities of US competitiveness”, Science, Vol. 254 No. 5033, No. Query date: 2019-02-23, available at: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/254/5033/811.short

Krugman, P.R. (1994), “Competitiveness: a dangerous obsession”, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 73 No. 2, pp. 28-44, doi: 10.2307/20045917.

Kubickova, M. (2019), “The impact of government policies on destination competitiveness in developing economies”, Current Issues in Tourism, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 619-642.

Lall, S. (2001), “Competitiveness indices and developing countries: an economic evaluation of the global competitiveness report”, World Development, Vol. 29 No. 9, pp. 1501-1525, doi: 10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00051-1.

Lane, J.E. (2014), “Review: why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty”, International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 41 No. 7, pp. 627-628.

Manolopoulos, D., Chatzopoulou, E. and Kottaridi, C. (2018), “Resources, home institutional context and SMEs’ exporting: direct relationships and contingency effects”, International Business Review, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 993-1006.

Marano, V., Tashman, P. and Kostova, T. (2017), “Escaping the iron cage: liabilities of origin and CSR reporting of emerging market multinational enterprises”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 48 No. 3, pp. 386-408.

Mauro, P. (1995), “Corruption and growth”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 110 No. 3, pp. 681-712.

Mihailova, I., Panibratov, A. and Latukha, M. (2020), “Dismantling institutional complexity behind international competitiveness of emerging market firms”, Thunderbird International Business Review, Vol. 62 No. 1, pp. 77-92.

Mingo, S., Junkunc, M. and Morales, F. (2018), “The interplay between home and host country institutions in an emerging market context: private equity in Latin America”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 53 No. 5, pp. 653-667.

Moirangthem, N.S. and Nag, B. (2021), “Measuring regional competitiveness on the basis of entrepreneurship, technological readiness and quality of institutions”, Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 103-121, doi: 10.1108/CR-11-2020-0139.

Moon, H.C., Rugman, A.M. and Verbeke, A. (1998), “A generalized double diamond approach to the global competitiveness of Korea and Singapore”, International Business Review, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 135-150.

Morgan Stanley Capital International (2020), “The MSCI market classification”, available at: www.msci.com/market-classification (accessed 22 January 2021).

OECD (1992), Technology and the Economy: The Key Relationships, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Olczyk, M. (2016), “Bibliometric approach to tracking the concept of international competitiveness”, Journal of Business Economics and Management, Vol. 17 No. 6, pp. 945-959.

Pedersen, O.K. (2010), “Institutional competitiveness: how nations came to compete”, in Morgan, G., Campbell, J.L., Crouch, C., Pedersen, O.K. and Whitley, R. (Eds), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Institutional Analysis, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 625-658.

Peña-Vinces, J., Sanchez-Ancochea, D., Guillen, J. and Aguado, L.F. (2019), “Scientific capacity and industrial development as locomotors of international competitiveness in Latin America”, Technological and Economic Development of Economy, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 300-321.

Peng, M.W., Wang, D.Y.L.L. and Jiang, Y. (2008), “An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 39 No. 5, pp. 920-936.

Porter, M.E. (1990), Competitive Strategy, Free Press, New York, NY, doi: 10.1108/eb025476.

Porter, M.E. and Linde, C.V.D. (1995), “Toward a new conception of the environment-competitiveness relationship”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 97-118, No. Query date: 2019-02-23, available at: www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.9.4.97

Porter, M.E., Sachs, J.D. and Schwab, K. (2002), Global Competitiveness Report 2001 – 2002, World Economic Forum, Oxford University Press, New York.

Rodriguez, P., Uhlenbruck, K. and Eden, L. (2005), “Government corruption and the entry strategies of multinationals”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 383-396.

Rodrik, D., Subramanian, A. and Trebbi, F. (2004), “Institutions rule: the primacy of institutions over geography and integration in economic development”, Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 131-165.

Sala-I-Martin, X., Blanke, J., Drzeniek, M., Thierry Geiger, H., Mia, I. and Paua, F. (2007), “The global competitiveness index: measuring the productive potential of nations”, in Porter, M.E., Schwab, K. and Sala-i-Martın, X. (Eds), The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008, World Economic Forum, New York.

Salas-Velasco, M. (2019), “Competitiveness and production efficiency across OECD countries”, Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 160-180.

Smit, H., Pennings, E. and Van Bekkum, S. (2017), “Real options and institutions”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 48 No. 5, pp. 620-644.

Soete, L. (1987), “The impact of technological innovation on international trade patterns: the evidence reconsidered”, Research Policy, Vol. 16 Nos 2/4, pp. 101-130.

Standard and Poors (2020), “Emerging markets focus series”, available at: www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/research-insights/topics/emerging-markets-focus (accessed 11 January 2021).

Tahir, N. and Tahir, P. (2019), “Does competition explain growth in OECD and BRICS countries?”, Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 515-533.

Tobey, J.A. (1990), “The effects of domestic environmental policies on patterns of world trade: an empirical test”, Kyklos, Vol. 43 No. 2, pp. 191-209, doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6435.1990.tb00207.x.

Wan, W.P. and Hoskisson, R.E. (2003), “Home country environments, corporate diversification strategies, and firm performance”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 46 No. 1, pp. 27-45.

Wei, L.J. (1981), “Asymptotic conservativeness and efficiency of Kruskal-Wallis test for k dependent samples”, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 76 No. 376, pp. 1006-1009.

Wei, Z. and Nguyen, Q.T.K.K. (2017), “Subsidiary strategy of emerging market multinationals: a home country institutional perspective”, International Business Review, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 1009-1021.

World Economic Forum (2018), “Global findings”, in Schwab, K. (Ed.), The Global Competitiveness Report 2018, World Economic Forum, Geneva, pp. 5-22.

Yamakawa, Y., Peng, M.W. and Deeds, D.L. (2008), “What drives new venture to internationalize from emerging economies”, Theory and Practice, Vol. 1 No. 972, pp. 59-82.

Zhu, H., Ma, X., Sauerwald, S. and Peng, M.W. (2019), “Home country institutions behind cross-border acquisition performance”, Journal of Management, Vol. 45 No. 4, pp. 1315-1342.

Corresponding author

Ricardo E. Buitrago R. can be contacted at: ricardo.buitrago@tec.mx

Related articles